Cummins 5.9 won’t start, stranded in paradise

[bwilless]

Well paradise for a windsurfer.

I’m outside Corpus Christi TX and ready to travel home. The rig is a 98’ Winnebago with the Cummins 5.9 on a Freighter chassis.

She’s been running like a top. Yesterday I drive over to dump and no issues. This morning it turned over and ran for ~2 seconds then shut down. Now it never fires. Normally it starts right away, no extended cranking needed.

I have fuel
I have good battery power
Filters all replaced less than 6 months ago

Things I tried . . .

I disconnected the positive connection to the truck batteries
I checked all the fuses at the battery box
I opened the engine compartment and did a visual inspection for loose wires or anything else that looked out of place

I suspect it’s something electrical, but all dash lights look normal.

Any suggestions?
Anybody know a good Mobil truck service in Corpus?

Thanks for the help,

Brian

[Bigd9]

Hi Brian. Sorry about your breakdown problems. Just a thought I had, check your water/fuel separator fuel filter for water, and/or a crack that leaks fuel. I had the plastic water bowl drain seal go bad on a trip up north and the fuel drained out of the filter overnight and the the engine refused to start the next morning. With a Caterpillar engine it is a bear to get her going when she runs out of fuel.

Just in case you don't know, your can "prime" your engine by turning on the ignition key to the position where the dash lights up for a few seconds , turn it off, then repeat. That runs the fuel pump and you can pump fuel up into the engine.

[jimcumminsw]

Are you getting fuel to your injectors? When was the last time you changed your air filter/ is it plugged? A diesel only requires fuel/air to run nothing else! Since it turned over for 2 seconds and then stopped I would check your fuel filter to see if it is plugged and also the air filter if it is plugged.

If that doesn't solve your problem that you will need to find very good diesel mechanic in your area.

Good luck and let us know how this was resolved.

[Skip426]

1998 was a change over year for the 5.9 fuel systems as well as the Cummins cylinder head .

Is your engine a 12 valve or 24 valve model ??

[Bigd9]

Actually, my previous 1997 Discovery had one of the first 24 valve ISB engines in it. Officially Cummins indicates 1998 was the change over year, but they started to make and ship production engines mid 1997.

[Skip426]

If the engine is a 24 valve , and the electric lift pump ( the weakest link in the fuel system , next to the VP-44 injector pump ) has failed then cycling the key won't help .
Somehow the owner or mechanic has to get to the lift pump to make sure it's operating. BEFORE the VP-44 fails due to lack of fuel.

[Bigd9]

According to my notes, my 1997 Cummins had two fuel filters. Might want to check to see if your engine does also. Also depending on what fuel filter the last person put on, your engine may or may not have that plastic water/fuel bowl.

Also, some engine/chassis were shipped with a "hidden" inline fuel filter. There is several discussions w/pictures on this iRV2 forum about finding that filter and the thousands of dollars spent trying to find what was wrong with the engine when it turned out to be a small inline filter!

[Bamaman]

The first thing I'd do is replace the Camshaft Position Sensor whenever any diesel engine will not start. They are a very problematic $20-30 part for every brand of diesel engine. They retime your engine and fuel injection every time you start the engine.

Ford 7.3 PowerStroke owners (like me) often carry a replacement in their gloveboxes with a #12 wrench needed to do the job. It's been my problem a couple of times.

[Skip426]

[QUOTE=Bigd9;4768449]

Also, some engine/chassis were shipped with a "hidden" inline fuel filter. There is several discussions w/pictures on this iRV2 forum about finding that filter and the thousands of dollars spent trying to find what was wrong with the engine when it turned out to be a small inline filter![/QUOTE

Since Pete , brought it up , here's a link .

http://www.irv2.com/forums/f26/the-t...er-328852.html

But since that thread was started documentation has surfaced about the strainer and it's location.

[skypilot_1]

Lay under engine and have someone turn start key. The electric lift pump will run for 30 secs. Its not hard to hear it. Thats what I'd do 1st. Then start checkin fuel flow pressure. If you have a paper element fuel filter (not a spin-on), drain canister and check for slime.
As mentioned the chassis maker (FL in my case) did install inline filter in small amount of chassis. Usually in frame rail. Worth calling with VIN to check yours. Have never met an owner that actually knew he had one and where it was.

Non starting diesel is almost always fuel, not electrical, like gas engines.

[twinboat]

Check the coolant. It may have a low coolant shutdown.

Since it ran to get you to the dump site, I wouldn't be looking at the fuel system first. It seems more like an electrical issue.

[gatorcq]

Unless fuel solenoid

[bwilless]

Originally Posted by Skip426

1998 was a change over year for the 5.9 fuel systems as well as the Cummins cylinder head .



Is your engine a 12 valve or 24 valve model ??

Hi Skip,

My engine is the 24 valve configuration.

[bwilless]

Originally Posted by Bigd9

Hi Brian. Sorry about your breakdown problems. Just a thought I had, check your water/fuel separator fuel filter for water, and/or a crack that leaks fuel. I had the plastic water bowl drain seal go bad on a trip up north and the fuel drained out of the filter overnight and the the engine refused to start the next morning. With a Caterpillar engine it is a bear to get her going when she runs out of fuel.



Just in case you don't know, your can "prime" your engine by turning on the ignition key to the position where the dash lights up for a few seconds , turn it off, then repeat. That runs the fuel pump and you can pump fuel up into the engine.

I tried the prime with no luck.