2002 2500 won't start

justinglory

New member
I just bought a 2002 that's been at the painters sitting for two months.The truck was a good runner with no starting issues. When they moved it this morning, it started right up, ran for 30 seconds and shut down. It will now crank but wont start, even on the engine start mode of a shop charger. I'm new to this vehicle and diesels, so I'm not really sure where to start troubleshooting. One thing that I did notice is that the preheating light stays on. The fuel pump seems to be pumping, although there are visible bubbles in the line. The tank is holding approximately 1/4 tank. Any ideas?
 

surlyoldbill

Well-known member
Air in the fuel lines would be my guess. On a 2002, you'll have to crank it for a while, over 30 seconds. THAT could drain the battery, which will cause a non-start for different reasons; you need certain RPM from starter before ECU will allow engine to run.
 

NelsonSprinter

Former Nelson BC Sprinter
Air in the line is usually caused by a leak at one of the 5-7 joins at the fuel filter.
Sitting 2 months may have dried out the O-rings or shrunk them at the fuel filter, so easiest 1st thing to do is charge the battery while you go get a replacement fuel filter designed for 2002-2003 Sprinters only.
Also check the connections of the fuel lines to make sure the white retaining clips are pulled away from the connectors as in this picture, and all hose clamps are tight.
The glow plug light is not the cause of the engine stopping or bubbles.
 

Attachments

Last edited:

1dzmotard

New member
I used a turky baster and filled the fuel fillter when it was mounted through the bleeder srew hole once filled had someone turn over the T1N with my screw driver on the bleeder screw once it pushed diesel out i sealed it. i didnt have to crank it long at all. That was the last time i replaced the fillter. Now I am having a similar problem but it has been acting up. I just drove from out east to the west coast ran fine till I got to the station filled her up went to start it, nothing. so I push the 2002 2500 to a parking space fell asleep and Woke up it starred right up. as I am driving the rest of the way here I noticed when i would let it run for a moment after stopping to shut her down she would fire up with no problem if I would shut if off with out letting her idel for a min she didn't want to start so taking a nap for an hour or two it starts right up. But it has came to the point where she won't start now I've changed the fuel filter it sputtered twice and that's it. I cranked the **** out of it. I got underneath and seen the tank has a leak in the top. I am not sure if this is the problem yet on why it won't start. I hate to drop the tank to find that's not why it won't start but it needs to be fixed regurdless.
 

surlyoldbill

Well-known member
I used a turky baster and filled the fuel fillter when it was mounted through the bleeder srew hole once filled had someone turn over the T1N with my screw driver on the bleeder screw once it pushed diesel out i sealed it. i didnt have to crank it long at all. That was the last time i replaced the fillter. Now I am having a similar problem but it has been acting up. I just drove from out east to the west coast ran fine till I got to the station filled her up went to start it, nothing. so I push the 2002 2500 to a parking space fell asleep and Woke up it starred right up. as I am driving the rest of the way here I noticed when i would let it run for a moment after stopping to shut her down she would fire up with no problem if I would shut if off with out letting her idel for a min she didn't want to start so taking a nap for an hour or two it starts right up. But it has came to the point where she won't start now I've changed the fuel filter it sputtered twice and that's it. I cranked the **** out of it. I got underneath and seen the tank has a leak in the top. I am not sure if this is the problem yet on why it won't start. I hate to drop the tank to find that's not why it won't start but it needs to be fixed regurdless.
check out my thread "hard to start when hot" for a LOT of information on no-starts.
You may not be having a problem with your filter or tank.
Your issue sounds like my first bad injector issue; once it got to operating temps, the fuel was thin enough to leak back into the return line, not allowing rail pressure to get up to allowable spec for the ECU to say "OK" for the engine to run. Let it cool down a while and everything was fine, most times. It got worse as time went on until I replaced the bad injector (leak-off test found it).
 

MikeHowe

2003 Sprinter 413 CDi
Air bubbles in fuel lines is a very common problem with 02 and 03 sprinters and, if enough air has entered, will prevent starting. This is exactly what happened with mine. The culprit was the water in fuel sensor on the bottom of the fuel filter - it was allowing in loads of air even though I tried to seal it. The solution was to replace it with a filter that doesn't have the water in fuel sensor or the drain plug. This immediately solved the problem and after a lot of cranking to purge the air the van started. Since then I have had no more problems with air in the lines (and believe me until I had the advice for this remedy from others on this forum I had lots of problems).

If this still doesn't work check the fuel line connections as advised above.

Once you've stopped the air getting in the van should start. I would then recommend an injector leak off test (search the blue bar for many threads on how to do this) to make sure your injectors are ok. I had a faulty injector which was further exacerbating the starting issue.

Mike
 

justinglory

New member
Thanks for the info. I got it started, but I'm not sure which "remedy" was the one that worked.
I bled the fuel filter and then started it with the fuel cap off. I'm not sure if the air push released a blockage, or the bleeding is what did it. The only other thing that I did was too disconnect battery, charge and hook back up. I think that the fuel filter is indeed the culprit, and will be replacing with the non sensor unit. Next will be to get a code read and then figure out why the preheating light stays on.
The tips here have been a big help.
 

surlyoldbill

Well-known member
If there is a small air leak, letting it sit for a few days will result in a large enough air bubble that it won't want to start, but overnight may not be a problem. Take a look at the clear fuel line in the morning before you start it and see how much air has collected at the top. There won't be a fuel leak visible, because the air coming in allows the fuel to return to the tank.

LOTS of threads discussing the fuel filter connections and air leaks. Latest one was a new twist, the fuel line from the tank to the filter was messed up at the filter end, the owner cut off 1/2" and put it back on and everything was fine.
 

MikeHowe

2003 Sprinter 413 CDi
...Next will be to get a code read and then figure out why the preheating light stays on.
The tips here have been a big help.
On my T1N 2003 the pre-heating light stayed on because 2 of the glow plugs were fried. They tend to seize in the head but if you can get them out and replace them then that solves that particular problem.

Glad you got the van started. After all the trouble I had with air in the lines, checking connections, fretting about fuel pipes and non-return valves on the fuel filter, the simple, cheap and totally effective solution was replacing the fuel filter for one without the WIF sensor, so I'm glad you're going to do that because your 02 is particularly susceptible to that problem.

Hope all goes well. Mike
 

Top Bottom