Stutter/ throttle cut out at low speed

[beanflicker424]

Hi everyone im pretty new to the whole forum thing as you can tell. I have been having some issues with my truck recently and cant seem to figure it out so that is what led me here as i know mopar1973man is a very reputable person throughout the forum community. I have a 1999 2500 24 valve automatic with the dreaded VP44. The truck is stock other than a five inch straight pipe. When I purchased the truck the man told me that the IP had been replaced before an gave me that receipt which says it was done around 150,xxx.  Earlier I went out and started my truck let it warm up for about ten to twelve minutes an went on my way might i add it is around 48 to 50 degrees here where i am. Well after i pulled out onto the road i was going up a small incline and the truck stuttered like it was missing then stopped for a moment then did it again all in the span of about ten seconds. Immediately after the check engine light came on once i got to where i was going i left the truck running then drove straight to my local auto zone an the truck ran just fine at idle and under acceleration (never got in it to much) the whole way there. When the man came out to plug in the scan tool he cut the truck off plugged it in and turned the ignition on and could not get a code so he had me start the truck an he tried again still no code so im left scratching my head. The truck hasn`t done this that i can recall even in just the few times i have went out jumping in and firing it up an taking off without letting the truck warm up for more than a minute around these same temperatures so im a bit worried with check engine light coming on that my IP is failing. Any help, informatin, or advice would be greatly appreciated

[Royal Squire]

Sounds like it could be apps. Good idea to check for AC voltage, the process is explained in one of the articles on the site. Someone more knowledgeable will comment directly. Would be a good idea to fill in sig so everyone knows what you've got at a glance

[TFaoro]

Welcome! 

I also used to dread the vp44, but the more I've learned enough about it that I know its faults and find it very trustworthy now.

 

It is weird that the check engine light came on but the autozone worker couldn't pull any codes.

I would start with the key trick to see if that will pull any pertinent codes (key off, key on, key off, key on, key off, key on then leave the key on and watch the odometer.)

 

Another question is do you have a fuel pressure gauge to know the lift pump pressure at the vp44? That's crucial to to have a long healthy vp44 life. 

 

 

 

[Mopar1973Man]

I'm at 224k miles on my VP44 and its doing fine. Still pulling strong and still providing good power and MPG numbers. 

 

There is 4 things that will kill a VP44...

 

[JAG1]

One thing I wanted to mention that is on the list of reliability is do not, whatever you do, put in the Dodge APPS.which is expensive and built so bad it's a piece of junk. Put in the Timbo APPS, a lot less money and very smooth excellent reliability.

 

Listen to these guys around her, read the articles  and you will have a better truck than spending 60-70 K on a new one.

 

 

Edited October 31, 2016 by JAG1

[beanflicker424]

Thanks everyone for the responses. Yes I have a fuel pressure gauge but unfortunately it just stopped workin about two weeks ago. Before it went out the pressure always hovered about 12psi at idle and would drop as low as 5psi under heavy acceleration or pulling a heavy load. With that being said I know that is definitely on the low side but my next investment is a FASS or Airdog 150 gph pump but the price for those is a little out of my range for now but definitely in the near future the truck will get one. Mopar you mentioned fuel mileage and if you don't mind me asking what do you see for city driving? My commute to work every day is very short considering I am in the Army and live on post but on average my mileage is between 12 and 13 mpg driving on post. The highest I have seen since I have owned the truck is 15 mpg but that was on a hour or so ride down the interstate. I'm not sure if that is sounding right considering I have heard from friends who own second gens that they can get upto 20 mpg which astonishes me personally from what I have seen out of mine. I'll start with cycling the key to see what I get from that an then checking for AC voltage then if all else fails I may just throw an APPS at it to see if that helps out at all. Once again thanks guys for all the insight it's greatly appreciated.