Laugh is on me - VP44? - K.I.S.S.
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Laugh is on me - VP44? - K.I.S.S.
Purchased one month ago, 2001 2500, diesel, 250K plus. Loving it.
Just returned from great camping trip. In the driveway, suddenly, my new-to-me truck just instantly died. What the? Ugh! Began diagnosis with basic observation that the Cummins was fuel starved. Checked fuel gauge; just under one-half tank. Dodge and TDR Forums consulted. Checked out electric signal to VP44 - OK. Oh my gawd, it's a thousand dollar injection pump failure. Settle down, settle down. What about we check the lift-pump output... uh-oh, real weak. I didn't need fuel pressure gauge to see that it was well below 5 psi, erratic, and obviously inadequate. Changed out lift-pump, bled out injectors and, after considerable cranking and roughness it fired off. Wonderful!!! What a mechanic I am I am. Chest puffed out and all that. Bolted out the driveway for a test drive and it was so, so satisfying. Really performed impressively... until about a hundred yards of home and pusssh, dead again. What the..? Dragged it back in the yard and started rubbing those two grey cells in my head again. I took notice that the trip odometer reflected 472 mi on that tank... hmmm? That's a lot of miles on a tank. Hmmm again, fuel gauge at just below one-half still... maybe let's physically check the fuel level with a siphon hose. .. not even mist left in the tank. Five gallons of commercial red out of my skid-steer dropped in, re-bled system and waa-la. Fifty miles since and all back in order. Yes, yes, yes, defective fuel gauge, or maybe the sender. I'll watch the trip meter for now and check that out somewhere down the road... when I tire of kicking myself in the butt. Keep It Simple Stupid!
Just returned from great camping trip. In the driveway, suddenly, my new-to-me truck just instantly died. What the? Ugh! Began diagnosis with basic observation that the Cummins was fuel starved. Checked fuel gauge; just under one-half tank. Dodge and TDR Forums consulted. Checked out electric signal to VP44 - OK. Oh my gawd, it's a thousand dollar injection pump failure. Settle down, settle down. What about we check the lift-pump output... uh-oh, real weak. I didn't need fuel pressure gauge to see that it was well below 5 psi, erratic, and obviously inadequate. Changed out lift-pump, bled out injectors and, after considerable cranking and roughness it fired off. Wonderful!!! What a mechanic I am I am. Chest puffed out and all that. Bolted out the driveway for a test drive and it was so, so satisfying. Really performed impressively... until about a hundred yards of home and pusssh, dead again. What the..? Dragged it back in the yard and started rubbing those two grey cells in my head again. I took notice that the trip odometer reflected 472 mi on that tank... hmmm? That's a lot of miles on a tank. Hmmm again, fuel gauge at just below one-half still... maybe let's physically check the fuel level with a siphon hose. .. not even mist left in the tank. Five gallons of commercial red out of my skid-steer dropped in, re-bled system and waa-la. Fifty miles since and all back in order. Yes, yes, yes, defective fuel gauge, or maybe the sender. I'll watch the trip meter for now and check that out somewhere down the road... when I tire of kicking myself in the butt. Keep It Simple Stupid!
