Engine/Transmission (1994 - 1998) hard starting '96

[mainer]

Besides - real dieselheads shutdown their mechanically injected engines with a cable, not a key.



Matt [/B][/QUOTE]



CABLE??? you must be one of those rich kids- I use a piece of braided twine on my boat engine.



Seriously though, I'm as suspicious of the wiring and connections to the shut down solenoid as I am of the solenoid itself.

 

[HoleshotHolset]

Not just any cable... . a PTO cable.



Rich kid?! That's a low blow... Heck, I shutdown my truck manually for about 2 months before I finally broke down and put in a cable...



Matt

 

[JBain]

I want to thank all of you because my truck was having this exact problem and HoleshotHolset nailed in on the head. It was the shutdown selinoid sticking or not picking up. The way I figured it out is when it woun't start I got under the hood and bumped the linkage to the shutdown selinoid and it pulled up. The truck started right up. This so impressed me that I joined TDR the next day. I don't want to deal with the cable shutdown so going to put another selinoid in. My wife drives the truck alot so I want to keep it as simple as possible.

 

[HoleshotHolset]

JBain said: "I want to thank all of you because my truck was having this exact problem and HoleshotHolset nailed in on the head. "



Looks like I'm good for something around here..... :-laf



JBain - Welcome to the TDR! You have already realized that the membership fees pay for themself VERY quickly when you start to digest all the information on this site.



Glad you got it running... .



The solenoid by itself is a very simple device - you might be able to take it apart... . clean it up and re-use it. They usually do not completely fail... . you can rebuild 'em.



Matt

 

[drrhoades]

Matt,

Can you explain how you have your cable routed and or take a couple pics. I was thinkin to run it to just under the dash to just in front of the 4x4 lever and mount a bracket for it there.



Doug

 

[HoleshotHolset]

I'd love to take some pics of it... . but my truck is 1200 miles away from me... . back in Mass.



All I did was drill a hole in the firewall that was a direct shot back from the shutdown lever..... and then I drilled another hole in the plastic dash cover that is underneath the steering column. The whole cable sits almost perfectly horizontal in the truck - it's really hard to make PTO cables bend.....



On my setup... . if you're looking at the dash - there is a top ½ and a bottom ½. Just below the dividing line is the knob end of the PTO cable. It sits to the right of the steering column. I've never hit it with my knee or had any problems accessing it at all... .



The other end of the cable is clamped to the shutdown lever using a cheap piece of steel stock..... drilled and tapped to match the shutdown lever. That way I could 'sandwich' the cable in-between the shutdown lever and the piece of steel stock. I even re-used the OEM shutdown lever hardware!



I hope I explained it well enough for you... . let me know if you have any questions.



Matt

 

[KB0OU]

Cable is Cool

Please tell me more about the cable , what kind, etc.

How does it control start, run, kill????



I want to get rid of the electrical control of my engine!!!!

 

[HoleshotHolset]

All the cable does is shut the engine down... .



Since the default position for the shutdown lever on the injection pump is the 'run' position... . all you really have to do is setup your cable to pull it to the 'off' position when you want to shut it down.



Some folks have used choke cables... . some have used throttle cables..... and some have used PTO cables. The PTO cable is nice and sturdy, but it can be a pain to work with while you are installing it.



I have my cable setup so that the 'run' position is really the 'start' position... . you end up with a little more rack travel, but not much.



Matt

 

[mainer]

I had the relay for the fuel solenoid replaced, and that's what was wrong. She starts right up now, just like the good old days. My advice, after spending 500 bucks to have the solenoid replaced, is to have the relay checked or replaced before doing the solenoid - it's alot cheaper, and from what I've gotten from other posters on this thread, is most likely the culprit. Or better yet, go with Holeshots cable method - that'll rattle the cages at the dealers! Thanks again everybody

 

[JBain]

Will after reading all the posts on this subject I don't want to go the cable route so have been trouble shooting this problem. Here are my results:



1. Turn the key to the wait till it goes out light position.

2. The shut down solenoid does not move.

3. Reach down under the solenoid and pull up on the linkage and at the almost full movement the solenoid grabs the linkage and pulls it up.

4. After this happens you can't move the linkage and when you turn the key off the the valve goes shut just like it's supposed to do.

5. I cleaned all the terminals on the battery where the blue wire is connected.

6. I checked the relay by swapping it with another and got the same results.

7. I disconnected the plug that is about 6 inches from the solenoid and checked for 12VDC and there was 12VDC on the red wire but nothing on the white or black wires.



My conclusion is that the solenoid is weak or there is two parts to this solenoid one for pullup power and one to hold. I say this because there are 3 wires going to the solenoid. Is this possible? If so, there is no power going to the pull up portion of the solenoid. Where does the power come from? This pullup thing makes since because solenoids get very hot so if you turned off all but what you needed to hold the relay you would eliminate alot of heat. I looked into what a new solenoid coss and I want to make sure I don't waste my money easter egging this thing. Can you help? jb

 

[HoleshotHolset]

jb: There are two positions for the solenoid. One for the start position, and one for the run position.



Matt

 

[Joe G.]

JB,



You are correct that there are two coils; pull on and hold. Test these with two test leads at least 10 gage wire and a smaller test lead. On the connector you have found connect the large black wire to a ground. Connect the small colored wire to 12 volts. Touch the large white wire with 12 volts. The solenoid should pull up and hold.



If this does not happen then disconnect the linkage from the solenoid to the injection pump and try it again. Many times the linkage just gets dirty and sticks.



If the fuel solenoid pulls up when you test it then your problem is elsewhere.



Since you have already tested the relay by replaceing it, I suspect that the problem is the blue wire from the positive post on the driver's side battery. It is a fuseable link. Test it by attaching one of your heavy test leads from the positive terminal of the battery to the other end of the blue wire. If the fuel solenoid then works properly, get a new blue wire.

 

[JBain]

Hi Joe, tried what you recommended and the solenoid pulled up and seemed to work fine. I checked all the wiring going to the pull-up relay and found nothing wrong. I thing I was wondering was what turns the relay on to energize the pull-up coil? That is where I stopped trouble shooting. It must have something to do with a component that energizes for only a few seconds or until the hold coil takes effect. This problem is very intermittent it now works fine. Thanks for your time. jb

 

[Joe G.]

The basic operation is that when the key is in run the small wire is hot on the three wire connector directly from the start/run ignition key circuit. When the the key is turned to start the white wire is hot to pull up the solenoid. The relay is connected to the start ignition key circuit. The relay closes a high amperage circuit to energise the white wire. The source of this high amperage power is the blue fusable link from the battery. This circuit is hot until the key returns to the run position. The start circuit also involves the starter solenoid, but as long as it cranks good the problem is probably the blue wire.