You will need a 15mm socket and 1/2 ratchet for the bands on the tank. You'll also need a flat blade screwdriver, hammer, floor jack, and a ratchet strap. The way I remove the fuel tank is to place the jack under the tank just to support the weight. Then wrap a ratchet strap around the fuel tank and hook it to the jack pivot pin. Tighten the strap lightly not enough to crush the tank. You need to take a screwdriver and hammer and lightly tap on the sender ring and loosen the ring up to allow the sender to stand up out of the fuel tank. No need to unhook any lines leave that alone for now. Now using a 15mm socket you can remove the two nuts holding the fuel tank bands up to the frame. Pull your bands down and might have to bend them a bit to get out. Then easy the fuel tank down to the floor slowly and carefully to the floor watching the sender not to damage the fuel, sender in the tank, Once the tank is on the floor the sender can be lifted out of the fuel tank and the fuel tank moved out of your way.

NOTE: You'll want to have a friend or buddy help you tip the tank over and dump the fuel out of the tank. The tank needs to be empty as much as possible to get the measurement correct.

The current AirDog Draw Straw is different than the older generation I have in my truck. Make sure to support the tank at the normal band locations with 2x4 boards.

WARNING: Do not leave the tank laying on the floor for measuring or any work it will deflect the tank bottom inward and skew your measurements also will create the 1/4 tank slosh issues!

This now requires a 1-inch hole drilled into the top of the tank. You will need to inspect the location of where you're going to install that draw straw and be sure there is nothing going to interfere with the lines or the bulkhead sticking up. Make sure to clean the area where you are going to drill the 1-inch hole. Now drill the hole and collect all the drilled crumbs without getting into the tank if possible, Grab two quarters and lay them in the bottom, and stack the straw on top of the quarters. Now using a Sharpie mark the straw at the top of the tank. Now you want to measure from the bulkhead down to your mark and take note of that measurement, Now measure from the tip back up to the same measurement and mark the cut line.

NOTE: If you are using 1 quarter you want to follow the AirDog method of holes drilled in the straw. If you use 2 quarters then no notches should be required.

WARNING: Cut the straw "straight". Do NOT cut the straw at an angle or anything else but straight. 

When the straw is cut now place the sealing washer on the bulkhead and install the draw straw. The flat washer, star washer, and nut go inside to nut the straw in. You'll want to check the gap in the straw tip to the tank bottom should be the same as the number of coins you used for the gap. The closer the better for the tip. No, the tip will not suck to the bottom, the weight of the fuel will deflect the bottom downward making more of a gap when filled. This is why closer is better. Now just install your fitting into the bulkhead connector. Now you can reinstall the fuel tank which is super easy being the fuel tank is empty and light to lift up by a single person. Just reverse the process.

SuperDog Filter Numbers

PureFlow P/N Cross Reference P/N Manufacturer

AirDog FF100-10 FF5617 - Fleetguard 10um absolute, 60GPH
AirDog FF100-5 FF5587 - Fleetguard discontinued
AirDog FF100-3 FF5613 - Fleetguard 5um absolute 60GPH
AirDog WS80 FS19768 - Fleetguard 0% emulsified water/50% free water sep 20 GPH
AirDog WS100 LFF9594 - Luber-Finer 95% free water/75% emulsified water sep 90 GPH

NAPA Part # 3626 2 micron fuel filter works on the airdog!!! 6um nominal!

More numbers supplied by 1lowdiesel @ CumminsForum (AirDog Tech)

• Napa / Wix 3527 & 33527

• Napa / Wix 3697 & 33697

• Napa / Wix 3420 & 33420

• Napa / Wix 3616 & 33616

• CAT 1R-0751

• CAT 1R-0750

• Donaldson P551315

• Baldwin BF1275

• Fleetguard FS19768

• Baldwin BF7634

• FleetGuard FF5324

ASD Relay Controlled Lift Pump

If the ECM is no longer powering the electric lift pump and you’re using a manual switch wired directly to the fuel pump relay for control there is a danger of the fuel pump feeding a fire in the event of an accident even if the engine stalls.  The automatic shutdown relay is an alternative that will turn the fuel lift pump off if the engine stops and still be able to prime the VP44 if needed.

The automatic shutdown relay (ASD) in the power distribution center (PDC) is energized by the powertrain control module (PCM) by grounding pin 85 of the relay when the engine is started.  This closes the contacts and battery voltage is supplied to terminal 87 of the relay.  The terminal 87 of the ASD relay supplies power to the PCM through a 14 gauge dark green/orange (DG/OR) wire.  When the engine stalls the PCM opens the grounding circuit within 3 seconds and the voltage is removed from terminal 87.

 The lift pump relay can be controlled by connecting a wire between terminal 87 of the ASD relay, or splicing into the DG/OR wire) and terminal 86 of the lift pump relay.  The power draw of the lift pump relay solenoid is less than 1 amp so an 18 gauge wire can be used.

There is an option to run the lift pump without the engine on, a bypass switch and second relay can be installed.  The second relay is used to isolate the PCM and not power up systems unless the key is in the on position.  Also if the bypass switch was wired directly to pin #86 of the fuel pump relay the amp draw from the PCM would blow the 3 amp fuse.

If installed improperly the lift pump could stay on in the event of an accident.  Installer/user assumes responsibility for proper installation and use.   

Written by:

J. Daniel Martin, Martin’s Mobile Maintenance

AKA: IBMOBILE

3/24/19

This write-up is to list out all Bosch Certified injection pump builders who have an on-site Bosch 815 injection pump stand for testing and calibration Bosch VP44 injection pumps found on the Cummins Turbo Diesel. This is to educate Dodge Ram Cummins Turbo Diesel owners who there is only a handful of companies have the proper tooling for rebuilding Bosch VP44 injection pumps. This is not to steer you away from different vendors or dealers but to educate you to the fact, there is actually very few VP44 shops that do in-house rebuilding and calibration of the Bosch VP44 injection pump. I'm hoping with this article it will enlighten you enough to ask questions of the source of the Bosch VP44 injection pump, warranties, etc. This means there are a lot of vendors / dealers out there that are not tooled up for handling Bosch VP44 Injection pump rebuilding nor calibration. Now why there are so few shops that have a Bosch 815 test bench is because of the price, The Bosch 815 test stand are about $225,000.00 to purchase the Bosch 815 test stand. The Bosch License to do VP44 pump remanufacturing work is close to 1 million dollars from what I've been told by one injection shop I spoke to. This was the reason why most injection shop does not handle VP44 remanufacturing because of the pure price you must pay to become a Bosch Certified Rebuilder.

• Midwest Fuel injection
• Industrial Injection
• O-F-I (Oregon Fuel Injection)
• Jasper Engines
• Diesel Fuel Injection Rebuild Center
• Central Motive Power
• ProDiesel
• Diesel Forward (Diesel Injection Service)
• Dixie Diesel

Here are a few videos of the Bosch 815 test stand used for calibrating the Bosch VP44 injection pump and the Bosch CP3 injection pumps. This goes to show that all pumps must meet a certain level of the test bench before being sold.

If you happen to obtain information of additional certified Bosch Injection Shops with an in-house Bosch 815 test bench, please notify me I'll append the company name to the listing.

Added - Central Motive Power - 03/06/13

From: Cordell walker

Hey Mike,

I'd just like to let you know that Central Motive Power in Denver/Commerce City Colorado is a Bosch-certified pump shop. I've seen their 6 test benches with my own eyes as well as all their other Bosch equipment for injectors and have watched them rebuild a vp44.

