Hi Guys, Im new, but Ive been searching these forums for common issues with my ram, lots of good info here.. There is one problem, which is almost untraceable with our trucks.. and I think ive found the issue.

Shutting off, while driving, AFTER filling up the gask tank.

I have a 2006 5.7 quad cab, which inexplainably, and quite randomly, started shutting off while either coming to a stop, or turning at low RPM, or seemed to be anytime the engine was loaded down to idle, while in drive.
It first happened once.. then didnt happen again for a few months.. then all of a sudden, happened twice. then not for another year or so, then the issue would pop up sporadically. Yesterday was the final straw, as it did it near 8 times in a row.
I fueled up my vehicle at lunch, drove back to work, and the truck sat in the parking lot, while the temperature of the day climbed almost 15 degrees in a few hours. Then the ungodly shut of demons started happening.
The truck would start to bog down to 500 rpms, then just shut off. The lights and radio were still on, and the truck starts right back up, albeit with a nasty smell to it.. NO check engine light, no codes, Nothing, nada, zip zilch.

SO, there are many different reasons, why a truck would act like this, Im not claiming to diagnose all of them, but I started to really think about this over the last year.
I believe, it is a fuel system problem, most likely caused by the fuel filler check valve in the filler neck.
I think, that this plastic ball, gets stuck, causing all sorts of problems, eventually either allowing gas into the evaporative emissions system, forming a vapor or liquid lock.
The reason we dont see codes, is because there is nothing wrong with the electronics. The part is 35 bucks at the dealership, and online in different places. I think that the plastic is getting degraded by fuel quality and time, ethanol and what not, and either swelling or just losing roundness and getting stuck in a place near the vent pipe. Environmental factors, temperature, conditions, etc, might also play a part. Seems like everytim i Jam on the throttle, then go into a corner, it happens as well.
The valve is there for anti-siphon/anti fuel theft reasons, the system normally works well, but Dodge has had this issue with the 300s as well.



Ive seen so many "solutions" to this problem.. bad chassis grounds, bad computers, EGR valves, Cam / Crank Sensors, fuel pump, etc, etc..
But normally, these other types of problems will throw codes, or at the very least, be traceable.. i.e. a fuel pump normally just quits working.. or an EGR valve is accompanied by bad mileage, or cam/crank sensors, provide a differet set of symptoms during failure..


Im gonna give the fuel tank filler neck replacement a shot, and we shall see if this issue continues.

 

I changed the EGR valve on mine about a year and a half ago and the problem has not reoccurred. Maybe it's something else and the conditions haven't been just right to reproduce the issue since then. I don't know. Until/unless it happens again, I have no reason to believe it wasn't the EGR valve on my truck (I live in a hilly and mountainous area, so gas mileage is always crappy...). I'm interested to see if you come up with anything, though.

 

I'm interested as well... lets see what you come up with.

 

So, the truck continues to have the problem....

I found my egr valve gasket was burned through on one side, so I replaced the EGR valve, and the gasket. RPMS instantly went up 100, and mileage returned. I thought I had fixed the problem,

until... the next fuel fill up.. truck ran fine, until parked, sat for a while, and then the next morning drove to work on a full tank, and the problem returned.

I had it to the dealership for some fluid changes, and had them run some diagnostics, etc, to see if they could figure it out.
They mentioned that it is most likely the check valves in the fuel tank, not the filler neck, and that they have replaced a couple of gas tanks on these trucks lately.
They could not garauntee that it would fix it, but a 1000 dollar gas tank, is a mighty expensive "lets see" ...

I filed an NTSB report, because this is a dangerous situation, and Dodge seems to acknowledge this on a few models, but hasn't done anything for the ram trucks.

im now frustrated, with an unsafe vehicle, can only fill my fuel halfway to three quarters, and will not put my children in the truck for fear that I might run over somebody, or get run over.

I wish there was a way to get this fixed.

 

Also, I did not replace the fuel filler neck with the check valve in it, the part was long leadtime, so I cancelled the order. I don't have any problems filling the vehicle, so I took a chance,

im wondering if that's the first thing I should now try to fix, before spending the money on a whole new tank that would be backordered anyways..

 

Do you top up your tank after the auto shutoff engages?

If you are doing this it could be the problem. I know that this was a problem with my Mustang, over fill the tank and the ECM got confussed and it started bucking and snorting.

Sometimes it's the simplest thing!

 

I have before, yes, but I don't do that now.. I just let it go one click.. its a crap shoot.. the problem is so sporadic and untestable, its very frustrating.

im close to selling the vehicle, but knowing that it has this issue is morally wrong in my opinion to not say anything or have it fixed for a future owner..

 

I mentioned inspecting and testing the evap system to the dealership, thinking that maybe an overflow or vapor lock type scenario would hamper the evaporative canister purge, etc.. they said that it would be throwing codes, and during their look see, they said the evap system was working fine..

 

I would replace EVAP control/vapor box before replacing the gas tank...

my opinion...

I have seen on other brands of cars.. and the control/vapor box goes bad from overfilling the gas tank.
the box controls Vapors NOT flowing GAS... the Gas will damage it.

 

I agree with Chuck. ANY modern vehicle with an EVAP system suffers when you overfill the gas tank. Fords are especially notorious for this. But there have still been a good many to report the issue on this forum.


Symptoms usually are sporadic stalls at low RPM (idle) especially when slowing down, coming to a stop from mid to high RPMS. From what I'm seeing, the problem starts off very gradually and gets worse (happens on a more regular basis) over time.


I have yet to read a post from anyone, whether it be Mopar, Ford or GM where an evap code was generated, but the fix usually involved replacing purge system components...