Starting problem

[tkerrigan]

My son-in-laws 2006 2500 auto 4WD completely stock truck failed to start for two days. It would fire just one cylinder, then continue to spin the engine. No codes. We tried the obvious, excersized elect. connections, checked fuses, what worked was disconnecting the batteries for twenty minutes. Ran perfectly for 10 miles. He went back out and started it again and it is missing lightly now. He had gone 105,000 miles with out changing the fuel filter. New one was put in 5000 miles ago. We are going to change the fuel filter again tomorrow and check for codes again. Any other suggestions or experiences?

 

[rbattelle]

He had gone 105,000 miles with out changing the fuel filter.

WOW!



I'm surprised, actually, that the filter didn't plug up before then.



Now, in my opinion, filters filter better the more packed with dirt they are, the ultimate end being a plugged filter which is, literally, filtering everything out. So I'm not inclined to immediately suggest that dirt fouled the fuel system.



However, we must consider water separation. I assume that a filter whose job it is to filter contaminants and remove water, left alone for 105000 miles, will stop removing water after, oh, something like 30000 miles depending on local fuel conditions.



I'm also going to assume that your SIL, not being of mind to change the filter, never bothered to drain the water bowl either.



What I'm getting at is, your SIL may quite possibly have destroyed his fuel system with water contamination.



But there's not really any way to know that for sure unless you dismantle the system, which you don't want to do unless you have to.



The engine needs 2 things to run: air and fuel. Has he changed the air filter in the last 110000 miles?



Of course, an electronic engine also needs a good crank signal. Check the crank sensor to be sure it's not clogged. If there were a signal problem, I'd expect a code.



You might check flow from the lift pump, too. A quick, dirty way to do this might be to open the water drain valve and turn the key to "RUN". Fuel should come pouring out the drain line.



It would be really nice to be able to measure rail pressure in this condition, to see if there's some CP-3 or perhaps pressure relief problem.



-Ryan

 

[tkerrigan]

Luckily, he always fuels up in high volume stations. This morning after disconnecting batteries again, wouldn't start. Maybe it was the crank sensor, as I had also excersized it while he was disconnecting the batteries last night. Will work on it again tomorrow. Thanks for the suggestions.

 

[Wingate]

turn the key on, bump the key, let it sit for about 5 minutes and see if it will start. Hopefully you will hear the pump running. Another thing would be to try and plug it in overnight and see if it will light off. Also, load test both batteries and make sure all the terminals are clean.

 

[tkerrigan]

Well, it wouldn't start again this morning so he shipped it to the Dodge dealer in Albany, OR. It turned out to be a bad tank of fuel and plugged full of water fuel filter. Sure would have been nice if the WIF lamp had worked. He got out of there for about $250, seems pretty reasonable to me. Thanks for all the help, had me fooled, never did run rough.

 

[TCDiesel]

Well, it wouldn't start again this morning so he shipped it to the Dodge dealer in Albany, OR. It turned out to be a bad tank of fuel and plugged full of water fuel filter. Sure would have been nice if the WIF lamp had worked. He got out of there for about $250, seems pretty reasonable to me. Thanks for all the help, had me fooled, never did run rough.

If that Much water created a NO start condition, YOU are NOT gonna repair it for $250. 00. either the the ******* is lying or it will return... .

 

[tkerrigan]

Seems like they would have tried to sell an injector replacement job or something if they were being crooked. SIL has about 400 miles on it now and still running strong.

 

[TCDiesel]

Time will Tell, just need to exercise caution. I would Not put it pass any dealer to lie. I could go on & on How bad the teaslers are bad around Here.

 

[rbattelle]

If that Much water created a NO start condition, YOU are NOT gonna repair it for $250. 00

I tend to agree. But I wish him well.



-Ryan