Too Much Idling?

[ccutrell]

Well I havent had a problem with idling the 05 CTD (almost 250k miles) and it has went weeks on end with out ever being shut off... It is a haul truck and we sleep (6-8 hrs at a time) in it and let it idle while loading and unloading (3-5 hrs a day some times). It didnt have the high idle enables til about 120k and at that I dont know how much it gets used as i dont drive it all that much any more. The only things that have been done to it are 2 clutches (one because the installer was an idiot), brakes, and 2 fan clutches. I would give the engine hrs but I havent been near it in a week or so and its not my truck in the signature it is our gooseneck cattle haul truck and I keep to the pete.

 

[AKaiser]

I think the real problem is related to long idles when cold (over 5 minutes) but long, low idles at any temp can cause fuel to wash down the cylinder walls if the engine temp gets low enough.

 

[JHardwick]

As soon as the lie-o-meter oil pressure gauge is in the normal range, drive easy (under 1500 RPMs, no hard accel) until the water temp is above the low temp (140 deg F) line.

You and I do things a little different. I let my engine idle until the voltmeter comes up. Then I run the gears completely out to 2500 or so, with as little load as possible. I have a few little county roads to cover before I get to any major road. I basically run 35mph or so between 2000-2500 ..... kinda like a high idle with no load.



Don't ask me if it's right, it's just how I do it.

 

[JHardwick]

How much fuel did you burn in that 10 days?

I'm not sure. I usually average 750-800 miles/day, and fuel mileage averages 11. 5/12. 0 in most cases.



I suppose I burn 65 gallons a day or so.

 

[JHardwick]

JHARDWICK-uhm... ... . why would you do that?

Because I've heard that hypothermia and heat stroke are miserable ways to die :-laf

 

[JasonCzerak]

I'm not sure. I usually average 750-800 miles/day, and fuel mileage averages 11. 5/12. 0 in most cases.



I suppose I burn 65 gallons a day or so.

I read that as you left hte truck idle for 10 days. sleeping every 8 hours is a different story, same thing I did on that 2 day trip to CO and back I did a few years ago.

 

[AKaiser]

You and I do things a little different. I let my engine idle until the voltmeter comes up. Then I run the gears completely out to 2500 or so, with as little load as possible. I have a few little county roads to cover before I get to any major road. I basically run 35mph or so between 2000-2500 ..... kinda like a high idle with no load.



Don't ask me if it's right, it's just how I do it.

I'm just going by what the guys who designed it call for, no engine speeds over 1500 until the water temp exceeds 140.

 

[JHardwick]

I idle my truck 6-7 hours at a time, and probably a total of 10-12 hours per day.



I once left for a 10 day trip in the dead of winter, and never shut the truck down until I returned home.



I'm almost as bad in the summer, depending on how hot it is.

Yeah, I wasn't very clear. I don't leave my truck idle in the driveway for 10 hours a day :-laf

 

[JasonCzerak]

You and I do things a little different. I let my engine idle until the voltmeter comes up. Then I run the gears completely out to 2500 or so, with as little load as possible. I have a few little county roads to cover before I get to any major road. I basically run 35mph or so between 2000-2500 ..... kinda like a high idle with no load.



Don't ask me if it's right, it's just how I do it.

Yeah, waiting for the grids to stop cycling is a good minimum idle warm up for me.

 

[JHardwick]

I'm just going by what the guys who designed it call for, no engine speeds over 1500 until the water temp exceeds 140.

Thats cool. I have no clue if I'm robbing life from my engine, it's just the way I've always doen it.

 

[JBonpua]

Jjack

I will try to locate that harness when I get back home end of September from my deployment fighting the bad guys…man I miss my CTD. The only thing close to our beloved CTD here are 10 1 megawatt Cummins powered generators powering our camp. They are inside a 20ft shipping containers and I was told by the guy in charge that these gensets been running (5 generators at the time on rotation) 24/7 for over 5 years. I will try to take pictures of the BIG Cummins later. Anyway my truck is already enabled so I will attempt the mod. Do you happen to have pictures?







CDonaldson

I was thinking about the same thing coasting. I try to save fuel by coasting when getting off the interstate (I put it in neutral) and coast to a stop. I also coast when approaching a red light or stop sign. Is it too much idling?





When I do get this mod done, at what RPM would not be considered idling (1,100, 1,200 or higher)?

 

[LRundberget]

DC and the dealers go by total mileage divided by the EMC's hour meter. So if you have 68,000 miles on the truck and the hour meter says 3,800 hours then you are averaging 17. 89 mile per hour. The average is 35 MPH so that 17. 89 MPH would trip the flag of too much idling.



