Engine/Transmission (1994 - 1998) Electrical Question

[JamesPhillips]

Hello all. I have a question about my 96 Dodge. It has approx. 130K miles. This morning when I started my truck, I noticed the lights were getting bright then dim as it was idling. The volt meter was also fluctuating with the cycle of the lights. This morning the temperature was approx. 45 degrees. I noticed the wait to start light stayed on longer than normal. I attribute that to the colder weather (duh). I drove the truck about a block and the lights and voltmeter returned to normal. After about a mile, I stopped to get breakfast. When I came back out and started the truck, it was doing the same thing. I took it back home and got another vehicle. I'm thinking it could be a bad battery or alternator. The reason I mentioned the start light is that I wonder if the glow plug relay could cause this fluctuation as the motor is cold. I recently purchased this truck and this is the first cooler weather that we've had. I think I may need to replace the glow plugs because I've noticed that it smokes a lot more (when starting) on these colder mornings. I'm planning to check the batteries first then the alternator. Does anyone have any suggestions?



Thanks,

James Phillips

 

[Skydiver]

Its OK.

How long have you had the Cummins?



Is the truck easy to start when pressing foot-feed 3/4 inch?



What area of the U. S. A are you in?(weather)



From your report your truck does the same thing my 96 does.



I think everything is working just as it should be.

Tim

 

[illflem]

Your truck is normal, it's just cold.

The grids should go off after a maximum 3 minutes after starting or going over 18 mph. If you only drive a short distance and the engine doesn't warm it will go though the same thing again upon restarting.

Once your truck starts drive it, a diesel engine won't warm up while idling and in fact it is harmful.

 

[JoshPeters]

My 96 does the same thing. Under about 60 the wait to start light is quite long, longer again when it gets colder, and I think Really long when it gets below what normal people call "cold. " The lights and volt meter are normal, that is the intake air grid heaters turning on and off heating the air going through the intake into the engine. Being our trucks run no precombustion chamber, there are no glow plugs. They rely soley on compression to start. Heating the intake air when it's cold helps that process.



Josh

PS My truck has started un-aided at -8degrees. It almost kept running at -12, but didn't catch that one last cylinder... .....

 

[JamesPhillips]

Thanks

Thanks for the replys. I've been plugging the truck in each night and the voltage drop disappeared.

 

[y-knot]

I agree with the others it sound very much normal... ... one thing thou, you have a grid heater, not glow plugs.