Code P2609

[RDick]

Code P2609- Intake Air Heater System Performance has returned. In Sept. 2018 they replaced the Heater Grid & Relay. It has been approximate 16.5K miles. Is this a crucial problem? I'm a snowbird and can't work on my truck at our campground. Plus this is our only transportation. Do I need to bite-the-bullet and and take it to a Dealer?
Thanks,ron

 

[RDick]

Code P2609- Intake Air Heater System Performance has returned. In Sept. 2018 they replaced the Heater Grid & Relay. It has been approximate 16.5K miles. Is this a crucial problem? I'm a snowbird and can't work on my truck at our campground. Plus this is our only transportation. Do I need to bite-the-bullet and and take it to a Dealer?
Thanks,ron

I have not update my File, I now have a 2016 RAM 3500

 

[gsbrockman]

Code P2609- Intake Air Heater System Performance has returned. In Sept. 2018 they replaced the Heater Grid & Relay. It has been approximate 16.5K miles. Is this a crucial problem? I'm a snowbird and can't work on my truck at our campground. Plus this is our only transportation. Do I need to bite-the-bullet and and take it to a Dealer?
Thanks,ron

Who is “they”?

It is indeed a crucial problem. If the power post to the grid heater arcs enough, and comes apart, there will be some foreign material become ingested inside the engine. These engines compress fuel and air really well. Fuel, air, and intake grid heater bolts...not so well.

 

[MRoberts]

I'd get it checked out asap. They will perform the "jiggle" test on it. There is a great Youtube video on how to perform it. Heres the link for it:

 

[DonFitzwater]

I live in Alaska.....have had 5 6.7s...not a single problem with the intake heater. Personally I think its like the little boy that cried Wolf! If you have a trouble code, get it checked out. That’s obvious.

 

[Electrojake]

Code P2609- Intake Air Heater System Performance has returned. In Sept. 2018 they replaced the Heater Grid & Relay. Do I need to bite-the-bullet and and take it to a Dealer?

Ron, All I ask is that as this issue moves forward you keep us posted in "this" thread.
I take a keen interest anything P2609 and dealer service story telling.
Thank you Sir,
Good luck and God speed.

 

[TRAMPLINEMAN]

I live in Alaska.....have had 5 6.7s...not a single problem with the intake heater. Personally I think its like the little boy that cried Wolf! If you have a trouble code, get it checked out. That’s obvious.

A guy I work with had a ‘15 that lost the nut off the grid heater. It took out a piston and required a new head. I also saw pictures from Todd at TCDiesel of another truck with brutal internal damage from the lost nut.

 

[MRoberts]

I took my 2015 in just before my warranty expired (July 2020), I had a code, but I can't 100% swear it was the 2069. The dealer called me 30 minutes after I dropped it off, telling me they would need my truck overnight and that they were replacing the grid heater assembly. The tech told me the nut was very close to falling off.

 

[RDick]

Thanks for all the replies. I had the parts replaced back in Sept. of 2018 at a Dodge Dealership in Roseville, CA. Prior to leaving that year on a trip to CA, our local Dodge Dealership, in Hayesville, NC, said that it was just a lose battery cable. I will check the grid heater bolt and all connections to that. I can see from MRoberts's video, that if this bolt (killer bolt) is lose and arcs with 215 amps applied can cause a lot of damage.
The end of next week, I have an appointment to have my truck checked out and will keep everyone posted on the results. Thanks again.

Ron

 

[tgrfan2]

Thanks for all the replies. I had the parts replaced back in Sept. of 2018 at a Dodge Dealership in Roseville, CA. Prior to leaving that year on a trip to CA, our local Dodge Dealership, in Hayesville, NC, said that it was just a lose battery cable. I will check the grid heater bolt and all connections to that. I can see from MRoberts's video, that if this bolt (killer bolt) is lose and arcs with 215 amps applied can cause a lot of damage.
The end of next week, I have an appointment to have my truck checked out and will keep everyone posted on the results. Thanks again.

