No idling of trucks cold engine high idle questions ?

[Turbo Terry]

Back in 1999 I put a high idle kit on my cruise control to be able to fast idle here in the frozen north to get the truck warmer faster. The BD exhaust brake would come open and the trucks cooling system would seem to make the truck run colder so of little value. Fast forward to a 2022 graphite 6.7 ho and they want you to limit your idle time. To keep the motor from cooling down and sooting /carboning up I suppose. .So does the fast idle 1100 rpm’s keep the motor hotter now. Is it better to fast idle if you have to idle. And how can the exhaust brake be maybe used to keep it warmer etc. should be an interesting discussion I hope to learn something. Thanks

 

[Ozymandias]

Truck does it by itself depending on outside and coolant temperature.
After a couple minutes in idle it will do it.

 

[Signal73]

Exhaust brake does not make a difference. At least on the new models. High Idle is better than low idle. Keeps the exhaust hotter which is the main problem with modern trucks. Idling was never really good with cylinder wash as a result.

 

[Turbo Terry]

So if 1100 rpm is good then 1500 rpm must be better right

 

[Ozymandias]

Just let it do it's thing, the ECM takes care for this himself because it needs to keep the emissions system happy and at operational temperature.
There is no need for you as a driver to interfere with it.
This isn't the old days.

 

[Turbo Terry]

Good to know. Thanks so to much idle can/could void your warranty? How much would it take ?

 

[AH64ID]

To be honest it wasn’t good for your 99 either, but back then it was common practice to idle diesels because starting them wasn’t as easy as it is now. It also was hard on the oil to run a traditional exhaust brake on a cold motor as it pushes soot into the oil.

On your 2022 the EB does nothing for warmup, as @Signal73 mentioned, which isn’t a big deal. They already close the turbo vanes on a cold motor to aid in warmup.

On a cold soaked motor the rpms will increase to help it stay warm and have complete combustion, but once the motor is warm it may or may not increase the idle rpms. If you must let it idle for a while I’d bump it up to 1,100 rpms.

The best thing you can do is use a block heater with the winter front installed. Fire it up and let it idle for 30 seconds or so, and then drive easy until it’s warm. There is an electric heater in the HVAC that will help out with cabin heat before the motor is warm.

If the truck is cold soaked in sun-zero temps letting it idle for 3-5 minute is fine, but any more than that is excessive.

As far as warranty there isn’t a set number from Ram, but Cummins states that any more than 10 minutes of idle per hour of operation is excessive. That anything over 16.6% idle time.

 

[NIsaacs]

To be honest it wasn’t good for your 99 either, but back then it was common practice to idle diesels because starting them wasn’t as easy as it is now.

What are you getting at with starting new v/s old?

 

[AH64ID]

What are you getting at with starting new v/s old?

Just a holdover from other much older diesel engines that carried its way to all diesels, the 5.9 is a great starting engine with any fuel pump configuration.

 

[NIsaacs]

Just a holdover from other much older diesel engines that carried its way to all diesels, the 5.9 is a great starting engine with any fuel pump configuration.

Okay, pony motor start v/s direct start, gotcha

 

[AH64ID]

Okay, pony motor start v/s direct start, gotcha

Even some models with direct start just don’t like to start, so guys leave them idling. Even more modern engines like the 90’s powerstroke’s… they hate to start on a 40° day when the glow plugs fail, let alone a -20° day.

 

[Turbo Terry]

Yes old ford powerstrokes did not like to start in anything much sub zero. Plug them in or let them run was the answer. At 40 below I used to run outside and start the company truck I had and let it run a couple hours before I went to bed then sleep 6 hours and plugged in they generally started. The good old days

 

[Jim W]

Back in 1999 I put a high idle kit on my cruise control to be able to fast idle here in the frozen north to get the truck warmer faster. The BD exhaust brake would come open and the trucks cooling system would seem to make the truck run colder so of little value. Fast forward to a 2022 graphite 6.7 ho and they want you to limit your idle time. To keep the motor from cooling down and sooting /carboning up I suppose. .So does the fast idle 1100 rpm’s keep the motor hotter now. Is it better to fast idle if you have to idle. And how can the exhaust brake be maybe used to keep it warmer etc. should be an interesting discussion I hope to learn something. Thanks

OK I always ask the most obvious questions that most people do not ask!

Have you read your owner's manual for your truck!!!! Don't rely on the internet or what others have stated, but what did the technicians that write the manuals state for idling your truck.

You may have already read this but go back and read this again. This is how I activate my high idle feature.

I have a much older 6.7L Dodge truck a 2008 model and one of my son's has a 2013.5 model Ram. But both of these trucks have the same High Idle feature on them.

When the ambient air temps are below a certain set point and the engine is cold the truck will go into High idle by itself. This is defined in your owner's manual. Also, as stated in your owner's manual (at least mine and my son's truck) you can also activate High Idle by using your cruise control. Not sure about the new trucks need to read the owner's manual for them.

How I activate my High Idle feature is as follows regardless of ambient air temps or engine operating temps.

The engine is running, and truck is in park. Foot off of the brake pedal and accelerator pedal. Engage the cruise control, push the set button. The High idle feature will accelerate to 1,100 RPM's if you want the engine to idle higher than push the other control that will increase your speed on your steering wheel, on mine the RH side. This will raise it to 1,500 RPMS in increments of 100 RPMS.

To turn off hit the cruise control off function or the brake pedal, this will disengage the high idle feature.

just saying.