-Dustin

Added - ProDiesel - 03/09/14

From: Clunk @ CumminsForum

These guys too, I've been inside their facility, saw the big Bosch test rig too.

Added - Diesel Forward - 11/08/14

From: SlightlyHazy @ CumminsForum

Hi there. I tried to send you a message quite a while ago about there being an 815 VP44 test bench local to me and was just reminded on a separate post that brought up your list but the company wasn't listed. Anyhow diesel forward in Windsor has a bench in house. They are also known by diesel injection service.

Added - Dixie Diesel - 10/03/15

From: Drinkin Diesel @ Cummins Forum

Sure can..here is the link to their website.... http://www.dixiediesel.com

Phone number: 1 888 381 1647

P.O. Box 336
200 East 16th Street
Columbia, TN 38401

Great guys to deal with.. except he had told me he has had good luck running the vp44 H.O. with 300hp injectors...that kinda worried me a bit..I declined his offer, due to trans being stock..

Here is the inside of the diaphragm and the o-ring seal.

This is the top cover of the diaphragm. This steel plate is harden steel and held in place with a snap ring. 

Looking through the hole and you can see the plastic and steel sandwich.

Here is the rotor and injection pump assembly.

I stood the rotor assembly up and pull the pistons out of the rotor. Yes, these pins are the 3 pistons pumping together to create the high pressure. 

This of course, is the main shaft, vane pump and cam ring. Take notice to the 3 rollers and shoes below the main shaft. These 3 roller shoes ride in the slots of the main shaft and roll around inside the cam ring.

Here is the timing piston. This is the piston that causes the infamous P0216 code. You can see the piston is galled up and this pump failed with the P0216 code.  

Now you can see the relationship of the timing piston and cam ring. As the piston moves back and forth it advances or retards timing as commanded by the ECM.

Here is the PSG unit on top of the Bosch VP44 Injection pump. The lead on top is the valve for controlling the timing piston by flowing fuel pressure to
the piston. The lead on the bottom you notice has been tapped and this lead is the fuel pin solenoid. Also take notice the electronics are heatsinked to the fuel side not the cover side. This just kills off all the people thinking heatsinks or blowers on the cover are do any good... Sorry it don't.

Close up of the guts of the PSG. That clear gel is not solid as you see I was attempting to get some plastic debris out of the gel and disturbed it. This gell helps the heat of the electronics to dump the heat into the fuel below the plate. 

This is the PSG flipped over showing the sensor for the tone wheel and fuel temp. As you can see the electronics sit over the ribbed section. Again this is to promote heat exchange to the fuel for the electronics. This is another good reason why the 14-20 PSI unofficial fuel pressure are suggested. 

Then the empty VP44 injection pump body. Yes, this VP44 body was damaged beyond what can be used for core. The owner pried the pump out of the gear instead of using a gear puller. That's why the damage to the nose of the VP44 pump body. 

Looking inside the Bosch VP44 injection Pump body where the guts go.

Then the nose of the Bosch VP44 injection Pump where the shaft comes through. 

Bosch VP44 injection pumps key part numbers

key# Cummins#
026 - 3944021
027 - 3944022
028 - 3944023
029 - 3944024
030 - 3944025
031 - 3944026
032 - 3944027
033 - 3944028
034 - 3944029
035 - 3944030
036 - 3944031
037 - 3944032
038 - 3944033
039 - 3944034
040 - 3944035
041 - 3944036
042 - 3944037
043 - 3944038
044 - 3944039
045 - 3944040
046 - 3944041

Overflow Valve Description

The overflow valve is located on the side of the Bosch VP44 injection pump. It is also used to connect the fuel return line (banjo fitting) to the Bosch VP44 injection pump for your Cummins powered Dodge truck.

Overflow Valve Operation

Fuel volume from the fuel transfer (lift) pump will always provide more fuel than the fuel injection pump requires. The overflow valve (a check valve) is used to route excess fuel through the fuel return line and back to the fuel tank. Approximately 70% of supplied fuel is returned to the fuel tank. The valve opens at approximately 97 kPa (14 psi). If the check valve within the assembly is sticking open, fuel drainage of the Bosch VP44 injection pump could cause hard starting. If a Diagnostic Trouble Code (DTC) has been stored for “P0168 decreased engine performance due to high injection pump fuel temperature”, the overflow valve may be stuck in closed position.

Overflow Valve Diagnosis And Testing

A rubber tipped blow gun with regulated air line pressure is needed for this test.
1. Clean area around overflow valve and fuel return line at  Bosch VP44 injection pump before removal.
2. Remove overflow valve from Bosch VP44 injection pump and banjo fitting.
3. Discard old sealing gaskets.
4. Set regulated air pressure to approximately 97kPa (14–16 psi).
5. Using blow gun, apply pressure to overflow valve inlet end ( the end that goes into Bosch VP44 injection pump).
6. The internal check valve should release, and air should pass through overflow valve at 97 kPa (14–16 psi). If not, replace overflow valve.
7. Reduce regulated air pressure to 10 psi and observe overflow valve. Overflow valve should stay shut. If not, replace overflow valve.
8. Install new sealing gaskets to overflow valve.
9. Install overflow valve through banjo fitting and into Bosch VP44 injection pump.
10. Tighten to 30 N·m (24 ft. lbs.) torque.

Overflow Valve Removal

The overflow valve (pressure relief valve) is located at the outside of fuel injection pump. It connects the fuel return line (banjo fitting) to the pump. The overflow valve has no internally serviceable parts and must be replaced as an assembly. Two sealing gaskets are used. One gasket is located between pump and banjo fitting. The other is located between the banjo fitting and end of the valve.
1. Clean area around overflow valve and fuel return line at injection pump before removal.
2. Remove valve from pump and banjo fitting.
3. Discard old sealing gaskets.

Overflow Valve Installation

The overflow valve (pressure relief valve) is located at the outside of fuel injection pump. It connects the fuel return line (banjo fitting) to the pump. The valve has no internally serviceable parts and must be replaced as an assembly. Two sealing gaskets are used. One gasket is located between pump and banjo fitting. The other is located between the banjo fitting and end of the valve.
1. Install new sealing gaskets to valve.
2. Install valve through banjo fitting and into the pump.
3. Tighten to 30 N·m (24 ft. lbs.) torque.

Few notes...

Here is a close up of the bleed hole in the overflow valve. This picture is magnified X10 so you can even see the tiny hole used to bleed air from the system.

There is a lot of controversy about the operation of the overflow valve on a Bosch VP44 injection pump Cummins selected. From my personal opinion that the overflow valve is the last check valve to hold the pressure up to 14 PSI for the injection pump. As for the bleed hole in the side that hole is so small, it can't possibly create enough flow to aid in cooling the Bosch VP44 injection pump unless the overflow valve is opened which listed above requires 14 PSI to be open.

Remove the Mopar1973Man Crankcase vent (if applicable)

Using a 10mm socket remove the four air horn bolts and one dipstick bolt.

Using a 7/16 or 11mm socket loosen the top clamp of the intake boot.

Move the grid heater and intake horn out of your way.

Pack a shop rag in the intake to prevent stuff from falling in the intake manifold.

Using a 13mm socket loosen the 3 bolts holding the APPS sensor and unplug and move over toward the driver side fender.

Now unplug the VP44 main connector and wire tap . This connector is a two step plug lock. Pull the release tab and wiggle the plug out then pull a bit more on the release and the plug should release fully.

