Cant get Volvo started! D12 Engine Is there a way to prime?
 

Volvo with a D12 engine, ran out of fuel, just put some in but it doesn't want to start, any special priming needed?

there should be a pump by the fuel filter, or take the filters off and fill them up. OR use ether which isnt too good on the engine

Yeah I called a volvo service center, he told me the same thing, there is a pump by the filter, but I cant find the stupid thing.

Haha I feel like a moron! I looked in the manual for the fuel filter changing procedure, thinking it would tell me how to prime it, well it does... There is a frickin electric priming switch right in the dash! I always wondered what that switch was for... now I know...

boy! that sure would come in handy, on my cat you have to pump until your arm gives out ( not that I ever ran out of fuel, I just heard that):smokin::smokin:

Apparently however I have to prime it more then once ;) It is a 4 min prime, and it got it sputtering, but not enough to start, and each button push is 4 minutes of priming, so I guess I will give it 3 good primes before I try again.

3 primes is what it took! She started right up, was rough for a few seconds but smoothed out.

Now I am upset I got all dirty messing with the fuel filter and I didnt have too! Didn't even have to get out of the cab.

experience is the best teacher. now you will never ever forget where the primer button is will you?

For the entire 2 more days I will be in this truck, then going in a freightshaker which lacks such a button :)

But you are right, I will forever now know how to prime a Volvo D12 and probably every other Volvo engine :)

Older d12's like mine definitely don't have a button for priming. That means you have a lift pump somewhere(an electronic pump before the main pump). Mine I have to do it manually. There is a pump by the secondary filter, and two bleeder valves. One at the same pump, and the other on the head above the starter.

As long as I fill up the fuel filters and change them quickly I never have a problem.

Actually by pressing the switch, it tells the ECM to turn on the actual fuel pump, and also opens up an air bleeder valve, according to the maintenance manual anyway.

After pressing the button, and going outside and listening to the filter that is located on the left hand side of the engine near the stear tire (I am assuming this is the primary, but I could be wrong), you can here this click click click click click sound, as well as a buzzing sound, and it runs for 4 minutes.

I like the Cummins ISX and ISM's. Don't even have to fill the filters when you change them. Just turn the key on and let the electric pump fill them. I usually cycle it three times though to be sure.

Prolly wanna pay attention to the FUEL LEVEL GAUGE once in awhile too...

That's probably NOT in the maintenance manual...

(sorry Matt - couldn't RESIST...)

Rick

So this occurs while the engine is being cranked? If not, it's an electronic pump. I have yet to see an engine that only has an electronic pump. Some, like the ISX, have an electronic "lifter" pump as well as the main mechanical pump that is driven off the front gear train.

No it is done with the ignition on, but not cranking. That line I said was STRAIGHT from the maintenance manual.

And SickRick, you should know from my Really Bummed Out thread that it isn't my fault, I have been sitting here in this town now for 8 days! Sorry but in this NC heat I am not just gonna sit here and not idle. When I got here there was probably only 20 or so gallons in the tank, and of course with the truck just sitting and waiting on paperwork to give it the new companies tags, insurance, etc, no one is going to pay for fuel, I had to shell out the few bucks to give it some fuel so I could move it out of a store parking lot. Not to mention the guy that is taking over this truck is rather shady, he has a buddy of his coming sometime today with their truck to siphon some fuel out of it to put in this one so I can move it about 40 miles down the road.

All I know is I cannot wait until Tuesday so I can hop in a truck and start pulling some freight again :). It sucks to leave this truck though, I really love it, I would rather have this truck then any Classic Pete or KW! She might not be as powerful or beautiful, but you cannot beat the comfort and ammenadites (SP?) this truck offers. It is pretty much the closest to being a super sleeper as you can get without being one :).

My goal is just to run my arse off so I can save up for a down payment on my own truck, I know quite a few places I could lease onto and do descent, and maybe down the road get my own authority once the economy gets better.

[QUOTE=matcat;449577]For the entire 2 more days I will be in this truck, then going in a freightshaker which lacks such a button :)


are you sure? I was in a 95 freightshaker a couple years ago & it had a primer button in dash.

it was a 99'

Figured you got stuck idling somewhere, waiting for something. That was the cool thing about my bus - the generator (that ran the roof A/C's) ran off the main diesel tank, but the "tap" from the tank was mounted on the side - so you couldn't run the tank dry. I would hope that APU installs in rigs are done similarly.

I hear ya about the heat. I was sitting, shooting the breeze with an O/O in his OLD KW. He's been waiting 3 days on a load - and he AIN'T IDLING. Suffice to say it was hot as monkeys nuts in his cab - and I only hung and sweated for about 10 minutes before I bailed outta there.

Giving up that VN780 eh? Don't care what folks say, the 780/880 interiors on the 77/80" condos on the Volvo's ARE the next best thing to an ICT or ARI BIG custom sleeper. The way they're laid out for storage space, etc. (and the workstation/dinette) makes me DROOL every time I see one (I'm already trying "finagle with a driver/trainer for US Express to get me on after I finish school - all their OTR fleet is 780's with condo's).

Took a tour of a Fedex O/O's 132" ICT last week. Lemme tell ya - if you got the $$'s and can deal with a 320" wheelbase - there's no reason to EVER GO HOME...

