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Runs great then dies

S

ss1500

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Hi to all i need a little help i bought my chevy 1500 last saturday it ran great all day. Then sunday morning it fired rite up i took it for a spin and it ran awsome. I got home parked it in the driveway and then it wouldnt start back up. Finally after cranking for a while it started back up and ran ok than it just died about an hour later. So i left it sit and went out to take a look at the fuses on tuesday morning and the ground cable bolt was stripped for the driver side battiery. Changed the bolt and then the truck wouldn't start. So on thursday went out and disconnected the ground again on the driverside battery and got the truck to start up and now it doesnt want to run anymore it still cranks but no start.


Any suggestions
 
3 things, but I gotta go and can't stick around to help more tonight... there are lots of other guys here to help, though...

1] Fill out your signature first, like mine, so everybody can see what kind of motor you have, and what has been done to it (if anything) for aftermarket modifications. There is a link in my signature that you can click on to get to your signature, if that makes any sense.

2] clean all of your battery connections really, really good and charge up your batteries... bad connections or low batteries will prevent these guys from starting.

3] There's a diagnostic checklist here that you can fill out as much as possible... just copy and paste it into a new post and type your answers in after each item. They will help us to see what's going on with your truck.

Keep adding to this thread for this particular problem... that keeps all the questions and answers in one place so new people to the thread can quickly get up-to-speed on your issue and what has been done to solve it.

Jim
 
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0. Describe in detail the problem you are having. Please be as descriptive as possible. Stalling and hard starting/ wont start
1. Does the engine crank, or 'turn over'?Yes
1a. Does the engine start and run?Sometimes for 10 to 15 min.
1a1. If the engine does not start - Crack injector line: do you have fuel? Yes/No
1b. Do you have a Wait To Start Light & the amount of time (seconds) lit.yes 5 to 6 seconds
1c. Ambient Condition (temperature outside indicate F or C) 15°C
1d. Engine Cranking speed (if you have an accurate tachometer).
1e. Are you experiencing stalling?yes
1f. If Stalling, describe (upon startup only, down the road, hit a bump etc)Sometimes upon start up and others upon start up
1g. If Stalling, do you notice loss of dash or instruments?Yes
-note if experiencing stalling,you must indicate PMD location in #24. Pmd is located in the stock postion

1h. Check turbo inlet and air filter for obstructions. Cone filters have lost disk and stopped air to turbo.
1i. In a no-hot start, pour a bottle of room-temp water on the injection pump. Does it start now? yes/no
1.1 Lift pump test - describe results
2. Service Engine Light while running?- on/off/intermittent NO
2a. Service Engine light does glow during start/cranking/bulb check: Yes/No YES
3. Model year 1995
3a. Odometer reading (indicate if in miles or km)153,698
3b. Miles on major engine components if been replaced (example Injection pump)Not Sure
3c. Indicate the model number on the Injection pump (starts DS4 or DB2......)Not sure
4. Have you scanned for engine codes? (varies by pre/post 96) yes/noNO
5. List exact results on engine codes:
6. Air Filter condition (visual check)Brand new
7. Fuel filter condition (freshly changed/condition unknown/mileage since changed)Condition Unkown
8. Condition of Battery terminal connections (removed, cleaned and tightened)Cleaned
8a. Known condition and age of the batteries.Good 7 Months
8b. Are batteries of differing age or are they a matched set?Matching set same age
8c. Condition of Major Grounds. (same drill as batt - removed, cleaned, retightened)
9. Upon cold start, does the radiator hose get hard quickly? Yes/no NO
10. Upon cold start, do you have excessive white smoke? Yes/no NO
11. Do you have excessive cranking time before the engine starts? YES
12. Have you used the block heater, and does this effect engine starting?(only try for starting problems) YES and NO
13. During hard acceleration, do you have excessive black smoke? Yes/no NO
14. Do you have any unusual exhaust smoke issues? NO
15. Turbo check out - pass/fail
16. Do you have an EGR on the engine? (An F or an S engine code 8th VIN digit) S code
17. Indicate if you know if it’s a 1500, 2500, 2500HD, 3500, 3500HD. 1500
18. Indicate fuel that you are using: Bio-diesel, #2 Diesel, #1Diesel, SVO/WVO, other Diesel
18a. If running a VO (Veggie Oil fuel) setup, indicate details of your conversion (homemade, or packaged system)
19. Are you using any fuel additives? If so, please list. NO
20. Please indicate geographic region you are in: (example: Texas or Canada) Wisconsin
21. Do you have any service history available that might pertain to the problem you are having? NO
22. Please indicate any modifications to the vehicle that might help us diagnose better. Daul exhaust
23. Upon unscrewing the fuel cap, do you have a large vacuum formed in the tank? yes/no YES
24. Location of PMD/FSD? On the pump/remoted over intake/remoted out of engine bay (please specify placement specifically) Stock location
24a. If remote mounted, describe wiring harness (homemade or purchased from a vendor?)
24b. Indicate the location and condition of the FSD/IP grounding wire.
25. Are ALL glow plugs in proper working order as per this thread? YES
 