Now using a 10mm loosen the 3 bolts holding the 1,2,4 injection rail in place. Using a 3/4" wrench loosen 1,2,4 injection lines.

Now remove 1,2,4 injection lines as a group.

Using a 3/4" wrench remove the overflow valve banjo and remove your supply line (may differ from mine being a big line kit)

Now remove the crankcase vent. Just unscrews normal right hand threads. Do not pry on the nipple. Use an oil filter wrench or a strap wrench to loosen stubborn vent covers. 

Now remove the pump shaft nut with a 1 1/16 inch socket. 

Be careful removing the nut and lock washer that you don't drop them down into the gear case. A stubby Phillips screwdriver and a magnet is handy you can slide it off the shaft onto the Phillips screwdriver. 

Using a 23mm socket roll the alternator towards the coolant bottle to bring the keyway on the pump gear to TDC position and then install your gear puller and pull the gear loose on the shaft. 

Now loosen the 3,5,6 lines but you do not have to remove the injection line set.

Now you want to loosen the 2 bolts on the rear bracket with a 13mm socket. 

Now remove the 4 nuts holding the pump to the gear case. 

Now careful kick the 3,5,6 lines out there nipples towards the block.

Now lightly pry the VP44 injection pump away from the case and remove. Check for the key in the shaft make sure its present.

This is what you should have after removal...

Remove the Mopar1973Man Crankcase vent (if applicable)

Using a 10mm socket remove the air horn bolts and dipstick bolt.

Using a 7/16 or 11mm loosen the top clamp of the boost boot.

Move everything out of your way.

Pack a shop rag in the intake to prevent stuff from falling in.

Using a 13mm socket loosen the 3 bolts holding the APPS sensor and unplug and move.

Now unplug the VP44 main connector and wire tap . This connector is a two step plug lock. Pull the release tab and wiggle the plug out then pull a bit more on the release and the plug should release fully.

Now using a 10mm loosen the 3 bolts holding the 1,2,4 injection rail in place. Using a 3/4" wrench loosen 1,2,4 injection lines.

Now remove 1,2,4 injection lines as a group.

Using a 3/4" wrench remove the overflow valve banjo and remove your supply line (may differ from mine being a big line kit)

Now remove the crankcase vent. Just unscrews normal right hand threads. Do not pry on the nipple. 

Now remove the pump shaft nut with a 1 1/16 inch socket. 

Using a 23mm socket roll the alternator towards the coolant bottle to bring the keyway on the pump gear to TDC position and then install your gear puller and pull the gear loose on the shaft. 

Now loosen the 3,5,6 lines but you do not have to remove. 

Now you want to loosen the 2 bolts on the rear bracket with a 13mm socket. 

Now remove the 4 nuts holding the pump to the gear case. 

Now careful kick the 3,5,6 lines out there nipples towards the block.

Now lightly pry the pump away from the case and remove. Check for the key in the shaft make sure its present.

This is what you should have after removal...

Bosch VP44 Injection Pump Replacement

Removal

1. Disconnect both negative battery cables at both batteries. Cover and isolate ends of cables.
2. Thoroughly clean fuel lines at cylinder head and injection pump ends. Thoroughly clean Bosch VP44 injection pump and supply/return lines at side of pump.
3. Disconnect 9–way electrical connector at Fuel Pump Control Module (FPCM) (Fig. 22).
4. Remove fuel return line at side of Bosch VP44 injection pump by removing overflow valve (Fig. 23). Place rag beneath overflow valve to catch excess fuel.
5. Remove fuel supply line at side of Bosch VP44 injection pump by removing banjo bolt (Fig. 23). Also remove same line at top of fuel filter housing (banjo bolt).

  

6. Remove all high-pressure fuel lines, intake air tube, accelerator pedal position sensor, air intake housing, engine oil dipstick tube, wiring clips, electrical cables at intake heaters and engine lifting bracket.

a. Remove the APPS sensor. Just unbolt the APPS and unhook the wires and tuck it back towards the firewall with the throttle cable attached.
b. Remove the intake elbow 4 bolts and remove the air pipe on the driver side. As for the dipstick tube it can be move out of the way by twisting it carefully.
c. Remove grid heater leaving the wires attached to the grid heater and tuck back out of the way.

Mopar's Notes: Now you only need to remove 1,2,4 high pressure injector lines. The other 3,5,6 can remain attached to the engine but need to be removed from the Bosch VP44 injection pump.

7. Remove hose clamp at crankcase vent hose (Fig. 24) and remove the hose from the canister.
8. Remove (unscrew - right-hand thread) canister (Fig. 24) from gear cover.
9. Remove nut and washer retaining injection pump gear to Bosch VP44 injection pump shaft (Fig. 25)

 

10. The engine can be rotated with a barring tool such as Snap-On No. SP371, MTE No. 3377371 (Cummins Tool Division, or an equivalent. The opening for barring tool is located in rear flange of the engine on exhaust manifold side (Fig. 26). Remove rubber access plug covering this opening. A 15/16" socket on the alternator can be used as a barring tool.
11. Insert barring tool into flywheel housing opening (Fig. 26).
12. Rotate engine until keyway is at 12 o’clock position (Fig. 27).

 

13. Use T-bar type puller (Fig. 28) to separate injection pump gear from Bosch VP44 injection pump shaft. Attach two M8 X 1.24 MM (metric) screws through puller and into two threaded holes supplied in pump gear. Pull injection pump gear forward until it loosens from injection pump shaft. Pull on gear only enough to loosen it from the injection pump shaft.  Pulling gear too far may cause damage or breakage to gear cover.
14. Remove 2 rear/lower pump bracket bolts (Fig. 29).

 

15. Remove 4 Bosch VP44 injection pump-to-gear housing mounting nuts.
16. Remove Bosch VP44 injection pump from gear housing. Take care not to nick injection pump shaft on aluminum gear housing when removing the pump. Also, be very careful not to drop pump keyway into gear housing.

WARNING: Whenever the Bosch VP44 fuel injection pump is removed from the engine, the pump drive gear is laying loose on the camshaft drive gear. Never attempt to crank or rotate the engine with the pump removed from the engine. Serious damage will occur.

To prevent pump/gear keyway from falling into gear housing, the engine must be rotated until keyway is at 12 o’clock position (Fig. 27). If gear retainer nut, washer or key drops into gear housing, the cover may have to be removed to retrieve them before the engine is started.

Installation

1. Inspect pump mounting surfaces at the pump and the mounting flange for nicks, cuts or damage. Inspect o-ring surfaces for nicks, cuts or damage.
2. Clean injection pump mounting flange (Fig. 31) at gear housing. Also the clean front of the injection pump.
3. Install new rubber o-ring (Fig. 33) at pump mounting area.

 

4. Apply clean engine oil to the injection pump o-ring only. The machined tapers on both injection pump shaft and injection pump gear (Fig. 34) must be absolutely dry, clean and free of any dirt or oil film. This will ensure proper gear-to-shaft tightening.
5. Clean pump gear and pump shaft at machined tapers (Fig. 34) with an evaporative type cleaner such as brake cleaner.
Keyway Installation:
6. The pump/gear keyway has an arrow and a 3–digit number stamped at top edge (Fig. 33). Position keyway into pump shaft with the arrow pointed to the rear of the pump. Also be sure 3–digit number stamped to top of keyway is same as 3–digit number stamped to injection pump data plate (Fig. 35). If wrong keyway is installed, a diagnostic trouble code may be set.

Mopar's Notes: A suggestion is once you ready to place the key in the shaft take a few drops of super glue and glue it in place. This will keep the key from falling out during installation of the pump.

