alright fellas we have a 1998 chevy 3500 van with a 6.5 diesel in it that we just recently purchaced (6 months ago) yesterday the van was driving down the highway fine and reached its destination the workers did what they had to do and then left (appx 1 hr) and the van would not start, what it does is fire and crank then fire then crank in a pattern it will not stay running, when it fires its for less then a second

1. Describe the problem you are having in detail:

2. Year of truck/engine. 1998 Chev van
3. Odometer reading (indicate miles or kilometers). 148k
4. Indicate the model number on the Injection pump (starts DS4 or DB2......). ??
5. Indicate if you know if it’s a 1500, 2500, 2500HD, 3500, 3500HD. 3500 van
6. Do you have an EGR on the engine? (An F or an S engine code 8th VIN digit) Not sure
7. Air Filter condition (visual check). Good
8. Fuel filter condition (freshly changed, mileage since changed). Not sure
9. Location of PMD/FSD (http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/showthread.php?t=39436)? (ex. on pump/remote over intake, behind bumper). Not sure
9a. If remote mounted, describe wiring harness (homemade or purchased from which vendor). __
9b. Indicate the location and condition of the FSD/IP grounding wire. __
10. Outside Temperature (C or F). _____ ° 15

11. Service Engine Light while running?- on/off/intermittent intermittent
11a. Service Engine light does glow during start/cranking/bulb check: Yes/No Yes
12.Have you scanned for engine codes? Yes/No Yes
12a. List exact results on engine codes (http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/dtc.php). No codes

13. Condition of Battery terminals (removed, cleaned and tightened). Cleaned and tightened
14. Known condition and age of Batteries. Good, Less then 2 years
14a. Are batteries a matched set of same age? No
15. Condition of Major Grounds (http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/showthread.php?t=157085) (removed, cleaned and tightened) Good

16. Does engine crank, or "turn over"? Yes
16a. Does engine start and run? No
17. If engine does not start- Crack injector line (http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/showthread.php?p=2188140#post2188140): do you have fuel? Yes/No Yes
18. Does your Wait To Start light come on? Yes
18a.Number of seconds WTS light is lit. 7-10
19. Engine Cranking speed (if you have an accurate tachometer). N/A

20. Are you experiencing Stalling? Yes
20a. Describe the event (upon startup only, down the road, hit a bump, etc...) Immediately when fired
20b. Do you notice loss of dash or instruments? Fuel Gauge
21. Check turbo inlet and air filter for obstructions. Clear
22. In a no-hot start, pour a bottle of room-temp water on the injection pump. Does it start now? N/A
23. Lift pump test (http://dieselplace.com/forum/showthread.php?t=39350) - Describe results. Did not do

24. Upon cold start, does the radiator hose get hard quickly? Yes/No N/A
25. Upon cold start, do you have excessive white smoke? Yes/No N/A
26. Do you have excessive cranking time before the engine starts? Yes/No Rhythm between firing
27. Have you used the block heater? Does it affect engine starting? (only try for starting problems). No
28. Are all glow plugs in proper working order (http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/showthread.php?t=39182)? Yes

29. During hard acceleration, do you have excessive black smoke? Yes/No Yes
30. Do you have any unusual exhaust smoke issues? No
31. Turbo check out (http://dieselplace.com/forum/showthread.php?t=39368) - Pass/Fail Good
32. Indicate fuel that you are using: Bio-Diesel, #2 Diesel, SVO/WVO, other #2 ULSD
32a. If running Veggie Oil fuel setup, indicate details of your conversion (homemade or packaged system). N/A
33. Are you using any fuel additives? If so, please list. None
34. Upon unscrewing fuel cap, do you have a large vacuum formed in the tank? Yes/No Have not tried
35. Do you have any service history available that might pertain to the problem you are having? Recent IP, PMD
36. Please indicate any modifications to the vehicle that might help us diagnose better. Stock

Does it run for just a few seconds or does it just die as soon as you stop cranking it?

it will fire right when you hit the key and immediately die within a second and if you hold on the key about every 5 seconds it will fire and do the same thing

If you dont have a fuel pressure gauge hooked up in line to your IP, it then sure looks to me like the lift pump is not working.

The symptoms you describe are classic faulty lift pump. The lift pump in your truck is receiving a current from the oil pressure switch which is under the intake manifold. Sometimes the OPS is faulty so this is a part to check out first. Generally though, the lift pump itself is at fault. You'll find the lift pump in the chassis frame rail just under the driver seat. Turn your key to the On position with the drivers door open. You should hear the pump cycle with a low hum. If it doesnt do anything and if your not getting fuel at the injectors, sounds to me like time for a lift pump.