24. Location of PMD/FSD? On the pump/remoted over intake/remoted out of engine bay (please specify placement specifically) Stock location


Sounds like Classic PMD failure to me. Get a kit from Heath. It's the best place to start. I'm sure if you search(well maybe not this site is still growing) that it is the achiles heel of the 6.5 94+. It s a pump mounted driver or fuel soleniod driver that for a lack of techincal terms basically controls the IP. 158K in stock location I'd almost guaranty that to be the problem. If it isn't it will be soon. Unfortunatly the heath kit is 5 beans. Send a PM to Northmaine. He was parting his truck out. Not sure if he still has his. DO NOT TAKE THE TRUCK TO THE DEALER. let me repeat DO NOT TAKE THE TRUCK TO THE DEALER. They will tell you it needs an IP to the tune of 2k+. You can build your own remote PMD kit but you'll only save 100$ and Heath warranties theres for 7 years. Stay away from SS Diesels solution. It's worse that factory.
 
Might be your PMD.
But
Try taking the fuel cap off - Vacuum there could be starving fuel delivery.
Loss of dash insturments seems like it could be your ignition switch though, check for loose plugs under the dash. Same thing could indicate a ground problem too. You really need to remove them and clean the lugs and contact points anyway.
 
23. Upon unscrewing the fuel cap, do you have a large vacuum formed in the tank? yes/no YES

You should have no or little vacuum when you unscrew the cap. Check your cap, make shure it's for a diesel. And try your truck with the cap off. But DON'T leave it that way.

24. Location of PMD/FSD? On the pump/remoted over intake/remoted out of engine bay (please specify placement specifically) Stock location

May be a PMD problem. I would suggest you get a new one and mount it outside of the engine bay ASAP. Heath makes a good kit, but can be done otherwise. Lots of stuff on PMD relocation if you search this site.
 
Check your lift pump to see if it's operating. There is a T valve towards the passenger front of the engine with a hose coming off the end of it. Put this hose in a bottle to catch fuel. Open the valve and then turn the key to the run position and see if fuel comes out. If not, you have a bad Oil Pressure Switch (OPS) or a bad lift pump.

I also agree that it sounds like a PMD going bad. Before shelling out big bucks though, we need to check the simple stuff.
 
ok i checked the grounds and batteries they are all good and i did the lift pump test all is good any other things that should be checked thanks for any and all help
 
Last check before buying a new PMD... loosen an injector line on the Driver's side (easy to get at) and have somebody crank the engine while you watch... does Diesel fuel start to drip from that loose connection? If not, then I suggest a PMD is in order, because it's the PMC that convinces your Injection pump to pump the fuel to the injectors.

Try that and let us know what happened - we'll go from there.
 
hey guys today its about -10 outside the truck fired rite up and ran great for about 20 minutes and then died without starting back up any new ideas
 
On a glass half full note, if it is the PMD then you have a relatively easy (so simple, a cave man could do it), inexpensive fix AND the previous owner gave up a perfectly good vehicle because they were lazy. You're doing your homework and will benefit from your efforts particularly if the previous owner priced it low because they didn't think it was reliable. Many here are rubbing their hands together wishing they had your opportunity.

Having never heard of a Heath PMD/FSD relocation failure and the seeming inevitability I'm coming to the opinion that even if you're not having trouble with the factory PMD, going with a Heath unit will save you from ever having to start a thread like this...like I did on a different site.

You might even think of going back and starting the "I know it was sold as is but..." conversation. Though your symptoms show NO indication that the IP is bad, that's likely what a dealership told the previous owner the necessary repair would entail. Negotiating to split the parts cost would more than cover the price of the Heath unit. One might argue this is unprincipled but then so is selling a vehicle with a known maintenance (let alone driveability/safety) issue.
 
I bought mine as is 4 years ago, not running, great shape. did a lot of reading on the other site and one other, made deal for $500 bucks, bought pmd, went over, installed it, fired truck up and drove off-look on their face-priceless. It sounds exactly like another friend of mine's problem they are having now-bad PMD. hooked my spare up and theirs runs fine. need to know truck specs and where you are(general are)-might be someone around the corner that has a spare or can help(fill out sig).
 
Well, PMD is still on stock location, chances are it is PMD issue.

Another one to check besides PMD is the Lift Pump and OPS. If you ever get it to start, open the t-valve slightly behind the alternator. If you have fuel, then the LP is good. If not, LP and/or OPS are bad. Let us know. This is item 1.1 on the checklist.
 
Let's all say it together....."Craaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaap."

It'll be OK; you're on the right path. That thing is plug and play...briefly. It's worth the effort to bolt the PMD to the IP ground. Unless it's getting cooling from the fuel flow through the IP (works better on a boat with constant fuel flow than it does on an idling truck), you'll fry it quickly which means it may not get you through your 20 minute window with much certainly (you don't really know the condition of that PMD either, do you?). Still, if it does get you through that window, it's time to call Heath.
 
ok thanks for your help with the ground bolt but next promblem is there an easy way to get the back bolts behind the intake out
 
The back ones on the PMD? Some guy's have ground down a driver bit and welded it to a flat bar to make a wrench to get the bolts out. Leo
 
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