7. Position Bosch VP44 injection pump assembly to mounting flange on gear cover while aligning Bosch VP44 injection pump shaft through back of injection pump gear. When installing pump, dowel (Fig. 34) on mounting flange must align to hole in front of pump.
8. After  Bosch VP44 injection pump is positioned flat to mounting flange, install four pump mounting nuts and tighten finger tight only. Do not attempt a final tightening at this time. Do not attempt to tighten (pull) Bosch VP44 injection pump to gear cover using mounting nuts. Damage to pump or gear cover may occur. The pump must be positioned flat to its mounting flange before attempting to tighten mounting nuts.
9. To prevent damage or cracking of components, tighten nuts/bolts in the following sequence:
a. Install Bosch VP44 injection pump shaft washer and nut to pump shaft. Tighten nut finger tight only.
b. Install 2 rear/lower pump mounting bolts finger tight only.
c. Do preliminary tightening of Bosch VP44 injection pump shaft nut to 30 N·m (15–22 ft. lbs.) torque. This is not the final torque.
d. Tighten 4 Bosch VP44 injection pump mounting nuts to 43 N·m (32 ft. lbs.) torque.
e. Tighten 2 rear/lower Bosch VP44 injection pump bracket-to-pump bolts 24 N·m (18 ft. lbs.) torque.
f. Do final tightening of Bosch VP44 injection pump shaft nut to 170 N·m (125 ft. lbs.) torque. Use barring tool to prevent engine from rotating when tightening gear.
10. Install canister (Fig. 24) to gear cover.
11. Install crankcase vent hose (Fig. 24) to canister and install hose clamp.
12. Using new gaskets, install fuel return line and overflow valve to side of Bosch VP44 injection pump (Fig. 23). Tighten overflow valve to 24 N·m (18 ft. lbs.) torque.
13. Using new gaskets, install fuel supply line to side of Bosch VP44 injection pump and top of fuel filter housing (Fig. 23). Tighten banjo bolts to 24 N·m (18 ft. lbs.) torque.
14. Install all high-pressure fuel lines, intake air tube, accelerator pedal position sensor, air intake housing, engine oil dipstick tube, wiring clips, electrical cables at intake heaters and engine lifting bracket. Tighten the fuel line(s) at the head to the injector connector(s) to 38 N·m (28 ft. lbs.) torque.
15. Connect 9–way electrical connector to Fuel Pump Control Module (FPCM) (Fig. 22).
16. Connect both negative battery cables to both batteries.
17. Bleed air from fuel system.
18. Check system for fuel or engine oil leaks.

I'm going to do a quick article on requirements for long life from a Bosch VP44 injection pump. Here is the list of thing that are required to keeping a Bosch VP44 injection pump happy in your Cummins powered Truck.

• Fuel Pressure
• Fuel Filtration
• Fuel Lubricity
• Clean DC Power

Fuel Pressure

I know there is a lot of controversy about fuel pressure but I'm going to be to the point I suggest 14-20 PSI for optimal return flow for proper cooling and lubrication of the VP44.

Fuel Filtration

With the all the different fuel pump and fuel systems out there. I've been quite pleased with my Airdog fuel system. I've got a pre-filter  and water separator before the pump then the 3-micron filter after the Air Dog pump. Then I kept the stock filter as well and dropped a 10-micron Fleetguard filter in place. This has worked flawlessly on polishing fuel for the Bosch VP44 Injection Pump. Also being the AirDog flows a majority back to the fuel tank it tends to continually polish the fuel in the tank. I always will suggest in purchasing fuel from a high volume station like truck stops.

Fuel Lubricity

Bosch back in the day when designing the Bosch VP44 injection pump they based the design off of Europian fuel standards of 460 HFRR or less. Just about the time the Bosch VP44 was being introduced to the Cummins engine the US fuel was not adhering to any standards. So even before ULSD (ultra low sulfur diesel) came to be the US fuel had numbers as high as 500-600 HFRR. After a whole diesel industry getting damaged by the fuel the US standard was made at 520 HFRR. But that not going to meet the Bosch standards of <450 HFRR. So hence, the 2 cycle oil concept was born to band-aid this issue.

Clean DC Power

There have been so many years where people made claims of the electronics in the Bosch VP44 failed because of heat cycles. Well, that might have been true. Never the less there is another killer that I've uncovered is how clean is your power? Batteries are clean DC power just as they are but when you hook an alternator to the batteries there is always going to be some sort of ripple from AC waveform being converted to DC power. As alternators age the diodes start to fail and more and more AC power starts to leak out. I've set the limit at no higher than 0.1 AC volts measured at the batteries. The whole AC power problem could create these codes.

• P0215
• P0251
• P0252
• P0253
• P0254
• P1688
• P1689

All I've done is taken the snap ring off the infamous diaphragm and pried it out.

Not much inside the rotor body.

Here is the rotor shaft, injection pump, fuel pin and solenoid. 

Here is all the parts disassembled out of the rotor head. 

First off...Disconnect your batteries! - Negative cables.

I got smart and started with the Bosch VP44 Injection Pump Stealth Cover installation. Which is basically loosen the clamps (2 - 7/16" nuts) on the air tube on the drive side and move it aside. Remember to stick a rag in both holes. Then remove the APPS off the engine (3 - 13mm bolts). Now you got a good view of the top of the Bosch VP44 injection pump.

So now you take the supplied tamper-proof Torx bit and a nut driver and remove all 5 bolts out of the Bosch VP44 injection pump cover plate. Save you old plate! DON'T THROW IT AWAY! Now you take you Bosch VP44 Injection Pump Stealth Cover and install it in place of the old cover plate. Once you got the Bosch VP44 Injection Pump Stealth Cover mounted snug all the bolts gently. Now take the supplied Allen screw and thread it in the tapped hole with your fingers till it stops.

Now get out a test light or a DVM. I used a DVM. Hook up the batteries and turn the ignition ON. Ground your test light or DVM lead and touch the Allen screw with the positive lead. Now tighten the Allen screw till you get 12V or a bright light. Then turn an extra 1/2 turn. Now disconnect your batteries again. Now strip the wire and crimp on the supplied ends (ring terminal and blade terminal). Put the ring terminal on the Allen screw and using the supplied nut tighten down the nut snug! No more than snug, though. Don't want to strip the threads in the plastic. Now assemble the APPS on the engine and the air tube. So when your done it should look like...

1998.5 to 2000 Dodge Ram Quadzilla Adrenaline $699.99

2001 Dodge Ram Quadzilla Adrenaline $699.99

2002 Dodge Ram Quadzilla Adrenaline $699.99

Firstly you need excel on a computer.

1. Start by opening your datalog,

2. The delete the columns you dont want in the reports

3. select the datarange you want to graph on,  I would ensure you don't select more than 75 ish rows.  too many rows results in a junky looking graph

4. Click insert > then graph > then select any of the graphs down arrows and select "more xxxx charts..."

5. In the chart select, choose "Combo" then choose what sensors have what type of graph.  I like lines except for Canbus Fuel.  Ensure you select Secondary Axis for sensors with ranges above ~1000, IE egt's can be up to 2k, rpm 4k    This will make sure your graph data is viewable.

6. If you want to add data lables, right click line / bar > add data labels 

7. If you want to compare 2 data logs, you can copy and paste a dataset that has been select ( step 3) and paste it into another table.  

Please see this article if you need to update to V2 tuning.

