I have a 2006 Dodge 2500 with a Cummins that until now has ran perfectly. I cranked it up and it ran for maybe a second then died. Now all it does it turn over. Will not crank. I'm not a mechanic by any means and would really like some ideas of where to start looking before I spend a ton of $ that I don't have to have it towed to a dealer. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance. The "check gauges" light comes on and the check engine light along with the glow plugs coil light blink as the engine turns over. I don't know if this is normal when cranking and I just haven't noticed it or if it's indicitave of something.

 

Sounds like fuel issue. If you can check fuel pressure at the fuel rail. It needs to be a high pressure gauge. Diesels have higher pressure than gas.

 

Could it be the fuel filter?

 

Ok before the Cummins thugs jump you... you don't have glow plugs, you've got grid heaters in the intake.
Since the truck won't run, getting it to an auto parts store won't work, but you need to pull the codes. Most auto parts stores will let you borrow a scanner to pull codes in their parking lot. Maybe someone near you has a way to pull codes. Autel sells a unit that is less than $50.

As far as checking fuel pressure goes, you can check for lift pump pressure with a standard 0-100 psi fuel pressure gauge, but to check rail pressure you'll need a gauge that will read up to 30,000 psi.

If you talk to a mechanic, turning over and cranking are the same thing. The motor is spinning but not firing.

There are a number of reasons why a common rail won't run. Crank sensor, fuel pressure, blown fuse, bad pcm, broken wire, bad CP3, etc. etc. etc.

It could even be the sentry key anti-theft.

I suppose if you got some really nasty fuel, or your fuel gelled up, it could be a totally clogged fuel filter. When was the last time you replaced it?

Do you hear your lift pump running when you cycle the key? It should run for a few seconds after turning the key to the run position.

I'm a big fan of not throwing parts at a problem without at least a really convincing guess. Get your codes read. Check all of your fuses. Check for chewed wiring. Check your batteries for loose or corroded terminals. Disconnect your batteries and get them load tested individually. All of that should be free.

Let us know what you find.

 

Thank you!! And as you can tell plainly I am not mechanical at all!! I'm going to change my fuel filter in the next few days and see if that works. I've never changed it. I don't drive this truck much at all. I got it just for towing my camper. I'm going to try what you said and see what happens. Thanks again.

 

Fuel filter should be replaced every 15k miles. If the truck sits a lot you'll need to make sure you're not growing algae in the tank.