2016 Sprinter 3500 2.1L Crank No-Start

Hello Everyone,

I have a 2016 Sprinter with the 2.1L 4cyl in it. My driver was cruising down the highway the other day and the van died on him. We have it back here now. It has no codes showing (MD808 Multi-System Scanner) and will crank, but not start.

Reading live data for the ECM, I see that the computer is adjusting the injection timing during cranking, but showing 0.0L/h for fuel flow through what I assume is the high pressure pump (I'm not exactly sure where it is taking this fuel flow value from).

As a first, quick check we confirmed it had been filled with the right fuel, that the fuel station had not had any issues, etc. We also popped the outlet line off of the fuel filter and cycled the ignition and the lift pump in the tank is working as fuel is being pumped through the filter. We also changed the filter just to make sure it wasn't plugged, even though fuel was flowing through it.

Van still cranks, no start.

With no codes, I wasn't sure where to even start here. Any suggestions?

If not under warranty, I'd losen one of the fuel injector lines off a fuel injector and with caution see if any fuel comes out the fuel line.
There will be HP fuel sprayed if working so take precautions.
If none, there is a blockage or dead HP pump

What type of hose clamps did you use on the fuel lines, how is the battery?

NelsonSprinter said:

If not under warranty, I'd losen one of the fuel injector lines off a fuel injector and with caution see if any fuel comes out the fuel line.
There will be HP fuel sprayed if working so take precautions.
If none, there is a blockage or dead HP pump

Click to expand...

Its off warranty, van has 280,000ish km on it.

I'll give that a shot. Is it a common failure mode for the High Pressure pump to just die outright and not get weak first?

I'm just amazed it didn't throw a single code, these vans seem to like throwing codes if they don't like the colour of the drivers shirt that day.

Bobnoxious said:

What type of hose clamps did you use on the fuel lines, how is the battery?

Click to expand...

We didn't reuse the factory clamps, we don't have the right pliers. We replaced with high-pressure fuel line clamps which should be more than sufficient seeing as this is before the HP fuel pump.

Battery tests good, cranking right around 250RPM.

Scan tool .........Live data, what’s cranking fuel pressure ?
Yes it might ( should) code for low pressure ?

hms11 said:

Its off warranty, van has 280,000ish km on it.

I'll give that a shot. Is it a common failure mode for the High Pressure pump to just die outright and not get weak first?

I'm just amazed it didn't throw a single code, these vans seem to like throwing codes if they don't like the colour of the drivers shirt that day.

Click to expand...

It is not a common failure mode to suddenly die, but would account for 0 psi, or a sudden pressure sensor failure

showkey said:

Scan tool .........Live data, what’s cranking fuel pressure ?
Yes it might ( should) code for low pressure ?

Click to expand...

Cranking PSI I can't seem to find in the live data for some reason.

"Fuel Quantity" or something similar is at 0.0L/h while cranking.

We cracked #1 injector line while cranking, no fuel at all.

Is the HP fuel pump on these purely mechanical in terms of pumping? If I am getting no fuel at the injector line is there a potential electrical issue still or does that point pretty solid at the High Pressure pump?

Thanks in advance for the help.

NelsonSprinter said:

It is not a common failure mode to suddenly die, but would account for 0 psi, or a sudden pressure sensor failure

Click to expand...

We have absolutely no fuel at the injectors while cranking.

I wasn't sure if it was like the older Sprinters where you could unplug the fuel rail sensors to default the pump to high pressure so we tried that and still nothing.

So, based on what I have been able to dig up, and our own diagnosis, we are going to be replacing the High Pressure Fuel Pump.

As I mentioned above, we are getting no fuel to the injectors while cranking, from what I can find the "pump" section of the high pressure pump is purely mechanical, if the engine is turning over, it *should* be pumping fuel.

Since it is not pumping fuel while cranking, it seems to be the logical place to start.

I'll let everyone know if this resolves our issue.

Let us know i haven seen one go yet on the 4cyl i put 300,000 milles on my 2015 4 cyl and no issues yet

Just wanted to give everyone a follow up on this saga.

Of all things, the nut backed off the High Pressure Pump and the spline drive worked it's way off the shaft and the nut and shaft were just sitting inside the timing gear while the pump didn't spin.

The pump itself appears to have a couple tight spots so we are replacing it regardless while we are in there.

What a weird failure.