ADR tuning reference guide 

Here is the Edge jwa cts2 User manual
https://edgeproducts.com/installation_guides/AttitudeCTS2_D10012600_REV00.pdf

Here is the Edge Comp User Manual
https://edgeproducts.com/installation_guides/30300.pdf

Here is the Edge ez User manual
https://edgeproducts.com/installation_guides/30200.pdf
 

Smarty / MM3 info can be found at
https://smartyresource.com/
 

TST Comp manual
https://www.tstproducts.com/pdffiles/remote45c.pdf

 

tunerCompare.xlsx

Doing a custom AirDog install I think the hardest thing that people struggle with is getting the draw straw installed properly in the proper place. First of the draw straw should not be installed in the sender basket. The reason is the return fuel from the rear of the head is heated by the heat of the head and that will be the first fuel you going to pump back to the VP44. We all know that you want cool fuel for the VP44 this is a bad idea. Second, your draw straw needs to be installed in the fuel tank away from the sender where the hot fuel is returned. I typically use the high spot just forward of the sender which typically has no other interference from the bed or frame. 

Installing the Draw Straw

First off you need to drop the tank and have it fully drained of fuel. It is a requirement to have the tank completely empty of fuel when the measurements are done for the straw. Diesel fuel weighs about 6 pounds per gallon so when you fill the tank the bottom will deflect more opening the gap more between the straw tip and the bottom this is why the gap must be 1 or 2 quarter coins at most. Then place the fuel tank on 2x4 boards under where the bands normally sit to keep from deflecting the bottom of the tank upwards which will skew your draw straw measurement. When you drill the 1-inch hole do it in a place like I mention the high spot forward of the sender. Using either 1 or 2 quarters place them under the tip of the Draw Straw so you can mark the proper amount to trim off. Now remove the straw and measure the same distance from the tip and mark and cut. When you cut the straw make sure to cut it straight! NO ANGLE CUTS!... MUST BE CUT STRAIGHT. Now install your Draw Straw you'll need the gasket on first. Then install the straw then the flat washer, star washer, and the nut on the inside. Tighten the nut, yeah it's not easy to tighten that nut on the inside. Then add your fitting to the straw when you do make sure to face it so you can hook up the fuel lines. 

Mounting the AirDog 150 pump to the frame

When I now install the pump I did not use the supplied bracket for mounting the AirDog sandwiched to the frame this typically ends up with the filters hanging below the frame line and striking damage might occur if you use your truck offroad. This is why I use the base bracket and mark and drill the frame for placement so the filters are above the frame line. In this case, I mounted the AirDog 150 on the outside of the frame. Now you want to drill and tap the frame for the bracket. I used a drill just a bit small but the 5/16-18 tap requires a 17/64 drill bit. Once holes are drilled and tapped then you need the four Allen bolts supplied in the kit and the plastic block spacer. Tighten up the four bolts and then install the AirDog in the bracket.

Installing fuel Lines / Hoses

Since this truck has a flatbed and modified filler neck. I had taken advantage of the custom filler neck for my return line coupler. I pulled out the double barbed fitting and replaced it with the AirDog return fitting. Then I measured from the AirDog 150 return fitting to the return barb. Cut the hose. Now use some lightweight oil and lube each push lock fitting and push them into the hose. The easiest way is to put the fitting on the floor and push down on the fitting with the hose. All you got to do after the hose is put together with both fittings is snap it on each fitting at the return and the pump. Now Supply from the tank you measure from there and route back to the pump. The same applies here cut to length and then push your push lock fittings into the hose. Then snap on the draw straw and the AirDog. Now the feed line to the engine is a bit different than most do. I route the feed line over the frame and then run the hose inside the frame all the way forward to the hole near the bell housing. They exit the frame and run to the stock Fuel Filter housing. For this one you have to push the fitting on by hand being the hose is run in the frame already. Again just snap the hose onto the AirDog pump and then on the stock fuel filter. Now I ordered the optional Big Line Kit which goes between the stock fuel filter housing and the VP44. The stock filter housing is always kept when I do an AirDog install. The extra filter does catch things that the AirDog misses. The stock fuel filter heater helps for wintertime operation. I highly suggest you always keep the stock fuel filter housing.

Electrical / Wiring

The AirDog kit comes with all the electrical and fuse hook-up. Again this is all ran back through the frame with the fuel lines to prevent snagging electrical while offroad. I typically mount the relay to the cowl using the ground screw of the wipers on the driver side. The positive and negative hook-up will require trimming there are over 6 feet of excess wiring there. I do NOT hook to the battery ever. I hook the ground to the bolt of the PDC for ground. The positive line I hook up to the PDC positive post. This way there is no wiring that will be damaged by battery acid. Then you need to unhook the factory lift pump lead and hook up the AirDog signal lead to the factory lead. 

I want to emphasis that I am by no means an expert in this area, and a lot of what I have written is based on direct phone conversations with Eric @Vulcan. He's a great help and I couldn't of completed this install without his guidance.

So to start you are going to have to drop your tank. Now, having more then one person will certainly help, but it's possible to do with by yourself, as I did. It's a fairly straight forward process. BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING ELSE, disconnect all your fuel lines, the electrical plug from the top of the fuel module and your filler and vent tubes. The fuel lines are a bit tough to get undone. They need to be pinched both on the top and bottom so some skinny needle nose pliers would help here. There's two bolts hold your tank straps down and you'll need a deep socket (15mm) and a good sized extension to get to the forward most tank strap bolt. I ran straps I use to hold the dirt bike down in the truck bed around the tank and a frame rail to help hold it up while I was still under it, and then lowered it down. You may need to loosen the bolts for the carrier bearing bracket in order to get the forward most tank strap off.

From there I drug it into my garage to keep it in a cleaner environment. Plus I like to take my time on things so leaving it out in the driveway wasn't a real option.

Use a 2x4 or equivalent to gently loosen the fuel module. Once that's completely loosened you can remove your fuel module. BE EXTRA CAREFUL WHEN REMOVING TO NOT DAMAGE YOUR FLOAT. Once removed you'll have this.

Keep in mind this is with the in tank pump that was installed by the dealership so yours could be laid out slightly different.

From here you're going to start the modification process. I started by removing the wiring from the harness at the top of the fuel module, and the connectors at the bottom. Next you clip the OEM hose down where the yellow plastic forms an 'H' shape. You should end up with a piece that looks like this.

Now you should be able to separate the bottom bucket portion from the top to make working on it a little easier. I didn't take any pics of this, but it's a fairly straight forward process, just be careful not to force things to much since this plastic can be brittle.

Now you'll have to decide how you are going to modify the top of your fuel module. If you are just going to be installing the drawstraw 5, then this process is a little more straight forward an easier. If that is the case then your best bet it to just shave out the section that the black rubber cap is in. This will leave you with a hole that you can just expand out to the appropriate size and be done from there. In my case, I was adding the 1/2in drawstraw as well as a 1/2in return line so I needed to make a little more room. Make sure you use a step drill for this to avoid cracking the brittle plastic.

***A couple things I didn't mention and should be considered. Don't cut into that lip that circles the outside of the top of the fuel module. Make sure that your two fittings are far enough apart to fit the 15/16ths bolts that need to go under to hold your fittings down.

As you can see, I miss calculated my drill center for the left hole and caught an extra bulge. The extra bulge is where you would drill your SINGLE hole if it were just the drawstraw. Well since I did that I added some JB weld for plastic.

I put a piece of duct tape underneath and rolled another piece to keep the shape as close as possible to fill the hole. Once it dried it came out pretty good.

Just use some fine grit sand paper to get it to fit nicely. This also applies to all the other modification around the top.