Rick

As much as I would love to have one of those 132"+ sleepers, it is useless unless you run a trailer 48' or less in length. I had some doozies with this 780 pulling a 53', let alone doing it with something that has a 320" wheelbase! But I also did specialty freight too which required me to go to some F'd up places.

The main things the most I will miss about this truck is one, the factory installed inverter, and consequently the microwave ;), two, the built in fridge (which is very large and has a good sized freezer), the amazing sound system in this truck which includes a factory installed amp and sub, as well as the workstation, even though I don't use the workstation all that much, it is nice espially when you have company visiting in your truck (And no I don't mean commercial company, the workstation would be in the way then!)! Plus you can't beat the all air ride suspension, amazing turning radius, modern interior design, bah I will miss this truck.

Once I get into this freightshaker I will have to put some dough into putting a good sized inverter in it, adding my own sound system, getting a microwave, and a fridge, and then having to find a way to cram it all into the much smaller truck with very crappily laid out storage :(.

Amp and sub could fit snuggly under the bunk, depending on the configuration of the Columbia which is what it is, some have the lift bunks, others have the hollow opening like the volvos. Microwave can go in the TV spot, though that is where I keep my printer and scanner now, so I would have to find somewhere for it... then depending on the storage config of the columbia, probably get a colemann and stick it in the fridge bay if it has one, if not (a closet) then I will turn it into a fridge bay ;).


Man I wish I hadn't sold all of my crap when I left swift, I had $5,000 worth of stuff in that truck! Couple grand tied up into sound system alone. Hell in retrospect I could of just saved that money and bought a frickin truck the prices they are now.

Ok I got too much time on my hands, I could just sit here and write a book right about now...

:rofl::rofl:

Must be an aftermarket switch and pump.... because D12s have a mechanical pump.... I have never seen an electronic lift pump on a volvo that isnt equipped with a cummins

If it was aftermarket how would it be in the service manual?

Good question.... never seen anything like it

Im curious about it now lol

The D12d uses an electric priming pump.

sure helps to read once in a while. would have been the first thing i did rather than post on here showing i didnt know the number for hooked on phonics.

just yesterday, i never have run my truck (also a volvo) as low on fuel as i did. Figured i might make it to my fuel stop. I looked down, and my fuel guage was just above the E. I looked down a few miles later, and it was ON the line for "E". Now, i wasnt about to run it out of fuel, so i found the next exit with a truck fuel island. Instead of asking to be opened up for emergency fuel, i just put in 8 gallons to get me to my fuel stop.

LOL....you ran a truck out of fuel......even i'm not dumb enough to do that.

First off, we all know how bad your 'first thing' reactions tend to be Mr. 911. Second off, with the Volvo I didn't have a choice or chance to not let it run out in that instance, so you are making comments on things you don't know. Also, a volvo has a rather large reserve point, you could easily do 150 miles after you hit dead E in a Volvo, they purposely tune the sensors up high so that if you hit E you still have plenty of fuel to get to a fuel stop.

so, you saying that in 150 miles, you never passed a truck stop to fuel?? hard to believe that unless you're in death valley. way to go skills.

let me know when you want to take your VCR off flashing "12:00"....

OHh yeah, stupid me, truck stops don't wiz by parking lots in the middle of nowhere when you sit in them for 2 weeks because your boss is changing who he is leased too and no one wants to pay for fuel in the process, espially when the nearest truck stop is an hour and a half away, and you are in a part of the country where it is 80+ degrees outside.

Your boss takes two weeks to do paperwork? I would think any driver with a micron of brain matter would have spoke up and said "uh, hey....i'm down to an eighth of a tank, and the nearest truck stop is 90 min away..."

by your own admission, you should be able to run the truck 200 miles+ on an eighth of a tank, yeah??

whats the proboem...mom still has to speak for you, or do you not have your own voice to speak for yourself??

Ohh silly me, I should of just printed a few hundred dollar bills off of my printer to go buy some fuel.

if you read my previous post where i said i didnt know how far i could actually go on "E", and i for one didnt want to be stuck on the side of the road running my truck out of fuel, i stopped and put some in to get me the 70 miles or whatever it was to my fuel stop. So what.

so you end up running the truck out of fuel rather than speak up, or do whatever was needed to keep fuel in the tank. nice going.....

You seem to miss the fact that I was sitting, not moving, you also seem to miss the fact that no one was willing to pay for fuel. You also seem to miss the fact that I was no wheres near a place that sold fuel. You also seem to miss the fact that I was sitting on the same lot for 2 weeks! I don't know how you ever passed reading comprehension, you should sue the school you attended.

:D:lol::lol: When all else fails... FOLLOW DIRECTIONS...:rofl::lol2::clap:

What's even funnier... You may NEVER have to use it ever again.

But at least I can say I got to use it at least once ;)

in my experience all D12 enigines have a manual primer button on the same assembly as the can filter check filters to ensure there full fill as needed this goes for the can style filter on the left side of the engine and the glass bowl filter on the right then work the primer button SLOW AND STEADY until it becomes to hard to push then crank engine its not likely to fire on the first try however if you repeat this 2 maybe 3 times she should light up however dont take this as victory keep the revs in high idle range for 5 or so min, we have had trucks make it 20 miles before they ran out of fuel again just from whats in the filters, lines and head once the truck is running watch the glass bowl filter for bubbles, on a D12 the fuel is under vacume and around 60 (opposite of psi blanked on unit of measure) and we all know what happens with air in a fuel system