Advice needed

[retirednak]

My truck has been garaged most of the winter,so no starting issues. I left my truck outside for 1 night a week or so ago,the low temp was around 35 degrees. My truck cranked and cranked and after 6 mins or so it fired right up and idled fine with no smoke or miss,the fuel pressure showed 10-11 lbs. Since I had to take my truck in for the free oil change,I asked to have my injectors tested. Two hrs later,the injectors tested fine. The stealership couldn't offer any advice,other then removing the after market fuel pump and reinstall the OEM unit.

I can't offer any more clues. What would cause a hard start at 35 degrees and what would cause my AirDog fuel pressure to dance around? I thought the AirDog 100? claimed 15 lbs of pressure,which 11 or 12 lbs is all I've seen. I did go back to stock using my Smarty,but didn't make any difference.

Sorry bout going on for so long,it drives me nuts to have funky issues.

Thanks for any help.

 

[steved]

Sounds like an issue on the high pressure side of the fuel system...

 

[cerberusiam]

The obvious problem would be batteries or injectors. Do you have any other starting issues, warm or cold?



A cold engine and low batteries will cause a no start condition. The ECU will not or can't fire the injectors if the cranking draw is too large. Did you boost it or throw a charger on it at all?

 

[TCDiesel]

Many things could case this. . if it does NOT occur again I would Not worry about it,Cranking CR more then 15 seconds without breaks (Max 4 times) between cranking will just add wear to starter batteries.

 

[DonFitzwater]

As others have said, check out your batteries by load testing each. Is your intake heater working properly? (not that a common rail really needs it at 35 above)



If your cranking problems persist, you may need to block off each injector, one at a time and see if one is bypassing too much fuel at start up. I forget which TDR volume covered this topic but it wasn't that long ago. This may prove to be time consuming.



If your using Lithia or Anchorage Chrysler, good luck. They just don't seem to have much in the way of decent techs.

 

[Prairie Dog]

I imagine being where you are, you have replaced your batterys?
If not then that's the first thing I would do.

 

[retirednak]

Thanks for all the suggestions. My Optima Red top batteries are fairly new and are holding a charge. I did test both,and went through the re-charging ordeal thinking perhaps they weren't putting out enough power. I don't crank the starter enough to over heat it. My truck runs great,no smoke at idle,nor at full throttle. I do have black smoke when my Smarty is turned up. (which is expected) The only thing that stands out is I thought perhaps my injectors were a tad louder then normal,which I pointed out to the stealership. I can't remember back when I bought the truck if it was quieter then. I do get a rattle with the Smarty turned up and watching the fuel pressure, it drops 3 or 4 lbs and recovers. What has me wondering about the fuel system is watching the fuel pressure gauge fluctuate 2-4 lbs, which is new. I do have a rail pressure gauge,what should I be looking for? Wouldn't a rail pressure issue be noticed when checking out the injectors? My last two tanks of diesel,my mileage has been lower then normal. Unfortunately I have to take my truck to Lithia Dodge for the free oil changes and don't have any confidence in them,almost every time it was in for a repair,I always got"could not duplicate". If anyone knows of a diesel shop in the Wasilla area,please let me know. Thanks again fellas.

 

[Prairie Dog]

Optima's are marginal batteries power wise. They may not be able to spin it fast enough when it's very cold and after a heater grid cycle.

 

[retirednak]

If I have to replace my batteries,I won't replace with Optima's.

 

[goodguys75]

ya, dont know why people like optimas so much... there cranking power ratings are terrible... . I just got kirkland (costco batteries) about 2 yrs ago and those have more power... . and also found out that I lost injector# 3 today... . :{

 

[TCDiesel]

ya, dont know why people like optimas so much... there cranking power ratings are terrible... . I just got kirkland (costco batteries) about 2 yrs ago and those have more power... . and also found out that I lost injector# 3 today... . :{

Yep. . Those batteries are for the Stereo Nuts, They are POS when in the cold and My experience with them they last about 1/2 as long as class 65 batteries Do in modern charging systems.

 

[CLawrence]

Does your airdog 100 have a water/fuel filter with petcock? If so have you drained the water recently? Just my $. 02

 

[DonFitzwater]

I don't know of anyone in your area that I would trust with a common rail Retired. We've got one heck of a good Cummins tech here in Fairbanks that used to be a trans guy at the local dodge shop. He wised up and jumped ship and works on the Dodge trucks at home "on the side". If you decide to do any troubleshooting on your own, pm me and I can get you in contact with him. He's pretty sharp.