I had already done some fitting checks to make sure everything would work out. This is what it would look like from the top.

So all the fittings look good with the holes where they are. From here the next hurdle is the bolts and washers underneath. You will more then likely need to grind down the washers to make them fit underneath. I just used a sharpie to mark where the two washers overlapped and ground them down on a bench grinder. Mine came out like this.

From here you can install your bolts that secure the fittings down.

You can stick a screwdriver down the top of the fittings to help counteract you tightening down the bolt from underneath. That works much better then using vise grips!

Next you want to move on to the bottom of the fuel module. You will need to remove the stock in tank lift pump which is secured by the black plastic tab that was shown in previous pics. It has 3 pinch points so the way that worked for me was to get 3 small screwdrivers, shove 2 in to completely break the pump free of those tabs, hold onto those 2 and insert the 3rd screw driver in and use that one to pry it out. It sounds so much easier, even typing this out, unfortunately it wasn't as easy for me. Big thanks to Eric again for walking me through this one. The bottom of my fuel module was fairly dirty so I sprayed it out with a hose and then took the air hose too it and let it dry overnight.

Be careful not to damage or remove the small reddish plug that you'll find in the bottom. Mine could move around a bit, but I would've have to try and remove it.

You should end up with this piece once everything's cleaned up. This will not go back into the fuel module.

*************************************

You should also pop off the screen ^^^ on the very bottom of the bucket to make sure it's not clogged. ***Make sure you reinstall this piece.

Now you should drill a 1/2in hole 2-3in from the bottom of the bucket. It doesn't really matter where you put it, but Vulcan's instructions give you an area to do it so I copied that as best I could.

Now re-install the top and bottom portions of the fuel module. Your end result should look similar.

The red fitting is attached to my drawstraw 5 which is fitted into where the old lift pump was. The silver fitting is my new return line. From here you can snip the larger of the 4 wires on the connector as they no longer has a spot to be plugged in. They're the black and yellow wires. LEAVE THE BLUE WIRES ALONE. I also decided to plug the OEM supply hose since it would no longer be needed. This is what my final product looked like.

Make sure your wiring harness is plugged in!!

This is the way I came up with a way to plug the old supply line so nothing can sneak down in there and get dirt in your tank. I found a rubber screw cap and filled it with jb weld and slid it over the return line like this.

 Once that's done you should be good to put your module back in the tank and put the tank back in the truck!

An extra note here, if you had to loosen the carrier bearing bracket bolts, you might want to grind down the forward most tank strap to help avoid that if you ever need to drop the tank again. This is how mine turned out.

I probably still could've ground down the sides a little more because I still needed to use a small pry-bar to get the holes lined up but it worked for me.

Hope this helps, if you have questions feel free to ask and I'll do my best to help out.

For the sake of the article we are only going to look at 3 timing tables, there are more, but they dont really apply all the time.  Also keep in mind I tried to make the x axis on each map %0-100 of load / fueling, but use fuzzy math because it is not exactly 0-100 as it is based on the fueling command passed to the VP44.   however each map is less fueling to the left more to the right.  

1ST  The Base Timing Map.  this is the map that the ECM using to say no matter what this is how much "base" timing.  

2nd The Static State Map.  This map controls how much timing is added ON TOP of the base map if conditations are static. Load / RPM / TPS input etc etc all static AKA cruise

3rd The Dynamic State Map.  This map is what the ECM uses for timing to add ON TOP of the base map if conditions are changing, AKA accelerating or decelerating etc  We won't look at this one for MPG info, but you can use it to see what timing is doing under load.  hint timing is at or near 12*

So what we do is find the area of cruise state in the maps, Say ~1500 rpm and ~30% load.  If we look at that area in the base map we find ~13* of timing for a base amount, then we see Static State Map has an "island" of timing increase in that same rpm area.   You can see the ~6* drop in timing once you go from 1400 rpm to 1580 rpm. 

The resulting timing will be ~18* at 1400 rpm and ~13* of timing at 1580 rpm.     What we have found is that best mpg tends to happen if we stick timing in that 18*-19* range at cruise state ~55-65 mph.   

If we look at gearing vs speed for a 47re you can see that with

3.55 rear end 55 mph = 1450 rpm

3.55 rear end 60 mph = 1600 rpm

4.10 rear end 55 mph = 1700 rpm

4.10 rear end 60 mph = 1850 rpm

With stock tuning,  this means that a 3.55 rear end mpg will fall off at pretty much 55 mph, with a 4.10 truck mpg will fall off well before highway speed. 

Now if you add a Edge ez, quadzilla zxt, edge comp, type tuner you will see 2 things happen.

1. You will need less throttle input to move down the road at a given speed, this means you are further left in the maps above.   Note that if you move too far left your timing falls off again.  AKA if you go too big in injectors, without tuning to correct the fueling,  your mpg will start to drop off.  you may blame "big injectors" but it is actually far to little timing to support good mpg.

2. you are adding timing on top of the ECM desired timing. 

So what this means is you will get oem timing + an added 1* or 2* of timing.  this will help keep mpg up near 55 mph with a 3.55 truck.  However as you increase speed the oem timing will fall off faster than the tuner will add it.     Again please remember that somewhere in the 18-19* of timing is about righ tfor good mpg in that 55-65 mph area.  The longer you can hold timing up as rpms increase beyond 1400 rpm the higher your mpg will be.  

Now if you are using Quadzilla Adrenaline with V2 tuning or UDC pro you are able to set timing where you want it regardless of the above maps.  this is very handy to get mpg up and hold them up as you increase speed beyond 55 mph  

From what I understand when your setting you power levels you got the main number (1-5) and the sub level (1-5). To set the sub-level press the power switch and hold for a few seconds and release. The LED bars will be flashing rapidly. Now you can adjust the sub-level.

The main number controls the maximum fuel rate and maximum timing advancement. This it the amount of total fuel at WOT that will be used. Higher the number the more fuel at WOT.

The sub number is how quick it will get to maximum fuel rate and maximum timing advancement by boost pressure. Higher the number the less boost required to get to full fuel rate and timing advancement. This also might create black smoke during acceleration.

Recommended setting is 4x4 or 5x5. Reason being is that most of you every day driving on city streets and highways you will never be able to keep the boost above 10 PSI. That means once the Edge falls in de-fuel mode you've lost you time advancement and any kind of fuel enhancement. The de-fuel mode is a de-fuel stock mode which you want to avoid. De-fuel mode was designed for people that have a large turbo and/or large injectors and it gives them a way to control smoke till the turbo spools up.

The hard starting problem is caused by a Bosch VP44 injection pump with a damaged diaphragm internally. A torn diaphragm is typically caused from a Bosch VP44 injection pump that was operated at below 10 PSI for an extended period of time. So technically you should replace the Bosch VP44 injection pump to repair the damaged diaphragm but most rig up an oil pressure switch or a starter delay relay.

Since Revision 027 the Bosch VP44 Injection pump has not had a rubber diaphragm. So the other reason that woul cause hard starting is excessing cranking fuel pressure. So this little mod will turn of the lift pump dring cranking to ease starting the engine.

Here is my idea...

This will cause the lift pump to remain off during the period of timing the starter is operating as soon as the key is released the lift pump will function normally and remain controlled by the ECM.

