Black Smoke? White Smoke? Help!

[mikepvg]

Which causes what & why on cold soak startups?



In sub0 temps on complete cold soak, HUGE amount of BLACK smoke would pour out of exhaust for at least a minute & then after 2 minutes completely clear.



Went to dealer & they installed TSB 18-037-04. Upon cold soak startup today (only in teens) I now have a WHITE smoke condition for about 1 minute.



Opinions PLEASE...



Also, I need opinions on what is NORMAL for cold soak startups in subfreezing AND subzero conditions regarding the amount of exhaust smoke.



Thanks!

Mike

 

[rbattelle]

I believe black smoke is caused by unburned fuel. Not sure about white smoke... someone on here will know.



There should be little or no smoke on startup. Now, if the white smoke is caused by condensation, then it might be perfectly normal. How much white smoke are we talking about?



When you start up, do you wait for the wait-to-start light to go out? Where do you buy your fuel?



Most people report little or no smoke on startup even in subzero temperatures. I can say from experience that I have no smoke whatsoever down to at least 15 F.



-Ryan

 

[PJ]

Im white smoke start up turns a Blue sky day into a zero visibility afternoon. Taking it up with dealer at 9am Monday. i hear I may have a leaking injector



$40k+ truck with 4k miles and injectors are already. that is almost as bad as my 04 truck last year going through the balljoints right away.

 

[mikepvg]

In sub0 it blew blake smoke like a freight train, enough to cover an entire house.



Had 18-037-04 installed: @ 20degF it now smokes white, about the size of a car... big improvement so far but I've yet to test in sub0. Have to wait for the weather to turn nasty again.



Apparently the dummys @ Dodge dealer never been to the diesel drags cuz they were trying to tell me that black smoke indicates not ENOUGH fuel & white is too much. I don't know about white but I know you get black from over fueling like I did on my 94 w/ a TST plate.

 

[Tony T.]

I was thinking the white smoke was due to not enough heated air generated at start up causing the white smoke. Don't some cycle there grid heaters twice in real cold weather.



I have noticed last year when temps were in upper teens here where I live I would get some white smoke at first, then it would clear up in just a little bit.



Tony

 

[BigEasy]

After five years of driving 18 wheelers, I can tell you that white smoke is simply from extremely cold air entering the engine. Last winter, I was hauling #2Red to Rochester NY because of the increased demand due to the 3 weeks of sub zero temps. They had armed guards at the terminal, because people were trying to jump the fence and steal fuel at night!



The Pete blew white smoke for 3 weeks straight, and I never shut it off the whole time. The intercooler was solid ice while driving. If I stopped and put it on a fast idle for 45 mins or so, it would gain just enough heat to clear it out. I needed a winterfront in the WORST way, it would've cured the whole problem, but my boss is a chintzy idiot.



I wish I would've taken some photos, that was quite an experience.