Engine spitting and sputtering, dying.

[BikerDash]

Helped a friend move the other day. Engine ran fine all day long. Later afternoon, finally finished helping him move, on the way home, the truck starts spitting and sputtering. Give it any gas, and she threatens to die. Limped it to the side of the road and she stalled out. After waiting a bit, I was able to get it started, and she ran fine for a couple miles, then did the same thing. Happened a third time before I managed to limp her home.

Had been running the truck a lot that day. High heat and humidity. Thought it might be lack of spark, so changed the plug wires. Started beautifully, but quickly started spitting and sputtering again. Seems to be able to idle forever as long as I do not put any load on the engine.

Truck is an 03 1500 Quad Cab 5.9 Magnum automatic 4x4

Any assistance in diagnosing this issue is appreciated.

 

[Ramnewbie]

Just a shot in the dark here but I'd check fuel pump pressure.

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[SYKRAMMAN]

No codes popped? Try the key trick to see if ther is any codes.

Like ramnewbie said, check fuel pressure, test spark strength, maybe a compression test too.

 

[BikerDash]

No codes popped? Try the key trick to see if ther is any codes.

Like ramnewbie said, check fuel pressure, test spark strength, maybe a compression test too.

Key trick?
Sadly, I lack the tools needed to check fuel pressure and compression. I doubt it would be compression, though because she runs perfectly normal for a few moments before she starts to die out.
Getting excellent spark, so I am gonna guess it is likely fuel...
Could dirty injectors cause this issue?

 

[valvestem]

I had a Subaru once that did what you describe, it ended up being the coil, after 7 trips to the shop, someone said we did everything else, lets swap in a new coil. This was the year before they went to coil packs on all cylinders.

 

[BikerDash]

I had a Subaru once that did what you describe, it ended up being the coil, after 7 trips to the shop, someone said we did everything else, lets swap in a new coil. This was the year before they went to coil packs on all cylinders.

Did your car start spitting and sputtering after a short period of running smoothly when you started the car?

 

[JohnnyMac]

I had a Subaru once that did what you describe, it ended up being the coil, after 7 trips to the shop, someone said we did everything else, lets swap in a new coil. This was the year before they went to coil packs on all cylinders.

I had the same thing on both a VW bug and a boat. I would start it up and after a few minutes the coil would start heating up and the spark would slowly fade until it died. Let it sit for a bit and wash, rinse, repeat. In the bug I drove from central Oregon all the way down to central Cali on highway 101 in 15 minute spurts....

I also had a 2000 Ram 1500 and the battery was bad enough that it would provide just enough spark to idle and drive slow, but once I applied any load, it would sputter and buck. New battery fixed that one.

 

[SYKRAMMAN]

thats why they should have a backup battery to keep consistent voltage.

 

[BikerDash]

I had the same thing on both a VW bug and a boat. I would start it up and after a few minutes the coil would start heating up and the spark would slowly fade until it died. Let it sit for a bit and wash, rinse, repeat. In the bug I drove from central Oregon all the way down to central Cali on highway 101 in 15 minute spurts....

I also had a 2000 Ram 1500 and the battery was bad enough that it would provide just enough spark to idle and drive slow, but once I applied any load, it would sputter and buck. New battery fixed that one.

Okay, you're describing EXACTLY what my truck is doing.
As for the battery possibly being the issue, I never would have thought of that, considering gow quickly and strongly she cranks when she does start. Still, I can see a bad battery acting fine at first, then dying quickly when a load is applied.
The truck DID spend a lot of time idling that day this started.

 

[BikerDash]

Okay, question, if it is the battery, and I hook up a friend's vehicle to mine with jumpers, would that stop the sputtering and dying out? (while the truck is being jumped)

 

[Ocelot]

For step one, I would absolutely check to see if it threw any codes. If there are any codes it will at least point you to the right direction. If you can't do it yourself, most chain auto parts stores, Autozone, Advance Auto, etc, will do it for free. These days it's only a few bucks to pick up your own OBDII reader and a valuable tool to keep on hand.

Those symptoms could point to several different problems. I had the nearly Identical problem on my Chevy Colorado and it turned out to be one of the coil packs. As soon as it would heat up, the truck would sputter and die. The more I hit the gas pedal, the worse it would spit and sputter. My OBDII reader pulled a code that pointed to a misfire on cylinder #1.

Ray

 

[BikerDash]

Yeah... just getting the truck up to any of the stores...
About 100% certain it is the coil. If I had a good code reader, I could check for certain. Problem is, a good one is gonna cost me a hell of a lot more than a new coil, and with the help given here, and the help of a friend, it's pretty much narrowed down to being the coil.

(I'm gonna save up for a decent reader, though)

 

[BikerDash]

Okay... NOT the coil...

 

[BikerDash]

Where the hell is the fuel filter on these trucks? O'Rielly Auto says that there is no fuel filter that they can order, and I've not seen any such filter as many times as I have been under the truck...

 

[SYKRAMMAN]

Filter is part of the fuel pump in the tank.

Your going to need to have the truck put on a scanner that can preform live data testing to see what all the sensors, pcm, is doing. Otherwise you’ll end up throwing parts at it that aren’t broken.

 

[JohnnyMac]

Okay, question, if it is the battery, and I hook up a friend's vehicle to mine with jumpers, would that stop the sputtering and dying out? (while the truck is being jumped)

I wouldn't let it run too long with your your buddy's battery connected unless his engine is off. If both engines are running, then there are issues with two charging systems running at the same time and I've heard of damaging PCM's with overvoltages and such. If you just run jumper cables and leave his/her engine off, then it might help if his/her battery is nice and strong and the jumper cables are quality. Worth a try I guess.

Another option to test the battery...If you have a cheap volt meter, you can put it on the battery and for one, see what the engine off voltage is (should be at least 12.3 ish if it's below that it's either bad or your charging system is weak) and then check it while cranking (it shouldn't drop below 10 vdc while cranking and if it does then the battery is bad) then check it while running (should be 13 to 13.8 ish and if it isn't your charging system is weak or bad). That will at least help to eliminate the battery. Good luck and keep us in the loop.

 

[BikerDash]

Gonna pull the battery tomorrow and take it in to be tested

 

[SYKRAMMAN]

Gonna pull the battery tomorrow and take it in to be tested

Bring the truck with you if you can so they can check the charging system too.

 

[BikerDash]

Okay, I got ahold of a code reader and checked. No codes popping up.
Too much back pressure caused by a clogged cat? I pray that I aint got something physically wrong with the engine itself...

 

[14Tradesman]

Call me crazy but that doesnt sound like a battery problem. Trucks electrical system should be running off the alternator once its started the way I have always understood it.

My bet is on lack of fuel/fuel pump issue or you still have a coil issue. Many a brand new coil have been bad from the factory.


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