Ron

My new to me 2018 with 10K is in the shop right now for a preheat code. Dealer hasn't told me the code yet but I suspected the heater. Service writer told me it was OK to drive it until they got it in the shop this week.
I am not very happy with them since they didn't bother to let me know it was staying over night. Luckily my salesman was there. They gave me a loaner to go home (150 miles) without the proper tag and we got stopped by the HP. She was very nice about it and gave me a paper to let any other officer know I had already been stopped.
I am going to print this out and hand it to the service writer. I have found that most of these people don't know much about CTDs for sure.

 

[RDick]

My new to me 2018 with 10K is in the shop right now for a preheat code. Dealer hasn't told me the code yet but I suspected the heater. Service writer told me it was OK to drive it until they got it in the shop this week.
I am not very happy with them since they didn't bother to let me know it was staying over night. Luckily my salesman was there. They gave me a loaner to go home (150 miles) without the proper tag and we got stopped by the HP. She was very nice about it and gave me a paper to let any other officer know I had already been stopped.
I am going to print this out and hand it to the service writer. I have found that most of these people don't know much about CTDs for sure.

 

[RDick]

I'm going to have it looked at the 15th. will let everybody know what they found out.


ron

 

[tgrfan2]

Well we got the truck back Friday afternoon and it is running well. SA said they replaced the heater but she still didn't remember the code and I didn't get any paper work. The salesman did a great job keeping up with the progress on the truck for me.
The only thing I have noticed is the voltage is now jumping between 13 and 14 volts. From the time we got the truck until we put it in the shop the voltage always read a solid 14 volts. I guess I will put my meter on it sometime today.

 

[Ozymandias]

Is the voltage jumping all the time or just for a couple minutes after starting the engine?

 

[tgrfan2]

All the time in rapid fire. I would say it is never staying constant or with smooth changes according to the "graph" to the right. Nothing like the voltmeter on the 98. It was raining and about 47 to 50 degrees all the way home.

 

[tgrfan2]

Ron, All I ask is that as this issue moves forward you keep us posted in "this" thread.
I take a keen interest anything P2609 and dealer service story telling.
Thank you Sir,
Good luck and God speed.

I don't want to think there is a conspiracy to minimize this problem but not being able to get the code or seeing any paperwork seemed strange to me. This is my first experience with this dealer. So far salesman really has impressed me. Service not so much.

 

[Ozymandias]

All the time in rapid fire. I would say it is never staying constant or with smooth changes according to the "graph" to the right. Nothing like the voltmeter on the 98. It was raining and about 47 to 50 degrees all the way home.

You can't compare these two vehicles.
In your truck the Voltmeter shows you what the BCM wants you to tell/see, not the actual voltage that the Alternator has.
Use an external meter to verify it.

 

[tgrfan2]

You can say that again! 326K and I did the KDP, starter twice, alternator, tensioner and water pump all at 100K plus. Wife is up so I hope to check it out with a voltmeter soon. According to what I saw on MRoberts video the heater shouldn't be a factor at speed so I am going to "jiggle test" all the wires I see.
Thanks for your help.

 

[Cummins12V98]

Does this seem to be happening on one year or across the board?

 

[tgrfan2]

You can't compare these two vehicles.
In your truck the Voltmeter shows you what the BCM wants you to tell/see, not the actual voltage that the Alternator has.
Use an external meter to verify it.

I had the wife work the truck. Before start up the battery on passenger side checked 12.62. When she switched it on it dropped into the 10.5 range. After start it read 12.06 for a few seconds and boom went to 14+ real quick. Gauge in dash was reading consistent with my meter. Heater apparently never came back on and truck leveled out to a range of 14.32 to 14.37. We put in the B&W hitch and I went down the road to shake it down (SC roads are great for a shakedown). Gauge in the truck was back to rock solid 14 Volts and even the graph was steady. I brought it back and voltmeter was reading just like on startup. Temperature was 45.
The only difference is a shut down over night and no rain and no wipers. No difference with lights on or off. I guess I will have to wait and see if the voltage goes crazy again with the next rain and check the wipers on and off then.
Thanks again for your help.