help with fuel shut off...

[Todd T]

blake, my problem turned out to be an unusual one. the connection to the starter relay in the PDC was loose underneath the relay. i had to take apart my PDC and fix it.



the first thing you should look at is the fuel shut off relay. it is on the firewall above the fuel filter. there are two little (1" squared) black boxes with wires going to them, up there. the one closest to the brake booster is the fuel shut off relay, the other is the ASD relay and you wont mess with it. you can replace it for about $25-$30.



to test your shut off solenoid, open the connector and apply a ground to the black wire and power to the red wire. the relay should pull up every time you do this. if it doesnt, then the shut off SOLENOID is bad. if it does pull up each time, i would replace the RELAY (on the firewall) and that should fix your problem.



PS dont thank ME thank Barry. he was my manual, as i kept running outside to check things. i was at work and all i had was a cheapy Haynes manual i keep in the truck. my "good book" was at home



thanks again Barry

 

[Blakers]

Thanks Todd and Barry,



I'm going to check out that relay tomorrow. One thing I have noticed - and the thing that first gave me the impression that my grid heaters were the blame - is that when I turn the key to the "heat" position, if the truck is not going to start the grid heaters won't come on and the interior light does not dim. But if the truck is going to start this time, the light will dim.



But it is not just the grid heater not working at that time - the shutoff solenoid is not raising either. So are they both actuated by the shutoff relay?



This problem is sporadic and does not happen all the time. It does not seem to be temperature related - perhaps the connection in the relay is loose and is being affected by vibration or movement of the truck, hence the inconsistancy?



Thanks.



Blake:{

 

[Blakers]

I've been off here for awhile, so I want to tell what I found out with my starting problems... .



I checked and tested everything according to the shop manual and found nothing wrong with connections. After my last post my truck began to start just fine and never gave anymore trouble.



Coincidentally, my cousin's 1998 3500 did the same thing as mine -- would not start because shut down solenoid would not lift at start. His too began to run right again and never gave any trouble.



I am blaming both truck problems on road salt spray that most likely got into the connections down near the starter solenoid. It was probably a unique combination of just the right amount of salt spray and the right humidity that caused both trucks to act up at the same time. When the weather changed a little, everything was fine.



Perhaps this sounds like nuts! I think so too, but ??? I am one who tries to always find an absolute problem and fix it, but this one avoided me and went away on its own.



Thanks for everyone's help.



Blake