Grid Heater ?

[CBowden]

Good to be back in the good ole US and back on the TDR after being deployed. Hoping someone can explain to me the grid heater purpose, I have a 06 2500 Mega Cab, in the last week the weather has really turned cold here in Montana, low 20's. If I am somewhere were I can not plug my heater in and go to start my truck the amp guage will be really low and then will bounce back and forth from high to low. After I run for a bit it settles to normal and is fine, read this has something to do with grid heater but I'm not sure what that does. I do have OEM batteries and should probably replace them before winter really sets in.



Thanks

Brian

 

[JJPage]

Good to be back in the good ole US and back on the TDR after being deployed. Hoping someone can explain to me the grid heater purpose, I have a 06 2500 Mega Cab, in the last week the weather has really turned cold here in Montana, low 20's. If I am somewhere were I can not plug my heater in and go to start my truck the amp guage will be really low and then will bounce back and forth from high to low. After I run for a bit it settles to normal and is fine, read this has something to do with grid heater but I'm not sure what that does. I do have OEM batteries and should probably replace them before winter really sets in.



Thanks

Brian

First off, Welcome Home, and Thank You for your Service!



It sounds like your grid heaters are working just fine. You have a block heater, that is what you plug into AC. Your grid heaters are a separate device, (they preheat your intake air and aid in start up), they are between the intake horn and the intake mainfold, they are powered by your batteries and alternator. They will cycle on when you first turn on your key, if the outside ambient temp is cold enough, then when they reach a certain temp, they and the light on your dash go out. Then they will continue to cycle on/off until a predetermined temp is achieved. Mine usually stop within the first 3/5 minutes of operating.



My lights dim when they cycle, done that since brand new.



Hope that helps.



Jess

 

[Skydiver]

The grid heaters on the Dodge Cummins are mainly for smoke (asthetics). I have cranked my 12 valve at 23F with no grids hooked up. Yes it smoked like rip for 2 minutes and took 4 seconds of starter rotation. Some of the unburned fuel will find its way past the piston rings and into the oil. Not good.

There are some generator and marine apps 6bt sold without grids.

If you live in a neighborhood or have people standing around it is best to use the grids. They will complain about the cold smoke.

It is still good to know that our Cummins will crank at 23F without grids if needed.

p. s. don't tell the ferd or chebby guys.

p. s. s. sorry if I'm out of line. speaking from 12 valve experence.

 

[brad k]

mines does the same thing, they work like they are designed, just one more thing to go wrong on the electical side of the truck. I have been looking for a fuse or breaker to flip to shut them off. most of the time mine aren't needed, it would be nice to control when and if they kick on or not

 

[CBowden]

Great info, that is why I enjoy this forum... ... . I do have the block heater and use it every evening. In the mornings the truck fires right up and the volt meter goes to it's normal position. I had to leave my truck the other day for about 8 hours and it never got above 20 degrees that day. When I cranked it up I noticed my lights go dim and the volt meter go up and down... . kinda thought that was normal but thought I would check with the pros...



have another question... I never run any additive other than antigel... should I run any type of injector cleaner? I have not changed out any injectors, have 50k miles on the truck. The dealer was trying to talk me into some injector cleaning service, but when I asked him to explain all that was entailed in it he said addidng some stuf to the tank and but they did not inspect the injectors.



Thanks,

Brian

 

[TimothyLong]

have another question... I never run any additive other than antigel... should I run any type of injector cleaner? I have not changed out any injectors, have 50k miles on the truck. The dealer was trying to talk me into some injector cleaning service, but when I asked him to explain all that was entailed in it he said addidng some stuf to the tank and but they did not inspect the injectors.

Thanks,
Brian

If you are buying branded diesel fuel (i. e. Exxon, Sunoco, Shell, etc. ) you really shouldn't need to. However, if you are buying unbranded diesel that could come from anywhere or you truck is running a little rough, it might not hurt to run some through.

 

[KMyrick]

No glow plugs?

A lot of the older diesels had glow plugs, one per cylinder. Kind of like a spark plug, they glowed red hot, and sometimes swelled making them a real pain to replace.



Rather than use glow plugs, Cummins uses a grid heater on the intake manifold.





Andres,



So if i understand you correctly, my 2006 does not have glow plugs? If it doesn't have glow plugs, am I waiting for the grid heater to heat up?



Kyle

 

[MelvinPierce]

A lot of the older diesels had glow plugs, one per cylinder. Kind of like a spark plug, they glowed red hot, and sometimes swelled making them a real pain to replace.



Rather than use glow plugs, Cummins uses a grid heater on the intake manifold.





Andres,



So if i understand you correctly, my 2006 does not have glow plugs? If it doesn't have glow plugs, am I waiting for the grid heater to heat up?



Kyle

That is right. None of the Cummins powered Dodges used glow plugs. All are grid heaters. I have a 97 24 valve with 325,000 miles, farm use in ND. Gets to -30F here in Jan. Grid heater still works fine, never has failed.



I get kind of a kick out of those that talk about "cold weather" starting, at +20F! LOL



MP

 

[KMyrick]

Thanks MP. I will start talking about my truck with a little more knowledge now! I have never had a problem starting in cold weather. -18* is no problem.



K

 

[rbattelle]

the amp guage will be really low and then will bounce back and forth from high to low.

Are you talking about an ammeter you installed, or the factory voltage gauge?



-Ryan

 

[JMarketos]

People debate back and forth whether it's "necessary" to use the block coolant heater (powered by house AC). If you don't mind taking the time to plug in the AC (and remembering to unplug before driving... ), having the coolant pre-heated to some degree provides a good head start on warmup and gives cabin heat faster. I don't drive my truck in winter, but in the cool fall weather I sometimes use an outdoor timer to turn on the block heater a couple hours before I plan to leave etc. Some of us actually unhook the factory grid heaters because they place such a huge electrical load on the vehicle 12V system. There are two solenoids located at the foot of the passenger side battery. (The grid heater is two separate coils). I left the low Voltage side of the solenoids connected (so the computer still operates them and you still hear them click). I disconnected and taped off the fat wire from the post of each solenoid- that's the actual grid heater connection.



Should I answer before someone asks... Why is a perfectly good 4x4 truck parked in winter ? Let's see, how to give a short answer... 1) Divorce caused me to not use the truck as much as originally planned (2005 with only 39K miles, now paid for!). 2) I have now installed several thousand $$ aftermarket parts. If I keep it out of the winter salt, it will last for as long as I want to maintain it. Sadly up in CNY here, I'm seeing some 2005 trucks that have been driven in winter, they already have early signs of rust showing on the outer wheel wells.