Cummins 5.9 stalled and wont start. Injector pump?

[clayhubler]

Hi all,

Need a little help on this one. 1994 Safari Sahara with the magnum chassis. Cummins 5.9 230 HP and the Allison MD 3060 tranny. Engine stopped on a hill, would not restart. I feel like it didn't have full power right before it died, but that may just be in my head.
This coach is new to us.
Everything is working, engine cranks, just doesn't fire, so I suspected it wasn't getting fuel. After some time, I have determined that fuel is getting to the injector pump, but not going to the cylinders. I cracked the inlet line on the injector and fuel is pumped out when cranking engine. When I loosened the fitting on the injector itself, I don't get any fuel.
I know very little about troubleshooting the pump itself. The next thing I am going to try is to check the fuel shutoff solenoid. I'm hoping that is it, but I won't know until friday when I have time to look into it.
Does anybody have any other suggestions? Also, I would like to confirm the purpose of the shutoff solenoid. My understanding is that it shuts off when the ignition circuit is shut off. Therefore I should get 12v at the terminals when the key is on, correct? If I have 12v there, then I need to determine if the solenoid is actually operating, which I should hear or feel. If not I will have to pull it to visually verify that it is operating. Can somebody please confirm this process for me?
FYI I have above average mechanical skills, but little experience with engines, especially diesels.

Thanks in advance, any help is greatly appreciated.

[path1]

"The algae is something I didn't even consider"

Like others mentioned...

If me, I would pick up a bottle of a diesel biocide and follow directions for "shock" treatment. Then after shock treatment follow directions for regular preventative service.

[clayhubler]

The tank is 105 gallons. I didn't plan on driving around with low fuel, the only thing I have done with this coach is to drive it home. I broke down after I decided to drive it around the block to warm it up so I could change the oil. I figured I was safe with a quarter tank, but I will keep it full most of the time now.
It did sit for a while before we got it. A year or so is my guess. The tank has a drain on the bottom, so I could drain it if I decide.
The algae is something I didn't even consider, I will get some new fuel filters.
THanks

[MrWizard]

How big is the fuel tank find out, write it down

Go fill tank up, now add the numbers how close does fillup + 20, come to the listed capacity of the tank ?

Go drive about 150 miles, fill tank back up, how many gallons
What mpg, did you get, where was the fuel gauge setting before you filled it
Did you use a quarter, a half, almost zero, did the fuel gauge move enough for the gallons used

The first thing I did when I got mine was, fill it up, and I knew the history of the coach, but you don't drive around with low fuel in a DP, especially if you don't how how the fuel gauge responds

Clogged up fuel filters, can stall you out
If this RV sat for sometime with partial fuel, the tank could have
Algae in it
Get some algacide treatment for it, pour it in there and fill the tank
And get some spare fuel filters and carry them
If you have algae you will most likely clog up again
You might want to get the tank pumped out and cleaned, now before filling

Somebody with more experience on that will post some advice

[path1]

The gauge read a little over a 1/4 tank, which should be about thirty gallons.

Basically it is now running fine, starts fine, drives, I just don't know what the issue was, which is very disconcerting.

Google up "5.9 quarter tank issues". Basically they suck a little bit of air and you loose prime.

[clayhubler]

Thanks guys for all the help and suggestions.

I checked into the shut off solenoid. I initially thought it was bad, because it didn't actuate when the key was on. So I pulled it and went to napa, they wanted $390. So I didn't get it. I went home again and started messing with the thing. It has three wires, red, white and black. I have come to learn that black is ground, red is the holding coil, white is the pulling coil. I thought it was just on or off, so before I pulled it, all I had checked was that it had power to the red wire (i didnt know which was which at the time). It did, but the thing didn't actuate, so I thought it was bad.
So, at home, I hooked it up to a battery with some test leads and all functions are working on it. Good thing I didn't buy a new one. I did find them on ebay for about $30, I don't know what napas deal is.
So I put it back in. The white wire is hooked onto the starting circuit, red to key "on" and black to ground. Initially I never checked to see if it would pull in on "start", just with key "on", which is only holding. So I reinstalled it and had the wife try to start engine, and the solenoid is working just fine.
So I now thought it must be something in the injector pump, I was a little discouraged, despite being closer to figuring it out.
I went ahead and changed both fuel filters and primed the system up to the injector pump.
At this time, I decided to crank the engine and see what happened, just for kicks, and it didn't start. Waited a bit, tried again, giving it throttle this time, and it fired.

Basically it is now running fine, starts fine, drives, I just don't know what the issue was, which is very disconcerting.

I am wondering if the filters were clogged, but I would think that it would still run, just not well or with much power. I am convinced there is and never was a problem with the shut off solenoid. I am at a loss.

The only other possibility I can think of is that I ran out of fuel. This coach is new to us, and I had yet to put any diesel into it. The gauge read a little over a 1/4 tank, which should be about thirty gallons, but I don't know for a fact that the gauge works. After it broke down, I put about 20 gallons more in from some cans, and the gauge now reads almost half. This leads me to believe the gauge is working. It does tick erratically, and seems a little glitchy, but I am thinking that I did not run out of fuel.

Thanks to every body who chipped in. At the least I now have a better understanding of how things are working.

[joelm]

Its 2001 Dodge P/U Bosch VP-44

[in5r]

I had a 5.9 Cummins that experienced thge loss of power and then later would not restart,mine turned out to be a cam shaft sensor.

[MrWizard]

Jolem
What year model engine , RV or dodge pickup

Dodge Chrysler builds their own licensed engines, which have a few different external parts than the RV engines from the Cummins factory

[bitster98]

Hope you got your problem resolved. If not and your problem is the injection pump , mid-west fuel injection in bollingbrook il. Has rebuilt many ip,s for me , reasonable & long lasting. Also if you do have to remove the pump be sure to replace your tappet cover gasket!! Cheap & easy to do with the pump off.

[joelm]

I just had the injector pump replaced on my Cummins. $1800 including labor.

[MrWizard]

this is my engine 1995 5.9 6BT
not isb not isc

part #3 is the lift pump $200~$300 for genuine cummins part, cheaper IF you buy a chinese clone dodge part off ebay

part #8 is the big heavy expensive BOSCH mechanical INJECTION PUMP

[path1]

Reading for you.

(don't be surprised if pic's don't exactly match yours. My 01 came with lift pump inside tank and others same year the pump on frame outside of tank, depends on day it was made I guess? But you'll get idea of what they had in mind.)

If you need pump... he (Eric) is close to you in Battleground. That is if you're broke down where your sig line says. Good guy and knows his stuff. Many people carry as spares. http://www.vulcanperformance.com/Carter-Replacement-Lift-Pump-03-04-Dodge-p/p76110.htm

http://www.cumminsforum.com/forum/94-98-powertrain/510197-bad-injector-pump-symptoms.html

http://www.cumminsforum.com/forum/94-98-engine/58777-joe-gs-fuel-system-writeup.html

(Edit part)... If your rig is running I would NOT drive to his place. Don't think a Class A will make it across creek. He likes phone calls first anyways.:)

[wolfe10]

You can manually pull the fuel shut-off solenoid into the "run position".

Have seen them zip tied to run in an emergency. Of course to shut off the engine, you have to cut the zip ties.

[clayhubler]

I'm thinking my lift pump is ok, because I do get fuel at the inlet to the injector pump when cranking the engine. I'm really hoping to find that the shut off solenoid is malfunctioning. I'm going to replace all the fuel filters tomorrow and start checking out the solenoid. I will post the results of what I find here.
Thanks for all the suggestions