New and need help No fuel in filter

Shawn.E

New member
i have been fearing the cold months coming and today was that day. I have an 01 FT that would not start and figured it was just too cold. Waited until temps went up and still nothing. It cranks but no attempt to fire. I pulled the drain plug on the filter and nothing came out and and i see no air bubbles (Line might be empty) also do not see signs of a leak at the pump. Not sure where to start on this. It started yesterday morning and ran fine until shutdown. Any suggestions?. Hoping someone can help as this is the worst timing ever as i'm behind on my bills (work is slow) and i could have started a small job that would get me through also Christmas is right around the corner. Very very bad timing!
 

Midwestdrifter

Engineer In Residence
2001 models do not have an in tank lift pump so the filter is under vacuum. If you have no air leaks in the system and your fuel is not jelled approximately 30 to 60 seconds of cranking should be sufficient to prime the filter. Some people have had issues with air getting in the system on this year, so getting a small hand pump to manually prime the filter maybe required if you have an air leak after sitting for an extended period.

There are number of threads discussing no start issues due to fuel air leaks on this particular year and model. If you determine that you have no fuel air leaks then you could have other issues causing your vehicle to not start.
 

outbound

06/2500/140
just how cold is it?
if the temps are down below the 20's (F) and you havent changed - or opened the drain cock to let any collected water out of the fuel filter in awhile,
its quite possible that it's frozen

you might try put a heat gun (hair dryer) on the filter cartridge for several minutes (get it kind of hot, but not smoking)
 

Oilburner

2004 2500 140"cargo l/r x 2
Water in fuel lines, water in tank, frozen lines, bad fuel pump, clogged fuel filter, air in fuel delivery system. This is area worth of checking, assuming, you have fuel in the tank. Do you use any fuel additive?
 

Shawn.E

New member
Thanks for the fast responses. I did do some searching but didn't come up with a lot (in fact i got more of a search order listing problem) My first thought was a gelled filter but i assumed i should at least get a drip or two. and i tried three different times about an hour apart but got noting other than a low/dead battery. Temp hit 24% overnight so im sure it could be frozen and no i have not until now tried the drain as a i never had a problem yet (other than RSN that i can live with) And no i have not used an additive yet but will every fill up from here on out. Is there a way to confirm fuel delivery to the filter other than a pressure test. Like an old fashioned pull the supply line and see if i get fuel? I guess my first try will be the hair dryer as im sure my heat gun is way to hot for this. Ill post any changes. As far as air would it be normal for this to happen overnight even though it was fine just 10 hours prior?. Again thanks for the help so far!
 

autostaretx

Erratic Member
When the Sprinter is running, it pre-heats the fuel by means of two coils of tubing mounted near the tank.
The excess (but heated by being pressurized) fuel from the rail goes back to the tank, and the coils are the heat-exchanger warming the cold from-tank fuel.
So it could run perfectly happily last night, but be gelled solid in the (cold) morning.

If your heat gun is a typical 1500 degree "industrial" model, you can still use it to warm the tank and fuel lines, just be further away (allowing the hot air to cool a bit before it hits the fuel lines and tank). If your heat gun uses flames for its heat ... then go find a hair dryer. (cheap at Goodwill).

How long ago did you last fill up your tank? If within the last month i'd hope that your local suppliers had already switched to their winterized (non-gelling) mix.

good luck
--dick
 

Shawn.E

New member
I tried heating it (Forgot i had a multi range Wagner gun) no change. Not sure when Filter was last changed so im going to change it anyway as far as last fill up it was about 2 weeks ago and not my normal station so not sure there. Should thawing it de-gelled it? And the clear line does indeed look full of fuel but it could just be colorized thus appearing that way. Nothing i can do about a new filter until Thursday now. Just hope when i change it i get a positive result!
 

Shawn.E

New member
I also just re-read your post...Didn't try to heat the lines or the tank. any issue with blowing air thru them instead of heat?
 

autostaretx

Erratic Member
I'm not suggesting blowing heated air *through* the lines, merely "bathing" the exterior of the tank and the nearby coils with the heat gun's output.
You're not trying to get them "really hot", merely up to 50 F or so.