You can see the EMC's hour meter reading by:

1. Make sure the mileage is showing instead of trip.

2. Turn key on, don't start.

3. Press and hold the trip button till the hours are displayed.



So even if you enable the high idle feature, the average MPH of the truck will still be low and flag the truck as having too much idle time.

 

[JBonpua]

LRundberget, thanks for the information on the engine hours. So the key is over 35MPH. I will make sure I check mine when I get home next month.

 

[Mhannink]

warming up and cooling down no matter the weather is good. now ive gotten in my truck when its 115 outside and the coolant temp is off the peg even though the truck sat all day. i still let it idle for 30 seconds to a minute to allow oil to run through the engine and get lubricated.



as far as these engines warming up w/o a load in winter. yes they will you have diesel igniting at 250+ degrees thats warmer then anything else it will warm the coolant it just takes longer the bigger the motor/cooling system. now i let my engine warm up in winter. i start it and build oil pressure. yes true that that amount of idleing probably isnt doing much but it allows the transmission to warm and the engine to loosen up if even a little it all helps in longevity.

 

[crobertson1]

Here is the answer to all the concerns:



When you get home at night or after work, put the rear diff on jack stands-or front and rear if you're using 4x4 in winter.



The next time you get ready to leave, fire the engine and put the transmission in gear and set the cruise at 55 mph.



This will allow all the fluids to get circulating, at a LIGHT load, it won't be idling, and the average mph will not be reduced.



Please note: This is a SARCASTIC post and is meant as a joke. DO NOT ATTEMPT this stunt.

 

[MMeier]

Anyone have the part # for the grounding pin, and if this mod works on an '03 rig?

 

[MA2LA]

Here is the answer to all the concerns:



When you get home at night or after work, put the rear diff on jack stands-or front and rear if you're using 4x4 in winter.



The next time you get ready to leave, fire the engine and put the transmission in gear and set the cruise at 55 mph.



This will allow all the fluids to get circulating, at a LIGHT load, it won't be idling, and the average mph will not be reduced.



Please note: This is a SARCASTIC post and is meant as a joke. DO NOT ATTEMPT this stunt.

Oh come on it could work pretty good. Just do the rear axle then when you need to go just put it in 4x4 and pull yourself off the jack stands:-laf

 

[AKaiser]

Found a cooldown protocol that works pretty well. Turn the cab temp knob all the way into the red, fan on full blast, kick the vent knob over to defrost. You may have to cycle the vent knob a few times to get it to go just to defrost, though it doesn't matter if it it or not. I just prefer it there so I'm not getting the full blast heat in my face. Also serves to remove the moisture from the ventilation system. I run the engine at idle for a minute or two until the temp comes down about where I think it should be. One of these days I'll get a real thermometer for the coolant and oil, plus real oil pressure. Wish this could be set up to vent it to the outside, instead of just in the cab, and make it part of a cool kill system. Push the button, and it does it automatically, and goes back to normal (A/C settings) when it completes the cycle.

 

[Motorhead]

What about if idling with an exhaust engaged? Will this help prevent injector fouling? I know it sure helps warm up.

 

[MAshley]

DC and the dealers go by total mileage divided by the EMC's hour meter. So if you have 68,000 miles on the truck and the hour meter says 3,800 hours then you are averaging 17. 89 mile per hour. The average is 35 MPH so that 17. 89 MPH would trip the flag of too much idling.



You can see the EMC's hour meter reading by:

1. Make sure the mileage is showing instead of trip.

2. Turn key on, don't start.

3. Press and hold the trip button till the hours are displayed.



So even if you enable the high idle feature, the average MPH of the truck will still be low and flag the truck as having too much idle time.

... . LRundberget ... . IS this a guess or is this fact? If im a local delivery driver I might never ever get over 17 mph average.



Food for thought ... .

I went into service for a hard start situation and they told me I had 29% idle time on the motor, they actually showed me the computer pluged in and the readout of 29% they said anything over 19% I belive, IE dont' quote me on the 19% and it was a customer not cummins issue. So I had 2 options do nothing and lower my % or pay for a injector cleaning... . I said see you latter and I don't idle as much. I do have a EX brake now and I use high idle, truck runs great now.



I also went in once and picked the tech brain a little, he even could tell me how many gallons of fuel the truck had used, interestingly thought it was really low, we figured during the last ECM update the tech cleared everything and didnt update the way it should have been... maybe this is why my other key didn't work... . #@$%!



Sop the ECM can tell you a lot of things.





In case many of you don't know. There are a lot of Semi trucks that at low idle after 3-4 minutes will shut down, High idle and it only shuts down if you run out of fuel... they know if your moving, they know if your clutch is in or not, they know what gear you have selected and they know if the parking brake is on. They = ECM knows everything. Heck in UT I would coast down some of the steep hills on the highway and the computer would yell at me because I was out of gear ... WOW