I have a 01 with a 5.9. Since cold weather has hit it wont start.
I checked the grid heater,lift pump and fuel filter.Checked grid heater with the intake off with heat gun,both sides are getting up to about 900 deg,If i plug it in it starts fine. In 30 deg weather if left outside it wont fire it just cranks over ,doesnt seem to have any air in fuel system.any suggestions.

 

check your codes.

 

How fast is it turning over ?
Is it as fast as on a warm day ?
You said you checked GH heat gun [ I'm guessing the infered temp sensor ]
The lift pump , whats the fuel pressure , or how did you check it ?
The fuel filter , how did you check that , cut open ?
I'm leaning torwards the RPM at start , then the fuel pressure .

 

Yes I used a infered temp gun ,the lift pump is new,the filter is new and it seams to be turning over as fast as when it is warm. I have not checked fuel pressure yet. The only code is P1693

 

That means you have another code that is only readable with code reader,
or worse case only readable with the Dodge DRB Scantool, only at your Dodge Dealership.


phox

 

Still having problems with starting.Ihave changed lift pump Checked grid heater with infrared gun,checked all fuel lines and checked overflow valve.The only thing I havenot done is put a fuel pressure gauge on inlet to pump .I cracked line at fp fitting and it seems to have plenty of pressure there.If I plug the truck in it start and if I unhook the power to grid heater it will start on eather.Once its running it runs fine. If there was anything wrong with inj pump would it still run good. Don,t know what to do next,any suggestions

 

I am not sure what does the above mean? Do you have grid heaters unplugged?
-P

 

I don't remember if voltage is an issue with your computer or not, as it is with later trucks. If it is, then a weak set of batteries will heat the grid and turn over the truck, but won't have enough voltage to run the computer. If you plug in the truck, the grid doesn't need as much.

Are you on original batteries? If so, put a charger on them and wait a bit, then try to start the truck in the cold without the heater plugged in. Something else to do is to check battery voltage with a meter while someone else is cranking the engine. See how far down the grid and starter pull it.

 

i think he means plugging the block heater in.

 

Thanks for your suggestion I will try this.

 

When you use a starting fluid to start your diesel you're asking for additional expense. If you have the heater grids getting hot and inject starting fluid you may very well get an EXPLOSION that can damage many internal parts, even causing some of then to be relocated!

 

I did unhook the grid heater knowing that things can go boom with it working.
I am going to check for air in fuel, But it seems to me that when it starts if it were air it would skip and hobble some ,it doesnt, once it fires it idles smooth.
Other times when i have changed filters it will skip a little and then clear up.

 

Air in fuel will cause the same effect in cold or warm weather. I second the low voltage on the batteries idea. I have had lots of starting issues with mine in cold weather. Put it on a slow charge and see if the problem goes away. I have even set a code of 1291 lately which is, No Temp rise seen from intake heaters.
I disconnected one battery and did a load test, discovered that one bat is weak. Once it is out of the garage and warmed up it starts right up every time and won't throw a code. Make sure your batteries are good then start checking other things.

 

Cold starting (and fuel economy) improved dramatically on mine after I put about 12 oz of winter Power Service into the tankfull of diesel fuel. I am thinking that it helped clean out the injectors, or de-wax the filter. Temps were in the upper 20s at that time.
-P

 

I'd get the codes read if you haven't. I got this code right before my VP44 went south of the border. Our local Autozone will read them for free. I'm sure any dealership would read them for free also thinking they might get some work.