Hey guys, I've been having some trouble getting my 2001 1500 5.2L started in the morning. It has always been a little tough to start (3-4 seconds of cranking first thing in the morning or after it has been sitting a few hours) since I got it in 2007, but never like this.

Lately I go to start it first thing in the morning (has not happened in the afternoon) and I just get a "click" the first time .. it won't even crank. I wait a few seconds and try again and it almost cranks. I keep trying and after about 5 or 6 tries it eventually cranks and fires up. After it has been driven the truck starts right up every time with almost no cranking. I experienced it yesterday morning leaving for work (temps in the upper 50s) but when I left work (temps in the low 70s) the truck cranked a few times and started up. It does run a little rough (~800 RPM @ idle) for the first 1 or 2 minutes then evens out (to about 600ish RPM @ idle) after that.

The CEL is on and is showing P0455 which is a "gross evap leak". Could this be the cause of or contributing to the problem or is it likely just a faulty gas cap? I do have the "wild vents" issue and general lack of power and thought it might be related to the CEL but I can live with that for now.

Anybody have any ideas? I would really love to be the owner of a truck that starts reliably! Any help would be GREATLY apppreciated! Thanks!

 

Get a fuel pressure tester and see if the system is holding pressure, sounds like pressure regulator is bad.


Rough idle could be that, bad or dirty IAC and/or the code you have. The purge solenoid located on the passenger side fender well could be faulty, follow the hoses that go to it and see if they are bad or the black plastic canister is cracked.

And you can read this thread https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen...ild-vents.html may help with the wild vent issue. Also the lack of power is most likely due to the combination of a bad plenum ,cat, death flash . Do search on those here and you"ll find lots of info. But I would fix the cel issue first.

 

Thanks for the tips. Is the FPR located with the pump, internal to the gas tank? How tough is it to change out if that is the problem? I don't really know all that much about working on cars so I am thinking this may be beyond my skill set.

 

if it does the click the first time every time then you should get a hammer or a wrench and tap on the starter before you start it again (when you know that it will click). it might be a sticking starter solenoid thats making it click on the first try.

tap it ... here^

also listen to zman. but as far as the click goes, try this.

 

I forgot about that part, oops! Check all the battery cables, starter cables and ground wires too.

 

Sounds like a battery connection,bad battery,or starter going bad.Very strange things happen to these trucks if the battery is weak or it's going south.

 

if you happen to need a battery then save some $$ and go to walmart and get a 65$ everstart maxx battery. 1000 cranking amps with 850cca is a big step up from a stock 600 amp battery. plus you get 3 year free replacement and 72 month pro rated.

the stock band style battery clamps suck (they corrode and break) and should be replaced with the 3$ lead clamps. to keep corrosion from building up you should do like me and get the felt pads to put under the new lead clamps and coat them in liquid electric tape. the liquid tape can be ripped off if you need to get cables on them or take the battery loose.