Slow to warm up

[MarkEagleUSA]

Hey all! I just picked up an 03 3500 Quad Cab SLT CTD... my first diesel. She's really clean considering her age and the 144,000 on the odometer, but does have a few quirks. Most notably is that dreaded "Lamp Out" I've been chasing, but that's not the reason for this post.

I'm wondering why this truck takes so long to warm up? I've been told that's something all CTD's do. It's been in the mid-30's to low-40's here for the past week. Even after having her plugged in overnight and warming up for 5-10 minutes in the driveway, she doesn't start to blow heat until I've driven for a few minutes. While that's not a huge problem this time of year, I'm wondering what it will be like next winter when the colder weather returns.

Do the CTD's really take a long time to come up to temp? Or is there something else I should be looking at like thermostat, etc?

 

[promisedland]

Nice ride!
Thermostat comes to mind,might be good to change out as it could be old and it is a cheap fix.

There is a LOT of cold cast iron that needs warm up...

 

[Killer223]

They take for ever to warm up with no load, if your e-brake is in good order put the truck in gear, it'll warm up in about 5-10 min.
best thing to do is, start, get oil pressure then drive. these are commercial engines designed for exactly that. start n go.

 

[promisedland]

Now you NEED fog lights, tow mirrors, running boards, Smarty tuning, exhaust,.....

 

[promisedland]

Here is a pic of my ride. Similar set up, i like your darker blue better though.

 

[MarkEagleUSA]

Now you NEED fog lights, tow mirrors, running boards, Smarty tuning, exhaust,.....

Fog lights are here, mirrors and leveling kit are on order. Not sure what I'm going to do performance-wise as I bought her to replace my plow truck.

 

[jgillott]

Fog lights are here, mirrors and leveling kit are on order. Not sure what I'm going to do performance-wise as I bought her to replace my plow truck.

Our 04.5 has been our plow truck for 5 or 6 years now. Does a great job and has held together surprisingly well for a truck with ~350K on it, well except that the rear half of the truck looks like Swiss cheese from slinging salt.

 

[Wayne M.]

This should be the Blue (especially) Patriot Blue post!



As mentioned- lots of heavy cast iron to warm up- and a lot of coolant too. In summer, you won't believe how cool they run, no matter how hard you push!
Might be a good idea to get Geno's winterfront cover for the rad. It works great!

 

[DonFitzwater]

1.Are you using a high idle?
2.Is your block heater actually working?

I would bet that you likely need a heater core. I've replaced several in 3rd gens this winter due to scale buildup and lack of heat transfer until the engine is really hot. At temps like you are having and being plugged in, you should feel some heat.

 

[Wayne M.]

I've had mine since new, and my heat comes now as it always did. I still drive the same route.
I cold start and drive immediately regardless how cold it is.
I drive a secondary road with 3-4 traffic lights, about a mile, then I get on a parkway, and before a certain marker- about 2 miles on that flat parkway, I'm comfy. I drive about another 3 miles or so on another route that has some light grade, and I can watch my 'stat open. It'll hit 200, then drop. If I'm not going to work, and continuing to NJ let's say, it'll regain to 200, and at that point, I have to dial the temp back a bit to about where the red/blue meet on the dial.

 

[Bob4x4]

They take for ever to warm up with no load, if your e-brake is in good order put the truck in gear, it'll warm up in about 5-10 min.
best thing to do is, start, get oil pressure then drive. these are commercial engines designed for exactly that. start n go.

Very unlikely an 03 would have a e brake

 

[MarkEagleUSA]

1.Are you using a high idle?
2.Is your block heater actually working?

I believe the block heater is working since the WTS light goes out almost immediately after being plugged in overnight.

I have not seen the truck go i to high idle yet.

 

[MarkEagleUSA]

Very unlikely an 03 would have a e brake

Are you thinking engine brake? I took it to mean emergency brake.

 

[Wayne M.]

AFAIK, hi idle wasn't available till '05. Mine won't do it. The only idle up is below a certain ambient temp.

 

[RVTRKN]

Are you thinking engine brake? I took it to mean emergency brake.

Thats what I understood as well, engage Parking Brake, put it in drive and let it warm up at idle sitting there. But that can be detrimental to truck or home, or whatever else is in the way before it gets stopped.

 

[Prairie Dog]

The 03 wont do the manual high idle thing. It will idle up by itself to 1000 RPM under certain temps.
Your Lamp Out issues are most likely caused by the tail light circuit boards. Very common for that era especially with auto trans. Buy OEM replacments or up grade the whole light assy with a LED unit.

FWIW, I'v had this truck since new and I get no real heat at all with it just plugged in. It takes 7~10 minutes of driving before I feel warmth coming out of the vents.
This is sure better than my first gen. I almost froze to death n it one time while driving on the highway in near zero temps - even wearing a snow suit. It just didn't put out any heat unless it was working.

 

[RVTRKN]

AFAIK, hi idle wasn't available till '05. Mine won't do it. The only idle up is below a certain ambient temp.

What I did was to make an adjustable rod that you could saddle onto the throttle (hate to say gas pedal). You put it between the front seat and the throttle and adjust it to the RPM you want, worked well for me.

 

[Wayne M.]

What I did was to make an adjustable rod that you could saddle onto the throttle (hate to say gas pedal). You put it between the front seat and the throttle and adjust it to the RPM you want, worked well for me.

That's my one man brake lamp check. My long Snap On 3/8 extension. I think I have a tail lamp board acting up.

 

[MarkEagleUSA]

Your Lamp Out issues are most likely caused by the tail light circuit boards. Very common for that era especially with auto trans. Buy OEM replacments or up grade the whole light assy with a LED unit.

Replaced the boards. New headlights up front. New bulbs all around. Only happens when using the signal lights when the parking lights are on.

 

[MarkEagleUSA]

This week the temps here in southern Connecticut have only gone down to the low 40's so I haven't been plugging in the block heater. Instead I've gone out, started the truck, set the emergency brake, put it in drive, and let it run for around 5 minutes before taking off. Heat starts after about 3 miles of driving. I guess I'll just have to get used to it and come up with an alternate plan for when winter returns (like a 12v heater perhaps).