Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) P0216, P1689, and 1693 codes.

[madmanmanick]

So I was driving and the check gauges light came on and my volts was at 0 but everything was running good. I checked the battery volts and they were both 14.5 volts. I shut the truck off and started it up and it was fine after that. Then I was on a road trip and cruise control was on and engine was running at 2000 rpm. Then the throttle pedal went to the floor and the truck and rpm started slowing. I pulled over and pulled the fuel pump relay and the truck shut off and the CEL was on. I restarted it and it worked fine for a while. The next day the truck would not run right at all. I figured since I was seeing no fuel pressure on my gauge that the lift pump had gone so I changed it. All the codes cleared themselves. Now do you all think I got those codes because if pulling the relay, or is my VP44 on its way out the door? Also have any of you had a FASS direct replacement pump go out, that is what I had. Go figure it crapped out 6 months after the warranty expired.

 

[SnoKing]

How many miles on the truck? How many miles on the VP-44, on my 2001.5 the original VP-44 crapped at 52K with dead pedal events aand P0216 code. Had started with longer crank times in hot weather. I replaced it with one from MWFI. Snoking

 

[madmanmanick]

144,424 for the truck and pump.

 

[BarryG]

I would go to blue chip diesel website and check out the troubleshooting and diagnostic info. The1689 code is not good news for the vp44

 

[klcammie]

I have never had a 1689 but have had the 216 four times and it turned out to be a loose connection that was shutting down the lift pump. Check the big connection on the firewall the one with the white bale. The bale must be to the left.

 

[HHhuntitall]

Hmm, to me, that sounds more like an electrical issue.... I've seen that set of codes before, and once it was a ground wire from the passenger battery, and another it was a ECM failure. The ECM failure was on a welding truck, with over twice the mileage, though.... It had been jumped off recently before the ECM quit.

The ground wire is the smaller wire that grounds the PCM on the firewall. It had corroded at a splice down on the fender. My suggestion is to examine and clean the battery cables thoroughly on both sides, and test your batteries. It's likely the chassis lost ground, but the engine ECM didn't, explaining the running but no voltmeter scenario. The voltmeter is driven from the PCM (which also regulates voltage), while engine stats are driven from the ECM through the PCM circuits. ALso, I'd suggest verifying fuel pressure and lift pump operation. Another one of my customer's trucks, also a 2001 model, has taken to not giving a lift pump ground for operation, keeping it from coming on. After scratching my head a few days, I also found it threw random codes that have no definition, but no CEL. I'm convinced the ECM is malfunctioning, after finding out it had a much larger aftermarket pump on it for some time, pulling more amps than it should through the ECM. If your lift pump isn't working, verify it has voltage before condemning it.

As for the FASS, I've returned quite a few for warranty and repair. Sadly, they're good, but not perfect. But if the pump wasn't getting noisy before, it's probably not that.

The bulkhead connectors aren't a bad idea to check, if you've checked everything else. I rarely see problems from any that aren't tampered with, as they're usually pretty weather proof.

The tips at Blue Chip diesel are certainly helpful. That guy knows his pumps!!