If you think the fuel is gelling, you could (before heating it) run a "dip tube" down the filler pipe to bring up a sample to see if it's liquid or gooey.
Some clear plastic tubing 1/4" to 3/8" inner diameter would be ideal... run it down the filler pipe into the tank, put your thumb over the end (to seal the air), and pull it back up. Be prepared with a cup to let the tube empty into.

*don't suck on the pipe*!!! ... diesel is very very bad for your lungs. Go find a clean turkey basting bulb instead....

--dick
 

Shawn.E

New member
Sorry let me clarify. I never meant heat when suggested air. I was thinking maybe a max of 12psi of compressed air thru the lines to back push any gel/residue back to the tank...Better there than is the lines correct?.....No sign of gel in the tank either. Ill wait until Dodge has the filter in hand and report back!
 

220629

Well-known member
As has been asked, you do have sufficient fuel in the tank, correct?

At 24F ambient commercial diesel fuel gelling would not be a concern for me.

The cold(er) temperatures may have caused some marginal O-ring seals in the suck line from the tank to suck air rather than fuel.

One possible method of forcing fuel to the filter would be to use the output of a shop vac (reversed) as a pressure source. A rag can be used to seal the fuel filler pipe to the shop vac hose. The vac should supply enough pressure to push the fuel to the filter without any danger of over-pressuring the tank system.

You will need a good battery to supply enough power to crank the engine to sufficient speed.

vic
 
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SneakyAnarchistVanCamper

Reading till my eyesbleed
You say you opened the drain on the bottom of the filter and it drained nothing, concerning you. I do believe this is the water in fuel drain you are referring to. Fuel is not supposed to drain from there, and if no water came out, no problem (Although I'm not sure of the proper procedure for this, you could look it up).
I would not pressurize fuel into your filter, this could easily damage the filter and destroy your engine in 20 minutes.
In order to truly know if your filter is not getting fuel, you should remove it and inspect with a flashlight. In fact, it really should be replaced at this point. Just don't fill the filter with fuel, follow the priming procedure.
I recommend changing the fuel filter after dissecting the old one and inspecting. Borrow a scanner with a refundable deposit at an auto store, check batt voltage while you're at it. Add the proper amount of anti-gelling fuel additive, like howe's diesel treat. Is your glow plug light going off as usual, or staying on?
 

Shawn.E

New member
Plenty of fuel in the tank (3/4 full)...And when i suggest air i am referring to the supply and return lines from the tank only. At low pressure just to clear any blockage!. Also don't see how just water would come out of the filter without some fuel flow. Could i be wrong?
 

outbound

06/2500/140
i'd 2nd vic's idea using a rev-flow shopvac to try push fuel out the filter cartridge intake port.
low enough pressure, shouldnt cause any problems - but might not be sufficient to push fuel out the line from the tank.
(but i would NOT try to seal too well the connection point, so to not have the pressure build to high - let it blow back)

how warm is it getting there during mid day?
like vic says, 24degF shouldnt be a problem for non-winterized diesel - my concern was water in the tank.
having suffered this on a few occasions - years ago (decades now ;) including one time in below zero wx,
when i had to dump 3/4 of a tank with what seemed like about 1/4 of it water.
why one ALWAYS wants to fillup at high volume pumpers (since it gets turned-over more frequently,
giving the pumps filters more chance to clean out any residual moisture)

but after all thats been said, it will likely end up being something goofy electronic... (or air leak)

in any event, these trouble-calls are always of intense interest - especially as we enter the coldest months of the year.
(when a failure to go could mean the diff tween life and death - or worse - a severe wallet flush ;)
 
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f5hunter

2006 158 SHC 2500 GDE
How about an electric inline diesel fuel pump mounted just before the filter? I think these are 50 bucks or less from most auto part stores.
 

Shawn.E

New member
Finally got the new filter installed. Filled it with fuel and 30 seconds later im back in business....Thanks for the help.....FYI....I had no intentions of blowing air into the filter.....What i was referring to was blowing 8-12 psi threw both the feed and return lines to the tank just to make sure they were clear....Now i need to burn off some fuel . Get an additive and refill my tank!
 

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