Truck wont start!!

[coon smile]

over the weekend i did an injector and turbo swap on my truck ( Columbus Diesel 200hp , Columbus Diesel s300 )...after running into many obstacles, it was finally time to start the truck (today). cranked it, no start. cracked a few lines, no start. i am getting fuel to the vp44 but i am not getting consistant fuel pressure before the vp44. when i bump the starter i only get 3-5 psi unless i crack the fuel filter. when i crack the fuel filter, the pump will change tone then jump up to 15 psi. i then go to crank it and it almost fires then goes back to cranking. then if you bump the starter again its back to 3-5 psi before the injection pump.

to me, it sounds like the FASS is sucking air from the fuel tank and i guess the only way to fix it would be a draw staw.

what are your suggestions/opinions?

 

[coon smile]

no one?

 

[4x4dually]

Sounds hokie that you only changed injectors and turbo and now your fuel system doesn't work. Your lift pump only hits for second when you hit the starter to give a little pressure to the fuel but not too much. If you have 15 psi during cranking, the engine won't start good (from what I have read and learned on the site). That is why when you turn the key on, you hear the lift pump for a second then it shuts off. It only turns on full blast once your engine starts...unless you bump the starter and then it goes for 20 sec's or so. With that being said, I re-rear your first post and you are bumping the starter and then watching the guage. So....forget the pressures for now. Have you tried cracking the number two and three injector lines and cranking the truck until it starts? That is the only way you will get it started if you have AIR **edit in the injector lines. This is a two person job. One cranks and the other watches the injector lines until the fuel comes out strong then tightens the line up and goes to the next one. Usually I can do it with one line but sometimes it takes two.

Now, the fix to this and how I do it, I swap the front three injectors then start it up then swap the rear three and start it up. No priming is necessary when doing it like this and I can do it by myself.

Any more data or did you get it???? We are here to help a fellow COON man out.

 

[coon smile]

well what i cant figure out is why i cant get a consistant 15 psi when i bump the starter...if i bump the starter and there is 15 psi then start cranking, the fuel squirts real good out the craked lines. if i bump the starter and there is 3-5 psi then start cranking the fuel just dribbles out the cracked lines.

 

[B.A.Ram]

Did you lose prime in your FASS?

 

[4x4dually]

Take a voltage reading on your lift pump at the pump. The only thing that I can think of that would make it flutuate is volatge. Is it cold there? Maybe your grid heaters are kicking on and dropping the voltage to the pump? See if you have the same volatge at the pump when it works and when it don't. That way we can chase a bad pump or a bad something else. Sorry for the delay. The net went down at work and I happened to come home early today.

 

[coon smile]

im not exactly sure what u mean by loosing prime in the fass...when i bump the starter i only get 3-5 psi until i crack the fuel filter then i get a solid 15-16 psi.

the truck has been inside a heated shop the whole time i have been working on it so the grid heaters arent cycling. i also have the grid heater relays disconnected for when i try using ether.

im pretty sure its not electrical b/c the pump runs good. it just seems to be picking up air which explains the change in tone when i crack the fuel filter.

 

[FireMed]

try cracking 3 or 4 lines and turning it over until fuel comes out. I do mine with just me and this last time i changed inj. i had to loosen 4 lines. just crank it a little bit and look and see until fuel comes out then tighten the lines and try it.

 

[Jcummins]

The way to check for air from a Fass is if you open the bleeder on the fuel filter houseing and turn the key on, if it shoots out foamy fuel when the Fass is pumping then the problem is towards the tank. If the fuel looks good then move down the line to maybe the cross over tubes. Make sure that you got all of them ''clicked'' in to the injector good. The best suggestion I have is to just retrace your steps from the begining and see if something got overlooked.
Wouldn't be the first time someone got a little exited about the new sticks and forgot something. I would go for the crossover tubes not being completly seated, only because in another thread the guy had simular problems and that is what it was.
Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[coon smile]

i think the FASS was just losing prime b/c i had a buddy of mine hook up the FASS directly to the battery so it was constantly running at 15psi w/ 3 lines craked...we let it run like that for about 10 minutes every once in a while cracking the fuel supply to the injection pump if the pressure dropped. then we cranked it till fuel was squirting good out of all injectors. tightened the lines, gave it a shot of ether, and it FINALLY fired up.

i started this project saturday night and on sunday made a 5 hour trip one way (normally a 2 hour trip) through a blizzard in northeastern indiana, northwestern ohio, to make the swap for the injectors and turbo. got back sunday late and didnt get the truck started till today. in the end it was worth it. the truck runs great!