The general consensus among the vast majority is to eliminate the factory OE Carter pump and invest in a robust Class 8 aftermarket system. There are several companies that offer such devices with different performance levels and packaging. Many, come complete with new 1/2" fuel lines, mounting structures, fuel fittings and electrical control harnesses. Some companies offer more modest devices with a budgetary aspect at minimum level. All of this becomes apparent when a conscientious owner/operator begins the research to purchase a new device or system. I for one have stopped reading "Lift Pump" threads because it's so very painful...and I've already seen so many stories of the same old blah blah blah! No, I am not being insensitive to a fellow CTD owner's plight...after all, this is most likely a "new to Diesels" type person. The post is reaching out to the "experienced" diesel enthusiasts for suggestions and perhaps constructive feed-back, prior to making that large investment. Confidence from fellow CTD owners in what they may have purchased or installed goes a long way with the new guy or lady looking for an answer.

For just a moment allow me a little latitude...Oh God! Not another Lift Pump story ...Yes but, not what you might think. This will drill-down in a different manor so, please bare with me.

The factory OE "Carter" is such a little peanut-whistle why did Dodge do this? The fact is, as many know quite well, the decision was Daimler Chrysler who dictated to Cummins to provide the complete CTD engine package as a drop-in module. Carter's specifications states that, "this pump is to be located within 18 inches of the fuel supply"...it's sad to know these details greatly after the fact. This detail was covered 20 years ago on nearly every diesel website worldwide. This led to the unfortunate degradation of the Carter transfer pumps reputation.

In actuality, the Carter LP (lift pump) has excellent design characteristics!

    At first glance the appearance seems a bit "puny" but, let's look at some of the "not so apparent features"... First of all, Carter is a very large world-wide company who provide a vast selection of produced articles. They also provide excellent technical documentation regarding the application of their products in numerous industrial devices, automotive, marine and aeronautical systems or platforms. Electro-mechanical pumps of this nature, are just a single product that they produce... In our application, CTD's are at first, supplied copious amounts of diesel fuel at acceptable levels to operate the engine and provide flow-through for critical cooling of the VP44 in return to the fuel tank. This is "how" the designed system was to perform.

We know as experienced CTD owners that this was not always the case. Many of us know the error of mounting this little well designed pump nearly 10 feet forward of the fuel supply (not to specification of Carter Inc.) and ask this little pump to draw fuel through a small 1/4" line and....force the liquid through "banjo-bolt" fittings as delivery to the VP44? Wow...it's an unreasonable expectation for an electro mechanical pump, that most likely, costs less than $20 to produce in the Philippines.  None the less, how many of us have had the occasional chat with a CTD owner (who knows nothing) that tells you they purchased the 2nd Gen new, he has 187K miles and has NEVER replaced the VP44 (he doesn't know what a VP44 is...you just taught him the word) and NO...he has never put a fuel pump into his truck! Yeah ! You know what I'm talking about ! How can this be ? Well...I guess some folks are a lot more lucky than I am... heck...this guy doesn't even know about 2 Stroke for lubricity,... credit our GodFather @Mopar1973Man 

This photo is well known as a starting point. Also, a depiction of what Cummins had to do to appease Daimler Chrysler's request of a "drop in module" CTD

Okay...what is "a well designed pump"... even if it is not mounted correctly?

At Carter, where they have been doing this longer than any of our familiar after-market LP suppliers... please note:

1... A fully enclosed hermetically sealed electro-machanical  device that allows the liquid fuel to act as a cooling medium and fully immerses the active armature of the 12 volt DC motor to never exceed the temperature of the supplied liquid (diesel fuel)...because it is "airless" (hermetically sealed) there is no ignition to cause flammability. It's liquid cooled !

2... The entire body or "encapsulation" as hermetic, provides absolute closure or isolation of the motor-brushes as they kiss the surface of the armature in run condition. This is very important as a DC (direct current) motor with carbon pile brushes act as a wild uncontrolled sparking noise source generator !!! 

This is a normal phenomena of any analog DC brushed motor. A given manufacturer of brushed DC motors, depending on purpose, will take steps to "silence" the electrical (RF noise generation)...the term "purpose" needs clarification... "if the motor is a "CCS" continuous commercial service (runs all the time) then, additional electronic filtering or "shunting" of the armature must be provided.

3... Carter Inc. employs RF Engineers (BSEE graduates minimum) to accomplish technical requirements when contracted specifications are to be adhered to for final product production. An expensive platform in any industrial production would have a string of engineers along with design engineers specking' components or assemblies that will be encapsulated within the finalized product. This occurred in "our" beloved CTD's with electro mechanical LP's....the Carter is "RF quiet" for continuous run condition. 

Let's examine the electronic terminals of the Carter LP

Note: The plastic weather-guard assembly directly attached to the full metal housing that contains the + & - 12 volt DC !

4... This connection point provides the direct current to power this LP. I wish you to fully understand what you're looking at. As viewed you'll note "both Plus+ and -minus" is provided at this connection point. You must also NOTE, the + and - are arriving directly from a single "pair" connection of both + & - .... I know you'll think I'm stating things "twice" and I want you to know this is an attempt to be a "balanced" feed. The housing of the pump is fully DC grounded when it is attached to the mounting bracket. In a "balanced" feed the "minus" or "negative" is NOT directly at chassis ground...it is merely + and - of the source (12 volts DC in our case) the body of the pump IS directly grounded but, the "source" is isolated from the pump body. Put your Ohm meter on either terminal and touch the pump body....there is NO direct DC continuity in a "balanced" source. This is a sexy way of making things very "quiet" electronically. Professional audio studios are fully balanced systems using "Cannon" connectors with three terminals. One is "plus" Two is "minus" and Three is "shield ground"....hence, balanced and NO Hum or Static noise. (Hey...those guys at Carter make a quiet pump...it's wimpy but, damn quiet)

Okay...now let us examine what is going on internally on the back side of the connection point.

    A careful surgery, with hack-saw in hand, to remove the hermetically sealed body cover and expose the multi-octave filter or "shunting" design of this Carter LP. The double sided epoxy circuit board with modern surface-mount chip capacitors is excellent. This board is located directly at the input of the 12 volt source with virtually zero component lead length (surface mount) to provide shunting of the make and break contact that the brushes are doing directly at the armature when in "run" condition. This DC motor is virtually by-passed or shunted for any RF noise or "spiking" all the way passed 450 MHz!  NOTE ! I did say "spiking" or should I say... "ripple"... this is a source of nasty "ripple" directly connected to the entire 12 volt DC rail of our beloved CTD's

Quality engineering of analog DC motors remove such garbage before it is introduced to devices such as aircraft, fighter jets, military assault platforms, nuclear submarines and civilian automobiles.

There are many preferred after market suppliers of fuel pumps or systems available and many are quite note worthy when it applies to providing solid reliable fuel flow.

Many of these platforms exceed the requirements in "fuel flow" for the average diesel enthusiast. Sometimes choices are made because the owner has future plans of building enhanced performance characteristics. Some choose additional GPM for the insurance of added cooling by the "return flow" system design. All of the after market manufacturers of the upper end platforms do this with ease and price the devices accordingly.

Caution in selecting any device that may cause unknown after effects in any mobile platform. The CTD 2nd Gen, is something I've looked at carefully for many years and I've made concerted efforts to correct some electrical over sites for the betterment of these noble platforms. I too have made large investments and the after market LP selections are not cheap. I was exceptionally disturbed when I successfully installed an after market LP system. The extreme effort to correctly and cleanly install the system along with all the cool JIC fittings and complete the project with pride that someone may examine my work was all accomplished. Then I shortly discovered the absolute short comings of my nearly $900 investment. I blamed myself for not test operating the device on a test bench and viewing the horrendous RF interference HASH that took out everything from 500 KHz (just below the commercial broadcast band) to well above 500 MHz.