Check if there is fuel at the "T" valve when someone is cranking the engine. Older vans had mechanical fuel pumps feeding the IP. Not sure what the '98 setup is.Regardless
there should be fuel pressure to the IP while cranking,so check by cracking open the "T" valve.

with the key on you can hear the lift pump, so im leaning toward the ops, how much of a pain is that to do on the van?

If you hear the lift pump but it still doesn't start it is not the OPS fault. The lift pump would be applying pressure to the fuel system for the IP. It is possible that the LP runs but is not making pressure. Test this by opening the "T" valve when you hear the LP run. You should get fuel flow out of the drain line.

Another quick check... while the engine is cranking check for steady power at the fuel shutoff solenoid.

if you have fuel pressure and it tries to start and run then dies -- have someone check over with a scanner and see all electronic component readings -- Possible bad TPS sensor on side of injection pump or under dash (the electornic throttle pedal assembly) CPU doesn't know where to set throttle on startup don't think fuel problem -- unless PMD is totally screwed up -- need to check with a good scanner

alright fellas we have a 1998 chevy 3500 van with a 6.5 diesel in it that we just recently purchaced (6 months ago) yesterday the van was driving down the highway fine and reached its destination the workers did what they had to do and then left (appx 1 hr) and the van would not start, what it does is fire and crank then fire then crank in a pattern it will not stay running, when it fires its for less then a second

1. Describe the problem you are having in detail:

2. Year of truck/engine. 1998 Chev van
3. Odometer reading (indicate miles or kilometers). 148k
4. Indicate the model number on the Injection pump (starts DS4 or DB2......). ??
5. Indicate if you know if it’s a 1500, 2500, 2500HD, 3500, 3500HD. 3500 van
6. Do you have an EGR on the engine? (An F or an S engine code 8th VIN digit) Not sure
7. Air Filter condition (visual check). Good
8. Fuel filter condition (freshly changed, mileage since changed). Not sure
9. Location of PMD/FSD (http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/showthread.php?t=39436)? (ex. on pump/remote over intake, behind bumper). Not sure
9a. If remote mounted, describe wiring harness (homemade or purchased from which vendor). __
9b. Indicate the location and condition of the FSD/IP grounding wire. __
10. Outside Temperature (C or F). _____ ° 15

11. Service Engine Light while running?- on/off/intermittent intermittent
11a. Service Engine light does glow during start/cranking/bulb check: Yes/No Yes
12.Have you scanned for engine codes? Yes/No Yes
12a. List exact results on engine codes (http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/dtc.php). No codes

13. Condition of Battery terminals (removed, cleaned and tightened). Cleaned and tightened
14. Known condition and age of Batteries. Good, Less then 2 years
14a. Are batteries a matched set of same age? No
15. Condition of Major Grounds (http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/showthread.php?t=157085) (removed, cleaned and tightened) Good

16. Does engine crank, or "turn over"? Yes
16a. Does engine start and run? No
17. If engine does not start- Crack injector line (http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/showthread.php?p=2188140#post2188140): do you have fuel? Yes/No Yes
18. Does your Wait To Start light come on? Yes
18a.Number of seconds WTS light is lit. 7-10
19. Engine Cranking speed (if you have an accurate tachometer). N/A

20. Are you experiencing Stalling? Yes
20a. Describe the event (upon startup only, down the road, hit a bump, etc...) Immediately when fired
20b. Do you notice loss of dash or instruments? Fuel Gauge
21. Check turbo inlet and air filter for obstructions. Clear
22. In a no-hot start, pour a bottle of room-temp water on the injection pump. Does it start now? N/A
23. Lift pump test (http://dieselplace.com/forum/showthread.php?t=39350) - Describe results. Did not do

24. Upon cold start, does the radiator hose get hard quickly? Yes/No N/A
25. Upon cold start, do you have excessive white smoke? Yes/No N/A
26. Do you have excessive cranking time before the engine starts? Yes/No Rhythm between firing
27. Have you used the block heater? Does it affect engine starting? (only try for starting problems). No
28. Are all glow plugs in proper working order (http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/showthread.php?t=39182)? Yes

29. During hard acceleration, do you have excessive black smoke? Yes/No Yes
30. Do you have any unusual exhaust smoke issues? No
31. Turbo check out (http://dieselplace.com/forum/showthread.php?t=39368) - Pass/Fail Good
32. Indicate fuel that you are using: Bio-Diesel, #2 Diesel, SVO/WVO, other #2 ULSD
32a. If running Veggie Oil fuel setup, indicate details of your conversion (homemade or packaged system). N/A
33. Are you using any fuel additives? If so, please list. None
34. Upon unscrewing fuel cap, do you have a large vacuum formed in the tank? Yes/No Have not tried
35. Do you have any service history available that might pertain to the problem you are having? Recent IP, PMD
36. Please indicate any modifications to the vehicle that might help us diagnose better. Stock
did you have any problems before this, this happened to me it was crank sensor.