Hey guys, I'm new to the forum but I've got a huge problem I need your help with. My Dodge is a 97 1500 5.2 318 automatic 2wd standard cab. Last week I went out to my truck in the morning to start her up and go to work, got in and turned the key and it just cranked and cranked with no start. I opened the hood and checked for spark at the coil and throughout the distributor and there was power at every point I checked. Next I took off the air filter housing and sprayed starter fluid into the intake and sure enough if started up for a second. Like a dummy I went and grabbed a used fuel pump thinking that was the problem, dropped the tank, installed the pump and connected everything. Went to start it anxiously awaiting it to fire up and NOTHING! I then took off the connector to the fuel pump and started checking for power at every wire. I found the wire going to the level had about 6 or 7 volts. The power wire going to the actual pump was dead. Then I traced them up to the PDB (power distribution block) and found nothing broken or cut. At this point I was stumped so I jumped online and spent all night and the next day after I got off work looking for an answer. Some people say bad relay but I swapped them out and even bought a new one for my fuel pump, same problem. Some people say ASD relay but wouldn't that give a no spark issue along with no fuel?? Some say bad PCM but I am not going out and buying unnecessary parts just to spend money and not fix my truck again. All the grounds looked good but today I am going out and removing, cleaning and installing them just to be 100% sure that's not the issue. Please guys anything helps. Sorry if someone has already fixed this issue before please point me to it because it's been ONE WEEK out of commission, no truck, got mono during the fuel pump removal and now left with NO JOB. Really great week.

Thanks,
Ray

 

Swap the ASD relay with the horn relay for instance. And just so you know, it is near impossible to check the power wire to the pump by yourself. As it only runs for like 2 seconds before power is shut down. Do you hear the pump prime when you first turn the key? And have you verified pressure with a gauge ? Not an easy task btw, as you have a plastic fuel rail I'm sure.

 

First: What Zman said.

If you've got no power to the pump at any time then its an electrical problem and time to start troubleshooting it as such. The coil of the fuel pump relay in the PDC gets/should get B+ (battery positive) on pin 86 whenever the key is in the Run or Start positions, and ground should be switched to the other side of the coil on pin 85 by the PCM. As Zman said, it'll only be there for a couple of seconds unless you turn the key to Start, or cycle it to Off then Run again. The easy way to check it: Hang a 12V test light on there, with the alligator clip on the positive battery terminal and the probe tip in the relay socket (on pin 85) of the PDC. The lamp should light for a couple of seconds when you switch the ignition switch to On. You can test the other side of the socket with the same cheesy probe, with the alligator clip on battery negative and the probe tip in the appropriate hole of the relay socket.

If you're not getting the proper relay coil power you go upstream, toward the PCM or the ignition switch, depending upon which is indicated by your previous testing. If you are getting that power, then you go downstream toward the fuel pump. You should see B+ on pin 30 of the relay at all times -- another quick 'n' easy 12V test light check.

Rather than futz around writing a novel full of information you won't need, howzabout you do those checks and get back to us. It's a simple enough circuit and the only tricky part is getting at the connector atop the fuel pump.

 

Thanks for getting back to me so quick guys. Greatly appreciated. Well Zman I should have mentioned that I had already switched out the ASD relay with the two other relays there, the horn and the other relay and nothing happened. I have no pressure in the fuel line and the pump does not kick on. I could not find a test port on the fuel line/rail so I just pulled off the fuel line from the rail, put a length of rubber line on it and left it hanging there to see if anything came out....Nothing. The coil HAS power. I put an in-line spark tester on the coil to distributor and that tested good. then from the distributor to each cylinder and those all tested good. Last night I went home to re-check all of my grounds and clean them and they were all good as well. Then I decided to just wire in a toggle switch for the fuel pump and even with 12V going to it ...NOTHING. I was so fed up with it, I dropped the tank again and pulled the fuel pump to check and make sure it was good....IT IS A BAD PUMP. That's what I get for buying it at a junk yard. I am going right now to raise hell and pick up another "good" fuel pump. Dont worry I'm bringing my test cables and testing it there before I bring it home and install. I will keep you posted.

 

Thanks for saving me the bother of saying that same thing to you!

No matter how ya slice it, everything they've got comes out of scrapped vehicles. I can see picking up silly things like dome lights and heater blowers at a wrecking yard, but unless I were stranded in BFE with no auto parts stores nearby, I'd never get any other electrical components from the junk yard.

I hope you get lucky with the next one and don't have to go for a third.

 

I'm sure money is tight like for all of us, but even if you find one at the JY that work's now. It probably won't for very much longer. I suggest you get one from the parts store that you can afford. At least it might work longer than one from the JY.

 

UnregisteredUser then what about a main wiring harness for a 1996 Dodge Ram? Find one that isn't in a junkyard...

 

That fits into my definition of silly things. Ain't much to go wrong with a harness if it doesn't have any smoky bits.

 

Ahh... So is an axle a silly piece? LOL j/k.

 

Kidding or not, I just gotta say that an axle is not an electrical component.