My truck is a quitter.

[gregjo1948]

2001 2500 Ram with 5.9 Cummins diesel and 5 speed manual. Engine is randomly quitting. So far, it has restarted within one minute. I added a bottle of fuel treatment. I changed the fuel filter and water separator, and it still quits. When running, it's holding 18 psi fuel pressure. Could it be the lift pump dying, cam sensor, or crank sensor? Would appreciate any help you can offer, gregjo1948

 

[Travelin Ram]

Could be any of those, or the VP44 injection pump, not to mention all the wiring connections and PCM. Not to be dismissive, but figuring it out via the WEBZ will be a long slog.

Are you set up with a fuel pressure gauge to observe it in motion? The lift pump is a notorious problem, however usually a primed VP44 will continue to run, although long term negative pressure at the VP44 inlet is damaging.

Under what conditions does it die? Idle, WOT, cruising?

 

[gregjo1948]

Engine has shut down in most conditions. From setting still at idle to 60mph at 1800rpm. Have not had a heavy load on the truck since this has started, just an empty box/bed.

 

[gregjo1948]

Could be any of those, or the VP44 injection pump, not to mention all the wiring connections and PCM. Not to be dismissive but figuring it out via the WEBZ will be a long slog.

Are you set up with a fuel pressure gauge to observe it in motion? The lift pump is a notorious problem, however usually a primed VP44 will continue to run, although long term negative pressure at the VP44 inlet is damaging.

Under what conditions does it die? Idle, WOT, cruising?

Could be any of those, or the VP44 injection pump, not to mention all the wiring connections and PCM. Not to be dismissive, but figuring it out via the WEBZ will be a long slog.

Are you set up with a fuel pressure gauge to observe it in motion? The lift pump is a notorious problem, however usually a primed VP44 will continue to run, although long term negative pressure at the VP44 inlet is damaging.

Under what conditions does it die? Idle, WOT, cruising?

I'm using the Titanium Fass 27707 lift pump and have installed new water/fuel separator filters. The engine will fire up and run at any rpms, but it will randomly quit. Does not skip on one-two-three cylinders. It drops all cylinders together and it is under any running condition, setting still at idle or running down the road at 60 mph. I have a fuel pressure gauge mounted on the door/windshield post and it reads 18 psi. I thought maybe water in fuel but have added fuel conditioner and more fuel which didn't help. Sometimes it quits and catches itself before completely shutting down. It feels like the ignition key is turned off. Is the lift pump supposed to run all the time or is it controlled by pressure?

 

[Travelin Ram]

The lift pump needs to run continuously, because the injection pump is not designed suck fuel at negative pressure. It’ll do it for a short time, but that’s a known killer of those injection pumps.

Sounds like a wiring fault to me the injection pump is electronically controlled. It receives a PWM signal that controls the injection pressure IIRC. So anything in the power/ control to the pump or the ECM itself is suspect.

Doesn’t sound like a fuel contaminant at all.

 

[gregjo1948]

The lift pump needs to run continuously, because the injection pump is not designed suck fuel at negative pressure. It’ll do it for a short time, but that’s a known killer of those injection pumps.

Sounds like a wiring fault to me the injection pump is electronically controlled. It receives a PWM signal that controls the injection pressure IIRC. So anything in the power/ control to the pump or the ECM itself is suspect.

Doesn’t sound like a fuel contaminant at all.

I agree about not contamination--the lift pump isn't running continuously so I'll run a hot wire to it to verify that's the problem. If it is, I'll track down the reason for random power supply. Have you ever seen any Fass pump quit randomly when it has continuous power?

 

[Travelin Ram]

I have no experience with Fass, unfortunately. I would not expect the truck to die abruptly when the lift pump shuts off. But I suppose if it’s been intermittent for a while the VP44 may be damaged.

Getting the lift pump sorted needs doing certainly.

 

[gregjo1948]

Maybe when the lift pump stops running it takes a little time for the Vp44 to empty and when it does there's complete shutdown.

 

[gregjo1948]

I have no experience with Fass, unfortunately. I would not expect the truck to die abruptly when the lift pump shuts off. But I suppose if it’s been intermittent for a while the VP44 may be damaged.

Getting the lift pump sorted needs doing certainly.

Would you know how the lift pump is powered? Does it go thru the computer or just the ignition. I do know it won't run until the engine has been cranked over so it is wired thru the starter somehow.

 

[Travelin Ram]

Unfortunately I’ve never had a reason to get into the pump wiring. I’m pretty sure with factory wiring the lift pump runs as soon as the ignition switch is in run, not only just when you crank it. There should be positive fuel pressure to the VP44 before it ever turns over.

Could be a wiring failure or perhaps whoever installed the FASS had a “better idea” on how to wire it.

Second thought, I’ve been assuming the FASS pump will allow fuel to flow forward to the engine if the VP 44 is creating suction pressure. That may not be true; a stopped FASS may block fuel flow. I’m not familiar with them.

I am more a believer in OEM solutions, but that being said I had one of these trucks new and there were enough factory lift pumps failing to generate some buzz at the time.

 

[gregjo1948]

The lift pump will not run until the starter has been, at least momentarily, engaged. Turn the key until starter starts to crank and immediately release it and the pump will run. I believe that is an original factory set up. My problem is the Fass won't stay running. I checked the relay and it's working as it should. Next I'm going to run a hot wire from the battery to the Fass to see if it will then continue to run. Greg

 

[gregjo1948]

Do you know if there is a fuel shut-off solenoid? If there is, where is it? I 'm sure there is on the 1st generation, but I haven't found one on this 2nd generation.

 

[Jkidd]

I would start at the PCM/ECM. Mine was doing the same thing. It would run for anywhere from 5-30+ then shut off. Turns out that my PCM/ECM was overheating causing the truck to shut down. Hope this helps.

 

[gregjo1948]

I sent my computer out to be checked/tested/repaired. Will know today if that cured the quitting.

 

[gregjo1948]

I know this is an old thread but I'll post anyway. The Fass pump starts running when the starter is engaged. The engine doesn't need to be started. If the starter is bumped and the key is left to "ignition on" position, the Fass lift pump will be running. I had the ECM rebuilt and the engine still randomly shuts down.

 

[crazykid1994]

I’m not a diesel guy but may want to install a fuel pressure gauge and see if the fuel pressure is dropping out causing the engine to die. And maybe get a scanner with live data so you can monitor the engine parameters to see if anything obvious is cutting out before the truck shuts off.

 

[gregjo1948]

Fuel pressure is 18psi. Check engine light is on and codes are P1693 and P 1698. Don't know what they mean or how to repair the problem. Engine still quits randomly.

 

[crazykid1994]

You have 2 codes. Google works great at figuring out what they mean. 1698 comes up as trans control unit failure. 1693 comes up as a engine failure but requires a better scanner to read ecm codes to know what the ecm is telling the pcm