The '03 Cummins that shut down on the Pa. Turnpike is now waiting parts. It took more than a week to figure it out....supposedly. Try this ---- Fan Clutch Sensor.


Seems there is one of those things and it shorted. That screwed up the voltage to other circuits, stopping the fuel system from operating. Parts are ordered and I should know by the end of the week. Just stopped at the house on the way West for another tow and cannot stay but a moment.


Other news from the Carlisle, Pa. Flying J fuel depot yesterday. Met an RV hauler from Victorville, CA. Fellow hauls all over the country and only has one leg. His automatic (48RE?) works fine. He had 190,000 miles on his '03, 3500. His lift pump went at 96K. When it did, the truck shut down right now. He told me the pump only cost around $400, paid by Dodge. His towing cost him $500 and that's another story. NO OTHER REPAIRS and he's close to the 200K mark. That's the highest mileage I've heard of for a 3rd. Generation Cummins.


Noticing both my towing and solo mileage is getting better lately. There's around 55K on my truck and a couple more going on in the next three days. 50K break-in?

Good news capt.

$400 for a lift pump... that little plastic POS? Guess they got him Cummin and goin.

My truck has an electric wire running in front of the radiator going up to the electric fan clutch. It's in a hard plastic conduit that I suppose helps keep it from waving around in there.

Looking up from below...
http://home.comcast.net/~hoot74/dodge/accessable/images/DSCN5947.jpgEdited by: hoot

Just got in from a Kansas City run. Did not see the truck or his rental car, so don't have the final answer. I'll ask if it was the wire you pictured.

Is it just me ??? or does ole Hoot have a picture of every part on his truck ready to post to help us out.... but I am gonna check to see if my wires have a conduit to protect them too, heck I just look for an excuse to lay under the truck and stare at what makes it go so good. side note I just remembered why you aren't supposed to go so hard on stainless steel bolts, snapped one clamp snugging it up after driveing a few days with new exhaust. Stainless is pretty, doesn't rust but doesn't handle quite as much torque.

Capt, good to see the Dodge is treating you well. Looks as if your putting some miles on the 'ol girl.

Is it just me ??? or does ole Hoot have a picture of every part on his truck ready to post to help us out.... but I am gonna check to see if my wires have a conduit to protect them too, heck I just look for an excuse to lay under the truck and stare at what makes it go so good. side note I just remembered why you aren't supposed to go so hard on stainless steel bolts, snapped one clamp snugging it up after driveing a few days with new exhaust. Stainless is pretty, doesn't rust but doesn't handle quite as much torque.

That really was a coincidence. I layed under the truck a while back and noticed an electrical plug under the radiator. I traced it to the fan. Pretty wild having a wire hooked up to the center of the fan. I have a nice little setup to quicly take shots and put them online or post. I believe in pictures... they really help alot where words leave too much imagination.Edited by: hoot

Hi Eric. Hope you and your family are doing well. Not sure about this new truck as I only have 56K on it. Time will tell but I don't miss 'Andy' yet.


The fan hub clutch cost the neighbor $250 but labor made the bill about $800 plus rental car for a week. If you experience a mysterious shut-down try unplugging this thing at the plug below the radiator as in Hoots picture. The truck will not overheat as the fan turns all the time from the viscosity in the hub assembly. Only under heavy load and heat does it really engage.


Here's what it looks like.


http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/uploads/9-4fan_hub.jpg

capt, was that the wire that shorted?

"Fellow hauls all over the country and only has one leg. His automatic (48RE?) works fine. He had 190,000 miles on his '03, 3500."

Now that's a good sign!!!! Did better than your old Allison, huh?Edited by: hoot

I'd say that fellow with 190k of hauling with one leg has earned himself a beer (or tank of diesel, or whatever... personally I'd take the tank of diesel)! That's an admirable feat. Also demonstrates the reliability of the 3rd gens, and especially the 48RE, if the only problem he's had (I'm assuming that regular maintenance isn't included) is the lift pump at 96k. Very good sign indeed!

The short was 'supposidly' in the sensor housed inside that hub assembly for the fan. To me it is not a servicable part that can be taken apart. Replacement involves removing the radiator, inserting a wrench on the nut where it comes off the crank and removing the entire fan assembly.


The quick fix of unplugging the wire works because the fan still turns enough for engine cooling. It's just that the turning fan is not at the high speeds that would exist if the hub were engaged.


The one-legged RV hauler from Victorville told me he had a power steering line leak immediately after delivery. Then the lift pump went out around 96K and that was it. He never mentioned any other repairs in the 190K history of the '03 truck.


This fellow has a mechanical prothesis and seems quite competant with his independance. My impression is he would drink your beer.


Recap --- that WAS the wire shown. At least it was the wire connected to the fan clutch. Also, that fellows 48RE has held up without a single problem under long and hard towing. My old Allison towed with problems and then failed.Edited by: captainmal

Hmmm.. Allison costs more, has less warranty and doesn't last as long?

Captainmal, your one-legged friend had the same problem I had shortly after delivery with the power steering pump. Mine was leaking out the bottom of the pump where the steel line screws in. It was stripped out. Replaced under warranty, no problems with it since. Your buddy paid about the right price for the fan clutch but he got screwed on the labor. I had mine replaced for a little over $500.
Hoot, I did have my fan clutch replaced a couple of months ago. My AC wouldn't cool at idle or in heavy stop and go trafic. My problem were not like what Captainmal said. No limp mode for me. It just died, like you shut the key off. Everything is working fine now. I'm waiting to get my box back from Edge, after pulling with it for over 130k miles, pulling now without it seems pretty lame. Believe me, there is a big difference.

Good Eb gave us his symptoms of fan clutch problems. Seems that simple thing is connected to lots of other electronics that operate the entire electrical system. Good thing to know if you get 'limped' or stopped. It just may be the fan that can be unplugged allowing you to continue on your way.


That huge labor cost to replace the fan clutch was because this dealership could not figure out why the truck would not get out of limp mode. After a week of testing all the fuel and computer issues they called in some Dodge rep. He's the one that figured it out. My guess is John, the neighbor, was billed the $800 because it included a lot of searching for the problem. They also billed him $200 more for the 10-day use of a rental car.


My impression is the dealer he was taken to at breakdown knew very little about the Cummins, had no diesel mechanic on hand and no parts. I was told they were a small, rural dealer in central Pa. That means we should all break down close to experienced dealers. I'll tell my truck that in the morning.

so eb.... what caused the shutdown? The Edge? Edited by: hoot

Have no idea what caused it. Don't think it was the edge, the dealer here said they have replaced 3 now, including mine. The other two were not running the edge box, and were low mileage trucks so they were replaced under warranty. Something else to think about, the Dallas parts depot for Dodge had 27 rebuilt (remanned) CP3 pumps on hand. Kinda makes you wonder if there is a problem doesn't it.

They may have had a bad run. Duramaxes aren't loosing a lot of hp pumps. It's the same CP3.

Also could be misdiagnosis. GM dealers did that a lot back with the 6.5TD injection pump debacle in 94. Could just be a bad rail pressure control valve. Dmaxes had a lot of troublesome ones early on. They were replacing the whole pump but later only replaced the valve.

Have NOT run into anyone personally that replaced an injector pump on the 3rd gen. Cummins. Only that one with the lift pump. the gen. 2 drivers with high mileage seem to do lift pumps under 200K and I remember a couple spoke of doing injector pumps. These were trucks with big (1/4mill.+) mileage.


Even then I never got the impression there were unusual amounts of problems except maybe with the lift pumps. Maybe Dodge rebuilt CP3 pumps from ones that failed on a Duramax.