Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) Truck Died Vp44?

[DPelzl]

OK yesterday i was pulling my 5th wheel heading out to the desert. About an hour into the trip my truck just shut off. Once i got it stopped and off the side of the road and cranked for about 30 seconds it started again but only for about a minute then would not start again. I had a good 15LBS of fuel pressure and the fuel filter was full but when i cracked an injector line i got nothing. I started calling buddies and about 4 hours later trailer and truck are home (thank God for friends). This morning i hooked up a scanner and i got 4 codes; p1689, p0251, p0253 and p1688. When it let go i thought vp44 and from what i can tell all codes point to the VP44. I have 2 questions am i right, VP shot? And since my buddies are out riding where i want to be can i get one around here in Southern Ca. quick. I am off for the week and planned on spending 8 days out there. I want a good pump that will last. any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[Mishkaya]

This is taken from JLandry



1. Verify that the 20 amp fuse number 3 located in the PDC (Power Distribution Center on the driver's fender under the hood isn't blown). This fuse supplies power to the ECM, PCM, and VP44. Pull the fuse and verify battery voltage is present on one side of the fuse socket even with the ignition switch off.



If that checks out then...



2. Make sure the fuel injection pump is receiving power when the ignition switch is on. Do this by verifying pin 7 of the fuel injection pump wiring harness connector has battery voltage present. The wire leading to pin 7 in the connector should be Red with a Light Green stripe. If it doesn't have power, then the Fuel Injection Pump relay in the PDC is suspect. To trouble shoot that, try swapping this relay out with another non-essential relay (like the horn relay) to see if that corrects the problem.



3. If you still don't have power at pin 7 of the VP44 connector (after swapping out the fuel injection pump relay), pull the fuel injection pump relay from its socket and verify that ~12v is present at pin 86 of the fuel injection pump relay socket when the ignition key is on. If not, then you might have and ECM or wiring harness problem which can be explored in more detail.



If none of the above helped...



4. Try swapping out the ASD relay located in the PDC with another non-essential relay of the same size such as the wiper relay.



Good luck and keep us posted.



Best regards,



John L.



This said, it does sound like your VP44 took a dump on you. I don't know however the best place to get a replacement in your area.

Mishkaya

 

[DPelzl]

Thanks for the reply. Thats good info and i will try. Unfortunately I think I am going to be looking for a pump. anybody know where i can get a good pump in Southern ca. I want to go riding.
thanks
Dan

 

[JLandry]

am i right, VP shot?

With those DTC's and symptoms... ABSOLUTELY!

And since my buddies are out riding where i want to be can i get one around here in Southern Ca. quick.

If you're not worried about getting best price, any Dodge dealer should have one... or be able to get one real quick. Possibly a Cummins shop might carry them also.



Good luck,



John L.

 

[fmj]

johns right, its the vp. i had the same thing happen a few weeks ago. coming home just outside of barstow towing 5er, everything went dead. i've had gage and have never seen pressure under 10 lbs. i've since added a pusher pumb and not seen under 16 for two years, all to no avail :{. it would start but as soon as tried to move it died. then finally took a dive and wouldn't start at all. we were on I80 and barely off road. not where i wanted it to happen. the only code i kicked was 1689 on key reader. had to put ob reader on to see other codes. towed into barstow and had to wait two days, it was weekend of course. got to pay way more than it should have cost, but had no choice. when i got home i still had to pull apps, pendium, etc. so i could get to pump as some of the lines were loose #@$%!. i'm still trying to find out why my friggen cruise control won't work. your a bit luckier in that it let go and you were able to get it home. if i could have done that i would have replaced the pump myself and got it from industrial or one of those. you should be able to get it replaced in a day or so once you get pump, or less if you can do it. if you do a search there a thread that gets you to youtube and has 5 videos that show you how to do it. that might be another option. good luck and i'll be thinking of you while i'm out at the desert riding tuesday thru next week :-laf. sorry had to do that.

 

[JR2]

Look in your local phone book for a Bosch Injection Shop, just about all of them should have VP44's. You could also get Industrial Injection to next day air you one.

 

[duckcarvr]

according to midwest fuel injection if you have a 1688 code look no further. i replaced mine through them and they had the best deal they had free shipping and no up front core charge. dont know if that is still the deal or not. robert

 

[DPelzl]

thanks guys. I put up this post last night and thought i was on my own. I check this morning and you guys have restored my faith, thanks again. I did go through the You tube vp44 install looks straight forward enough but i hope i don't drop the key (knock on wood). I am going to make a few local calls if not i will try to find someone within a days shipping. I have done allot of searches and it looks like opinions are all over the board on which VP44 to get. Some say the Blue chip is the way to go others say any re-builder as long as they change out the electronics. Anyone want to put in their 2 cents?

 

[DPelzl]

just a update. I ordered a pump from Industrial Injection and they are sending it NDA so I should have it tomorrow morning. I pulled the old pump out earlier today. Piece of cake only took a couple of hours and I didn't drop the key ( but it was close). I may make it out to the desert yet. thanks again.