P0216-Bucking/Stuttering

[baker2acre]

Hey guys....(& Gals )

1st off, great site!!!

... bought a '96 C3500 CC on Sept. 16th. I "consulted" all the threads here I could find prior to and felt pretty good about it. It's been worked.... has close to 230k on the Od. but looked to be in good shape aside from some dents and a "smoked-in" interior. FSD cooler on the In.Manifold made me feel better too.

Anyhow.... drove it a week and it ran great... loaded up the truck camper and headed down the road for some R&R... Got approx. 30mins in and I noticed what felt like a miss @ 55mph cruise on?? Screwy I thought so I took the cruise off and ran a bit with the foot. Came to a stop light and when I tried to leave the light the truck kicked and sputtered from 1500rpm up.... thought I had a PMD going south... but it never stalled. So we made it in and enjoyed our weekend. Loaded up to come back... no problems.... for 30-40mins then started with the temper-tantrums again. It reminded me of when I lost my "point-gap" on my old vw beetle.... but it idled fine!!

The truck sat a week while I ordered a new pmd. Thanks to the cooler access the pmd was a snap and 10mins later I was back on the road... however the fabled 30mins later... back to sputtering and the SES light appears (P0216-Timing Circuit) Next thought went to my fuel quality... so I had my wife fire up the truck while I drained the water... only no water... in fact, no fuel and the truck stalled!!! Ah hah!!! LP!!! So a new carter, filter and bruised knuckles later - back at it!!! This time no sputters!!!! Cleared the P0216 and it's a no show too!!

Thanks for all your help guys!!! Any comments on how fuel starvation could throw a timing related code??? I don't know my TDC offset so I may still need an adjustment... but runs fine now!!!

Les

[DmaxMaverick]

Welcome to the Forums! And thanks for the info!

Weak fuel delivery will absolutely effect timing. Several things come into play. If you have a fuel filter nearing replacement condition, the suction (vacuum) in the fuel line will cause "outgassing" of the fuel, introducing a compressible gas in the fuel, which will retard timing. Also, a lower-than-expected fuel volume will cause a descrepancy with the PCM and pump. The condition you describe is typical of a lift pump failure, and indicative of nothing else, so nothing to worry about at this time. You may consider a lift pump relay to relieve the load on the OPS. The indication, so far, is it will also lend to longer lift pump life.

All of the above can also have an effect on IP hardware durability. Running with a weak or failed lift pump will decrease the longevity of the IP, and running under a "less than optimal" fuel injection condition, can and will cause other issues. This includes higher EGT's, loss of economy, and higher wear rates on valve train and other engine components. These are generally long term effects, but most folks that have 6.5's keep them for a long time. Especially when they have a resource like TDP!

[baker2acre]

Thanks DmaxMav....

I'll take all the info in I can and apply as much as ($) possible.....

Seems often enough for the fellas to... forgive me but "piss and moan" over all the gripes and complaints of problems they have... I do too at times. Some seek advice or help and some just like to heard... both fair examples of humanity. I just wanted to take the high road and give a little back when due and offer an example of what a little patience/persistence, research and just plain luck can do.

I'm a new Chevy owner coming from a '93 W250 Reg.Cab w/Cummins. I love the cummins.... marginally like the truck. I bought the Chevy for the truck part, but the engines growing on me too!! It's no M-Duty engine.... but it doesn't shake & sound like one either. (Happier family!)

[Stratosurfer]

Was searching and found y'all talking on this. My 97 Tahoe popped a P0216 code today immediately after filling up and I might say topping off. I was low on fuel and put just a hair under 28 gallons (I think I have a 32 gallon tank) and upon restart the p0216 CE Light hit and I drove another 100 miles thereafter. Later in the day starts were rough. Later in the day the light went off and all seems OK. I pulled the code and it's P0216.
Could the issue have cleared itself, the ECU reset any problem that was resolved?
How could filling up the tank pop that code?

Any help is appreciated.

[ECMProgrammer]

When a fault no longer appears, the code will self clear. Kinda nice, isn't it ?

Lyndon
www.ecmprogrammer.com
Westers Garage
1-888-WESTER-1

[Stratosurfer]

Lyndon,
Thanks for that info. I'm a little confused however: my CE light went OFF, but the code still registers and the truck runs great.
So then:
The ECU cleared the fault, shut the light off and kept in memory for me to pull to understand why it turned the light on?
Did I say it right?...

Anyway, how come filling my tank up threw that code and the poor running???

[ECMProgrammer]

How low was the tank when you refilled ? You must have been on the edge of right empty.
Yes, the code will remain in history until 50 ignition cycles (provided no further problem exists) or scan tool code clearing event.

Lyndon
www.ecmprogrammer.com
Westers Garage
1-888-WESTER-1

[Stratosurfer]

Tank was -low-. I put in 28 gallons. Just looked up that I have a 30 gallon tank: so 2 gallons left. Not sure how much of the remaining 2 gallons are usable however.
It was a mistake to run it that low, but I live in central west Texas and gas stations few and far between.

How could have refilling set off P0216 however??...