Who had the Coldest start. How did it go?

[Highfinance97]

Here you go Jason, not mine.


YouTube - 1992 Dodge Ram Cummins cold start

Those First Gens always start right up even when they are not plugged it
Not like my 97, i remember starting that and it would "Chug,Chug,Chug for about 30 secs till it smoothed out
but the 93 starts on the first crank and never stumbles

Michael

 

[Cattletrkr]

To cycle them, you just turn the key back to the off position, then back to the on position and they will come back on. At least that works on mine.

Yeah, that's what I do but mine will NEVER stay on for more than a couple seconds. Even at -20*F they shut right back off. My '01 was the same way. I guess I've never tried starting at -20*F or colder w/o plugging in first so maybe the grid would stay on longer but I really don't want to experiment that badly.

 

[Highfinance97]

I finally got to hear first hand the 3 cyl high idle in the duallie today.

At 9 degs.

YouTube - 3 Cyl High idle


Michael


P. S. Why cant i put the video embeded???

 

[steved]

I've started at -20*F (24-valve 2nd gen) and around -15*F (current 2004. 5)...

Both complained about it (ran rough, smoked) but they started... leave them sit for a few minutes until they clear up, then drive off easy.

steved

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

On one Optima red top battery, started the '96 at 0F in Spokane after giving the grids only 3 seconds. It sputtered & died, cranked again and ran. Turned over real slow with dino 15w40 in the pan. Chugged and missed for about 3-5 seconds then smoothed out, fairly smokey.



My '03 and '01 started smoother in cold (down to 0 or a little below) than my 12-valves, but we rarely get below 0 here. I think last time was Jan 04.



Vaughn

 

[steved]

One thing to keep in mind is the fact our Cummins are euipped with Grid Heaters... this is something not typically found on the larger trucks. The heaters should enable starting to temps well below zero without block heater assist.



For example, I ran a Brazilian-made Peterbuilt HD truck with a 5. 9 Cummins... no grid heaters. It never failed to start... I know it was -20*F for a week when we were driving back and forth from Philly to NYC...



It was cold enough that week that we had to run the 1300CFM compressor the entire trip (at idle for 3+ hours) just to keep it warm to ensure we could use it when we got onsite... it was a big Cat (789CI?) that would only start at temps below +20*F when plugged in (and that's with an ether assist).



While it was significantly smaller which probably helped, the 5. 9L never failed to start unaided. The same goes for our DT466 in the IH truck we had... no heaters, but it also never failed to start in cold temps.



I would like to know what Cummins/Dodge found to be the absolute cold starting temps... I think we'd be impressed to say the least.



steved

 

[Skydiver]

Great thread !



I cranked the old 96 @ 18 F Thursday morning. No heat assist of any kind.



Why is it that some diesels will crank with no heat in cold temps. and some diesels will not crank ?



My previous diesels.



79 chevy. No crank

81 VW rabbit. No crank

81 Mercedes. No crank



87 Ford 2810 tractor. Cranks easy in cold.

96 Dodge Cummins, you already know.

 

[steved]

Why is it that some diesels will crank with no heat in cold temps. and some diesels will not crank ?

My guess would be compression ratios???



steved

 

[MN Cummins Lvr]

I do have a lot more confidence in starting the mighty Cummins in cold weather than any gasser :-laf:-laf I get a kick out of some idiots at work who think... "oh... it's a diesel, that will never start. " The ole' girl (my 92) has never let me down but do beware of smoke



Paul

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

The same goes for our DT466 in the IH truck we had... no heaters, but it also never failed to start in cold temps.

It's interesting how a company can make an inline 6 that starts great in the cold, but their V8 diesels don't



Yeah those indirect injection diesels with 22:1 compression ratio probably are harder to crank over in the cold. In the 80s our neighbor had trouble starting his Buick LeSabre diesel in the winter, but part of that may have been from all the gas he mixed in to keep it from gelling (he would put in about 4 gallons per fillup).



Vaughn

 

[rbattelle]

I would like to know what Cummins/Dodge found to be the absolute cold starting temps... I think we'd be impressed to say the least.

That would be great to know. My guess is somewhere around -50 with grid heat and -30 without grid heaters. Just a guess.

It probably depends on fuel system too, though. For some reason, I'd suspect the common rail trucks have slightly lower minimum cold start temperatures due to higher fuel pressures and better atomization.

On edit: I emailed the Powermaster about this. We'll see what they have to say.

