Advice and what happened to my Cummins

[ACF]

I would appreciate some advice from our cold climate members on this one:



So I live in northern Virginia and drive an 05 Cummins 610. Got diesel here on Fri (I am assuming No 2 diesel) and headed to WV for some skiing at Snowshoe mountain resort. When I got there on Fri night it was bitter cold... ... 3 degrees fareinhiet on the overhead. Well I shut her down and come back on Mon morning to start her up to go home. It reads 12 degrees fahrenheit on the overhead. Now my overhead reads about 2-3 degrees high. It was bitter cold over the weekend, with very high winds and in the single digits the night before. When I went to crank her I would say it was about 9 degrees, here is what happened-



1st attempt- I wait for the manifold heater light to go out. She is not plugged in, I crank and she is turning over really slowly... . I am running the recommeded normal weather 15 weight oil. I hear it fire on maybe one cylinder and then quit.



2nd attempt- She fires up and runs fine... ... ... for about 5 min that is.



All of a sudden it just quits. I try to start her again but could not. It took about 6 tries, and she fired up again. However after another 5 min she quit idling again. It went on like this for about another 15 min, idle then shutdown till I finally got her moving and got off the mountain. It runs fine now. I want to know what you think happened. My best guess is the fuel started to gel on me. Let me know. Thanks.

 

[AMassaro]

Sounds like fuel gelling to me. Its a good idea to get a fuel pressure guage. At least it'll let you know what's going on in a situation like that...

 

[R_Painter]

Are you running any type of fuel additive? When was the last time fuel filter was changed?Are you running a fuel pressure gauge. It sounds like a little fuel gelling. try changing fuel filter and add some power service in the white bottle.

 

[QWaller]

Sounds identicle to what happened to me back in 95 at 11000 feet and -5 F I made it about 5 min down the road and died. Waited a little and she cranked and never did it again. I had driven #2 up to a peak and camped. Fuel geled

 

[RWWinslow]

Fuel gelling. Surprised you got it to even fire - very symptomatic of the ULSD when it is at or near cold filter plugging point - you finally got enough heat into the fuel filter to keep it running. Change your fuel filter ASAP.

 

[DPKetchum]

Low voltage will do that also. I'd check batterys. Not enough amperage left in them after grid heater was cycled. Loss/low voltage wacks out the electronic injectors,ecm etc.

 

[ACF]

Thanks guys. Ok I will change the fuel filter right away... ... ..... but why? Do you think I did any damage to the engine? The batteries are fine and were very strong... ... ... ... just the thick oil made cranking hard. In this situation would plugging it in make any difference in helping stopping the fuel gel? Again thanks guys.

 

[CDonaldson]

ACF.



I would recommend you get some anti-gel additive. I live at 7K ft elevation and a lot of diesel owners here are having gelling problems when temps get into the mid to low teens. This altitude and temp stuff was not a problem for the old LSD#2 fuel but does seem to be a problem with the ULSD#2. I have not had the problem because I started adding the anti-gel (Power Service) as soon as the temps dropped below 20. I do not plug my truck in and it takes several seconds, maybe close to one minute, for my wait to start light to go out. Then my heater grid cycle a lot before it shuts down. It apears that this new fuel cannot take the cold and altitude finishes it off. It is real easy to just add the anti-gel when filling up as compared to having the gelling problem.



CD

 

[DPKetchum]

Turning over real slow dosen't sound like strong batteries. If oil was that thick I would be concerned. Between the cold and grid heaters I imagine the cold cranking reserve was down badly. With a system full of electronics you can have enough amps to turn a engine slowly but not enough to power the electronics it takes to run one correctly. Would seem gelled fuel would remained gelled at time of start or in 15 miutes running down the road. Voltage is what improves after 15 mph. Just a thought.

 

[staarma]

Classic case of gelled fuel like everyone else said. Your heater in the filter housing was trying to do its job but can't keep up with the flow need to keep the truck running. Pull the filter can put a new one in, dump some Power Service 911 in the tank and a little in the filter housing and let it sit for about a half hour. Should be back in business. We run #2 with a little PS in the white bottle around here down to -30 F. If it gets any colder than that we will get #1 at the farm store and dump in a couple quarts of ashless 2 stroke injection oil (not synthetic) that is good to -50 F or so. 2 stroke oil in the fuel will help with the gelling as well because the pour point is around -40 F or so I think. Anyway, good luck and I've been there before, once. :-laf

 

[DPKetchum]

You may be very correct but I'm lost how gelled fuel causes a engine to turn over real slow.

 

[SuperSteeler]

At 9 degrees F and not plugged in mine turns over real slow but (knock on wood) has always started. And that's with 15W-40 Rotella year around.

 

[DavidTD]

You may be very correct but I'm lost how gelled fuel causes a engine to turn over real slow.

The engine oil was thick as all get out. I believe he said he was running 15-40 weight. I was in Indy a few weeks ago and it was minus 6. Not plugged in my truck sounded like the batteries were about dead. Plugged in, it would spin much harder in the AM. My batteries are not two months old.

 

[staarma]

You may be very correct but I'm lost how gelled fuel causes a engine to turn over real slow.

My truck starts at -30 F plugged in and it turns over slow. It's just one of those things we live with up here. It doesn't sound good but it starts every time. The seat is so hard it feels like you jumped on a brick. It's even hard to get the key to actually turn in the ignition but it fires up. Now a GM or Ford with glow plugs is a different story.

 

[JasonCzerak]

Running the 10-w40 (what ever that new ULSD spec oil is) from amsoil. Cold, 0-degree starts are much much easier! I was surprised the one night I never plugged in my truck...

 

[Andersonville]

I run the 5w 40 Rotella synthetic. Turns over easy in the cold and I add Howes year around. Just more Howes in cold weather. I rarely plug it in.

 

[KDillard]

Well I live in the DC metro area. I drive out to Deep Creek Lake once or twice a winter. I will tell you that mopar batteries dont always stay good for more than two years. Next thing in temps that cold you want to cycle the key 2-3 times before starting it to make sure the grids are warm and the fuel in the filter housing isnt gelled. And thirdly shame on you for not putting a fuel additive for gelling. Even if it is below 32 degrees I add antigel. Get your filter changed out ASAP!! If it was gelling the wax particles will clog your filter and restrict flow to the Injection pump. USLD has gel'd up twice this winter in my cousins farm tractors, and once in his 04 f250.

 

[Whiskey]

I would use 5w 40 for those temps. .