I have taken my 03 Dodge to the dealership for hard start problems and they have not been able to diagnose the problem. It is starting to get real bad with long cranking times. Somwtiomes it may take up to minue or two to start. I found a Cummins mechanic nearby and would`like him to take a look at it. I called Dodge and they said they can only fix it under warranty My question is can I bring the truck to a certified cummins sh op for warranty services ?

 

nope, needs to go to dodge. did they check your lift pump? maybe it's having a hard time getting started... or maybe there is a check valve that is not holding pressure over time.

once it's started, if you kill the motor and wait about 15 seconds, does it start easier?

 

my 06 is taking longer and longer to start over time

 

It seems to be worse after shutting it down and trying to start it again. The dealership flushed the lines and tank but this didnt fix the problem.Funy thing is when I change the fuel filter it starts fine for a while thwen goes back to the hard starts. I just dont have any faith in the dealership anymore. First thing they said was it started fine for me and that all the trucks start like this. I asked them how they came up with this and they said they started a other trucks on the lot. Im not a machanic but damn this is all they could come up with. the truck only has 60k on it so it should be running mint with no codes. There is no loss of performance once it is started. I dont want to start spending my own money when I have the warranty and exteneded. Missed out on a good hunting trip because I was afraid of getting stuck. I guess it is time to start making phone calls to try to get some satisfaction.

 

I had the same question about taking the truck straight to Cummins for work. Had a guy at a Cummins shop up the road explain it to me this way: Cummins pays Dodge to do the warently work on the trucks - - so if you skip Dodge there is no $$ exchanging hands in the back ground/ So it will by your pocket making the exchange

The part that made me laugh - - Dodge doesn't have to recognize work done by Cummins as 'service' work so it doesn't count for the warenty and they could void the warenty depending on what gets done. Goofy hun?

 

I bet your having a fuel volume problem. set your truck back to stock (hypertech) and see if it runs any different. mine has trouble starting every once in a while, takes 2 cranks instead of 1 to get it fired up. I've watched my rail pressure gauge on my tst and have noticed it dip from time to time, I'm expecting a walbro swap in the future. you may have a similar issue but your farther along than I am.

 

There is adiferance between the factory warranty and an after market or extended warranty, if the warranty you are talking about is one you bought when you purchased your truck then you have to call your warranty company (the number is on your paper work somewere) and ask the warranty company if the certain cummins mechanic can work on your vehicle under the after market warranty. im only assuming you do have an after market warranty because you have 60k on your truck and the factory warranty only goes to 36k miles unless im mistaken. let me know if you need more clarification any were.

 

I set the programmer back to stock and had the same results. I think it is tstill under the oem warranty forthe engine, but I do have the extended but could not find out who it was through. I went through all the paperwork and couldn't find any extended warranty name. Talked to the Dodge Customer Service people and they said that I have to bring it Dodge only. This sucks because I found a Certified Cummins shop locally.

 

they say you can only bring it to them because they make money off of it, you can call the daler you got it from if you get it fron the dealer and they shoudl have all your paper work on record, you may look in to the factory warranty also because i knpw mine is 3 years 36k miles and then 100k on power train wich is just the engine not usually the lifter pump or any of the fuel system.

 

MAKE SURE THEY ARE TRYING TO DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM UNDER THE SAME CONDITIONS. IF ITS AFTER IT SITS FOR A SPECIFIED AMOUNT OF TIME U MAY HAVE TO PARK IT AT THE DEALER AT NIGHT AND GO BACK IN THE AM
AND GET THE TECH TO TRY AND START IT THEN. IF THEY ARNT WORKING UNDER THE SAME CONDITIONS THE MAY NOT FIND THE PROBLEM VERY QUICK. SOME MECHANICS ARNT SMART ENOUGH FOR THIS U HAVE TO HELP THEM OUT.