Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) Need diagnostic help for a fellows dead truck.

[CRSmith]

This is copied from another forum. I'm trying to convince him he needs to join. Anyone with any ideas????







99 Cummins Died... .



Just bought the truck yesterday. This morning I was coming up the hill to my house and it just died.

Might be out of fuel... it was at 1/8th (ligth didnt go on yet though)

but what else could've happend?

It turns over but doesn't fire.

This is my first diesel, so i'm kinda clueless.

it has 70,000 miles.

Thanks

Josh











have you tried to put more fuel in it yet?













yeah, put more fuel in it... . Didn't change anything.

I'm very enw to diesels... but... the lift pump (the big one on the side of the engine) makes a buzzing sound when i

turn it over. then after like 8 seconds, the buzzing sounds changes for about 5 seconds then it stops. The valve on

the lift pump shows thata there is fuel going into it

Also, whe i turn the key, the "wait to start light" deosnt' go on.

Also, when i turn the key... the buzzer beeps 6 times, then like a 3 second silence, and then beeps four more times.

Any ideas?

Thanks

Josh

 

[RustyJC]

Sounds like:



1. He has a bad fuel gauge sending unit.



2. He ran it out of fuel.



3. If it has stock injectors, adding fuel is the first step, but it likely won't suffice since he now has air in the high pressure side of the fuel system.



4. (If he is a diesel novice, he needs to get someone who knows what he is doing to help him with this step - he could hurt or kill himself if he injects fuel through his skin and into his bloodstream. ) He will probably have to slightly loosen (i. e. , "crack") a couple of injector fuel line nuts at the cylinder head and then crank the truck until he gets solid fuel flow at those injector crossover tubes at which point he can tighten the nuts back up. When the truck finally cranks, it will smoke and run like heck until the air gets purged out of the other high pressure fuel lines and injectors.



EDIT: Oops - I missed the "64" code the buzzer is spitting out. That's not a 4 character OBD-II code, so the above may be all wet depending on the meaning of the code.



Rusty

 

[CRSmith]

Lets say for arguments sake, he didn't run out of fuel and the fuel filter isn't clogged. Could this be anything other than a VP44 failure?

 

[ntillm01]

Computer or connections

I agree with rusty and the buzzer clue. I'm assuming it's the chime and not a buzzer. I have an 01 that I'm getting familiar with through the Factory Service Manual and something else comes to mind.



Rusty-does it "chime" out trouble codes like that in 99?



The first six chimes... seat belt reminder. Three seconds later more computers do their self-check. Four chimes... the only thing that can make four chimes is an air bag system indication of trouble. I'm not saying the air bag computer can keep the engine from running, but could be saying something is wrong electrically.



I may be all wet trying to compare 99 to 01, but combine that with "no wait to start light" and I'd vote for computer/electrical problems.



The 99's might not have it, but have him hold the trip reset in, then turn the key on. The cluster will self-check. Might tell us more.