Bern.. or any other N14 Celect guru's...

Hi everyone

I've got a problem with the N14-435 Celect in my IH 9400 truck. Long story short, it ran out of fuel. I changed the main filter on the pump head as well as the water separator filter on the firewall as I've done before when I ran the thing out of fuel. Filled filters, etc. The engine will start and run on full filters, but usually requires a shot of ether to start. It will generally run for 5-10 minutes and quit. I can shut it down and sometimes it will restart on it's own. Sometimes requires ether. When it quits it will often produce white smoke. Sometimes no smoke which leads me to believe it's not getting fuel. Refilling the filters will generally get it running again.
Thus far I've blown the lines back to the tank and they seem clear. I can pressurize the tank and force fuel through the filters and out the bleeders on the pump. I've replaced the pump. Filters multiple times. I've cleaned the check valve in the ECM cooler plate (and found nothing). I've made jumper lines to eliminate ALL chassis fuel lines and run direct from the tank siphon to the engine filter head. Nothing has made any substantial difference.
It's behaving like a bad crank sensor... will sputter and quit a few times and then start.... but it's not putting the engine light on.
I don't see any obvious defects in the engine harness. I spent a couple minutes twisting and forcing it when the engine was running, all to no effect. The engine ground does look ugly... but nothing else is giving issues and many things ground on that surface...
I'm going to see if I can get some codes from it.... but otherwise, at this point, I'm open to any and all suggestions. Thanks

Rod

The N14 uses a dual signal cam sensor for the timing control. Because it's a two-circuit sensor, the odds of both circuits failing are remote.

Based on your description, I'd be checking two different things if I were you:

1) The ECM power and ground circuit supply, usually located right at the battery. Look for corrosion or other obvious signs of loose connectors in that area.
2) Fuel pressure as measured with a gauge. See illustration for location and specs.

Thanks Bern. I'll give that a try.

Rod

Just an update.. I did succeed in getting a code from it. It's giving me a '141' in blinks from the stop engine light which is supposed to be an oil pressure sensor circuit fault? Pull the battery cables off and reinstall and the same ode is there? Any further ideas on that? Thanks

Rod

Rod, I once started my 5900i when a guy happened to be walking by the left front wheel which was turned. He stopped and looked, then came to the window and asked if it was supposed to arc there. Upon investigation I found that the ground was a 7/16 bolt in a 7/8 hole with a big washer on each side. The space around the bolt was filled with crud and had it nearly insulated.

141 is "low voltage detected in the oil pressure SIGNAL circuit", meaning the issue is electrical and not mechanical. This being the case, it cannot be the cause of your intermittent shutdown, it merely turns on the yellow check engine light.

On the other hand, if you had code 143, "oil pressure low", this would indicate a mechanical fault, and would be accompanied by a red warning light along with a shutdown if so programmed.

Yes, this just throws the 'engine warn' light on after the gauges sweep. However, it's not on when the engine is running. I'll have to take a closer look at the other things you mentioned. Thanks

Rod

Just an update for those who were interested... the problem turned out to be a bad crank sensor. 10 minutes on the laptop to clear the codes, attempt a start to reset the code... change the sensor and back in business. Thanks

Rod