Is this important to you?... It is and perhaps it has not become apparent by the way such broadband RF interference manifests itself within a closed stand alone 12 volt system. To make these statements to you, the reader, let me be clear, I use and own a Hewlett Packard 8921A Digital RF test device, at $24,000.00 ...one must be "a fully certifiable crazy idiot" to have this along with a Tektronix  200 MHz 4 channel scope...and someone asked..."Do you need such instruments to look at $25.00 DC motors"...no but, I'm fully confident in my findings.

Let's take a look at the much enhanced DC motor of an after market LP...it is irrelevant as to the manufacturer...they are all the same.

This is an initial basic disassembly procedure that needs to be performed. It's very easy to accomplish.

Once you have the cookie opened you'll be able to view the end-plate where the carbon brushes reside in their respective holders. Many of these devices and earlier models vary by design in physical form but, they are all the same in regard to an end-plate with brush tube holders.

Here is the end-plate removed from a different LP unit and we can see the very minimal by-pass engineering of a single .47 Mfd mylar capacitor directly across the two brushes. Note, the lead length.

     This is typical of an inexpensive analog DC motor...I'll estimate the average wholesale cost of this to be somewhere around $10 to $15 US dollars. It would vary greatly, according to quantity buying levels. The only capacitor seen here is barley a by-pass or shunt...I'd prefer to call this a carbon brush protector. As the armature spins in normal operation, the "make" and "break" of the brushes riding against the armature where "flame" occurs...this cap is merely removing or dampening the "spark" and aiding brush-life longevity. At .47 Mfd it's really only helping at the lowest frequencies to roll off the RF spiking, also with long leads, transversing the distance between the two brushes does not help with the higher frequencies of this wild free-running spark-gap transmitter. This is a far cry from the excellent by-passing techniques incorporated into the wimpy little Carter device.

Let us take a look at the fix procedure to begin " RF silencing" one of these very substantial LP platforms. We can't be as effective as the fully closed hermetically sealed package but, with careful effort you can knock this "ripple hash" down by 40db or better in just this simple step.

The procedure above depicts a simple "drill and tap" technique using small machine thread hardware. 6/32 or 10/32 should suffice. You can use what ever hardware is available in your junk box as long as it is small enough to fit into the limited working space. Purchasing a small tap and companion drill at your local hardware store to match your "screw-thread pitch" is very low in cost. The skill required to do this is modest, just take your time and carefully hand-cut your threads gently. The cast aluminum end-caps are very easy to drill and tap. NO 9% IPA's should be consumed prior to drilling! Keep your hole straight  and pay attention to the "depth" of your drill. With the armature removed you can "eye-in" an approximate location for the mounting hole to accommodate the miniature "lug"...this is where you make an accurate decision of the "angle" for the lug's contact arm to avoid contact with a spinning armature in "run-mode". You must also consider component "lead length"...keep this EXTREMELY short...it will be like working on a Swiss watch in confined space.

NOTE: You must loctite your threads! This procedure is introducing component count within a very critical area...errors in loose components will be catastrophic !!! You will make NO errors here! 

Sorry...my photo is fuzzy. The photo below is zoomed-out for examination of component placement within the end-cap structure. It is tight but, it is precise and highly efficient.

This depicts component selection: two each .1 Mfd silver Mica 100 volt dipped packages. I happened to have these in my junk box and standard miniature ceramic caps would also suffice.

This completes the "critical" internal modification to initially "RF silence" the armature brush contact event point.

I buy electronic components/parts from DigiKey or Mouser...these two capacitors will set you back about 30 cents each...your shipping cost will be ten bucks! Boy...I miss those cheesy little Radio Shacks. It was so convenient to buy little things like this for little money within my own community. Times have certainly changed. 

Now, carefully reassemble your enhanced LP device and mount it into it's operational nest on the vehicle.

The photo below is the final step in this procedure. Again, this shunt capacitor is a .1 Mfd Orange drop package rated at 100 volts. I do prefer this package  over standard Ceramic disks under the hood within engine compartments due to heat stress. These maintain tolerance over an extremely wide temperature range.

The shortest leads possible, again, is the goal...the lead is directly connected to the relay socket where the 12 volts DC is connected through the relay contacts, that when "closed", provides DC excitation to the LP. I could have made these leads shorter but, I utilized the present ground on the firewall for convenience.

Insert the relay back into the socket.

This now completes the entire procedure. The monetary expenditure amounts to less than $1.00 for the capacitors. The time involved is substantial.

The $689.00 plus dollar, advanced LP platforms available should have arrived fully prepared for trouble free installation and operation. The design engineering staff at Dailmer Chrysler would have never introduced an uncontrolled CCS constant run DC motor device into their platforms at any level. Cummins also, would have never allowed a DC pump without qualification standards to be specified for any production platform. The factory OE Lift Pump from Carter is a very under powered volumetric unit and their is no debating that short coming however: electronically it's design is superior in every aspect. The entire hermetically sealed housing acts as a complete Faraday Shield to fully encapsulate all electromagnetic static fields of force. It is a "dead silent" RF void device!

This is just an example...all of the after market companies tout their prowess in delivering liquid fuel at astounding levels of performance, be it a stock engine or perhaps an extremely high horse powered competition street killing monster. None of them provide a civilized RF silenced DC motor to prevent "other" electronic automotive control elements from being harmed when operated within the confined structure of the vehicle. Note: not one bit of verbiage regarding the actual DC motor that powers the device! But, it pumps fluid like heck!

 I so dearly appreciate the flow factors, the filter systems, the mounting structures and comprehensive packages to alleviate all the short comings of my dismal factory transfer pump issues. Knowing well, that I'll never allow my one thousand dollar plus VP44 from ever being fuel starved again, by selecting an aftermarket LP system...only to realize afterwards, that the introduction of this major investment into my vehicle is now causing electronic issues, else where, within the vehicle!

The expensive sound systems, vehicle speed sensing systems, erratic operation of TC lock-unlock, cruse control abnormalities, and radio communications equipment. All of these things at one time operated without error, you enjoyed the accurate trouble free aspects of your prized motor vehicle, then...something happened!

Being cautious about adding any electronic implement into a trusted vehicle is always prudent. Asking the right questions before hand is always best practice. This information applies to ALL Vehicles regardless of manufacturer Ford, Chevy or Dodge.

This article is following additional postings on this web-site...Mike Nelson @Mopar1973Man and Nick @Me78569are struggling to keep this small and independent site operational. I am not affiliated with any supplier or manufacturer...I am a contributing customer who appreciates the time proven and solid information/guidance these two men  provide to the diesel community.

I humbly share this knowledge with the CTD fraternity with enthusiasm, for the improvement of our platforms...may I ask a very small favor...if you find the information on this site of value could you please consider making a one dollar donation to the site to keep the lights on   

Thank you, Respectfully,

W-T 

For all of you that are running around with a broken fuel gauge that reads incorrect level  than actual fuel level, there is a replacement sender that you can get from the Dodge Dealer.

Part Number: 4897669AB (For 2000-2002 Dodge Ram)

Part number # 4897669AC (Updated fuel sender part number - Oct, 2020 @Towrigdually)

Approximate Cost: $68.45

I was warned by the Dodge Dealer than the actually part number may vary and you should contact a local Dodge Dealer and provide them with the VIN number so to get the proper part for your application. As for requiring an In-Tank Lift pump you do not and don't let them sell you one either its' not required