Ryan

 

[WDaniels]

That would be great to know. My guess is somewhere around -50 with grid heat and -30 without grid heaters. Just a guess.

I can tell you they will not start at -50 or if they do you are darned lucky. That is just asking to much from the 5. 9. To many things start happening when it starts approaching -30. Brakes get hard to depress and they are delayed in applying and releasing, tires get cold and will be flat on the bottom for about a 1/4 mile, power steering pump whines, Heat on the floor and windows is a thing you can only dream about, mileage goes to crap. Last year I took readings of the gages on temps, boost, egt, speed to show how much more it takes the truck to run in cold weather. I started in mid summer and went through the whole winter until spring. I did everything exactly the same everyday I went to work. It showed me a why the mileage is so rotten.

WD

 

[Alphacowboy]

Last week I tried to start the ol' gal, it was -13*F according to the overhead. No go, 3 cycles of the grid heaters with no luck. It had sat for 3 days, and it wasnt plugged in. Face of the truck was facing north west, so the wind was going right through the engine compartment. I dont blame the truck really, that batteries are the original OEMs so they are tired, 140k miles and its 8 years old, what more can you expect from them right?



Replacing them today actually, but today its suppose to be in the 40's! Gotta love MN, -20 one day and can be 20-40 above the next! :-laf

 

[Highfinance97]

I have had my 97 since 2003
and not that North east PA gets as cold as some of you guys but It has never gelled on me, there would be times that i put additive in it but other times no


NOW for the question

Back when it was a daily driver (5/2003-2/2007) it had a FASS on it. has anyone ever had their fuel gel with a FASS installed on their truck and not be able to start there truck???

Just curious if its just me or not


Michael

 

[MRosinski]

Never had a problem starting any of the cummins, the 6. 2 better be plugged in if its below 35* or it'll never start. Glow plugs are inferior to our grids. I always had trouble starting my 02' powerstroke if it was under 30* too.

 

[WDixon27]

glow plugs suck would be my answer after owning and working on volvo and mercedes diesels for a long time. down here in loserana it doesn't get "cold" but i did crank mine up the other day on our coldest day yet after sitting a week or so, it got down to the lower 20s and when i hit the truck my outside temp read 27, i hit the key like normal forgetting about the grids and it rolled over maybe 4 times and popped off, i have my idle set low and give it a little pedal to start and it usually hits in a half revolution that way, i held it at maybe 1k rpm for 20-30 seconds and got out letting it idle on it's own while i got my phone and shades outta the car, i guess when you override the grids like that they must turn off as they didn't cycle at all, i went ahead and let them cycle before i hit the key when it was quitting time and they cycled as usual while idling

My guess would be compression ratios???



steved

 

[I-6DZL]

It's been darn close to 0 here a couple days, after working 12hrs at night, i'll go out and the truck fires up and dies. Cycle the grid heaters again she fires up and chugs for a minute or so. PS pump whines like crazy.



I've now went half the winter with stock fan on and it takes at least 15 minutes of 1300 rpm to get heat. I just installed the flex-a-lite 262's and get great heat within 10 minutes.



Curtis

 

[nickleinonen]

-25°C/-13°F last week... darn gfi outlet had tripped cycled grids once then cranked. . fired up ok but i think next winter i will be looking for new batteries

Why is it that some diesels will crank with no heat in cold temps. and some diesels will not crank ?

My previous diesels.

79 chevy. No crank idi
81 VW rabbit. No crank idi
81 Mercedes. No crank idi

87 Ford 2810 tractor. Cranks easy in cold. di
96 Dodge Cummins, you already know. di

di engines start better in cold than idi engines. . battery capacity and starter motor design also help/hinder the cold start

 

[Skydiver]

Thanks nickleinonen.



I understand the difference. But, why will an idi almost never fire?



I know there is something I am still not seeing.



My x-merc was the most stubborn.

 

[steved]

PS pump whines like crazy.



Curtis

I'm sure you're aware of the PS steering pump issues in the 2nd gens... I had a whining PS pump in the cold, finally changed the fluid out (incrementally) to a full synthetic. It helped a lot (no more whining PS pump when it was cold and I never had PS issues in that truck).



I still rest by my statement about compression... taking the grid heaters out of the equation, and a Cummins will still start. If the compression is even a point off, that would definitely make a difference in starting. IDI/DI might play a part, but if the fuel is reaching the cylinders, then they should pop off.



steved