wont stay started need help

[jfinch]

driving to work last night and the check engine light comes on truck looses all power and dies, i pull over crank it up and it fires immediately than dies. i do this for a while till i have to floor it to keep it started but even at that it was still dying every half mile or so- same way. got off work 15 hours later start truck and it starts immediately and runs home fine with no check engine light. shut it off and attempt to start it same crap now its stuck at the damn autozone where i went to get a new fuel filter. what the hell is the problem. 7 months ago i had the glow plugs, relay, wiring harness, cps all replaced. what could be doing this--starts fast but just freakin' dies!

 

[Mike]

What code is your CEL telling you?

 

[jfinch]

what do you mean code, i have no scanner for this truck. wish i did that would make this diagnosis a bit easier since i have access to the all-data thing. all it has done is turn on than all hell breaks out right after, but i have noticed that after letting it sit for a few hours today it fired up again and i got it home. im damn confused. i was hoping for some help in narrowing down the problem here since i dont have money fallin out my ass for a mechanic. i wish i knew more about the PSD but i have only had mine 2 years and it has ran great up until now. hopefully some of you PSD vets can help

 

[yoslick]

Well, since you already got a fuel filter, what'd the old one look like? was the bowl full or empty when you opened it up? whens the last time you dumped the water valve?? Next time it dies, don't crank it over before looking in the fuel bowl, sounds like a fuel pump issue to me but thats an easy check, shoulda borrowed a scanner from autozone while you were there, I believe they have some you can use or rent..... Also whats the maintenance been like ie: oil, filters etc??

Slick

 

[BigRigTech]

It's a HUEI engine, the first thing to check is the oil level....No oil, no bang bang. Are you getting smoke when it's running, and what color is it?

 

[jfinch]

----autozone would not scan it because it was a 95. fuel filter was dirty when i pulled it. fuel was in the bowl, and i havent drained it for some time but did while i was at auto zone and it did seem to help by letting it run for a second longer. it was definitely getting fuel because the drain valve had a touch of pressure when i opened it up. i have always dont the basic maint. on my truck last oil change was less than 2K ago. thanks!


------first thing i checked when it took a dump was the oil. and have checked it several times since. always been full. no smoke when running-- it only smoke on hard acceleration.

 

[Mike]

I think your fuel pump may have gone out on you.

 

[jfinch]

is there a way to test that theory? any other things it could be???

 

[Mike]

On the side of the fuel filter is a schrader valve where you can test fuel pressure. Also if you encounter one of the run/die sessions you could jump out (assuming you arent in traffic) and pop the lid off the filter canister and see if you have fuel in the bowl. I will rule out the obvious that your fuel tank isnt low.

 

[jfinch]

ok--FPR pressure what is it supposed to be? i checked it at idle and had 50 psi, so i added the shim and now at idle have 70 psi. so either way it looks like i have decent fuel pressure right? and scanner code reader???? what the hell kind do i need it seems like all the ones i find dont do diesel trucks. any ideas on these things, i dont want a programmer or any million dollar downloader just a code reader......

 

[cm1hedge]

If you know someone with a Snap-on scanner, they will work with the diesels. I have an old "brick(MT2500?)" that works great on mine.

 

[jfinch]

been trying a few differant things with the truck but have concluded that it will start and run fine till its warmed up and than after shutting it off the problems occur. since i changed fuel filter it is not so bad. dont think its cps, i have rpm at crank. dont know about fuel pump the bowl fills fine and i have good fuel pressure, is there some sensor or controller for the injectors that could be screwed up?? put a scan tool on it last night and came up with no faults. i dont get it.

 

[NJKen]

with that infomation i can tell you that you should consider replacing the IPR. (injection pressure regulator). When the orings fail in them you get exactly what you described in your above post. When the orings go in them they will bypass just enough oil to prevent the injectors from firing.
I know ill catch some crap for this but one way to verify is to dissable the glow plugs and see if it will start with a little shot of ether. the ether will raise the cranking rpm a little bit and it will usually fire rite up. remember, just a very little shot of ehther best done while its cranking. Have someone help you. Usually that will get a powerstroke with a crummy IPR running again.
Ken

 

[Mike]

I second the IPR. You need something like 500 psi to crack the injectors and if your IPR is leaking past the o-rings you wont get it. Cold oil wont leak by nearly as easily as hot oil does thus the hard hot start. I'll agree with Ken that if you disable the GPR you can safely use ether. Usually the IPR will give some indications prior to crapping out totally, have you noticed a surge at idle when warm, as the IPR cycles to maintain a certain PSI for injection pressure you will hear the engine RPMs change 50-100 RPMs.

The IPR is rebuildable and here is a link to a little write up on the procedure....POKE HERE.

 

[Smokey73]

This may be a long shot, but might try the cam sensor. I've had 3 or 4 go out through the years, and they've never had the exact same symptoms. It seems, whoever, that they will run then die in some form or fashion