i belive the more the timing is advanced the lower your egts are, and your rwhp peaks at a higher rpm. sacrifice easy starting for harder top end fueling on a wider rpm range with a 4k or 5k gsk. so more advanced timing on a big single turbo truck with a 4k kit would be an advantage. ive seen people on here advanced up to 28. but if you want to go past 16 head studs are recomended. thats all knowledge i have goten from this site so someone correct me if im wrong on this

 

I wasn't going off of what is possible I was going off of what his sig says. the things you are talking about do not pertain to the problem being discussed here. His truck is not that modified.

 

yea your right lifer, i dont think 20 degres should be a problem. the poping and shaking with the white smoke sounds like air to me.

 

The 20 deg. he refers to is temp. not timing. It possible it is air. It is possible that his timing sliped also.I just think it is a grid not working. Mine had the same symptoms as his and that is what it was. I see you are in ak. It might not get as cold where you are and so you see it differently by your experience. Here where I live it is not uncommon for the cummins to shake and smoke when it is cold out and a grid not working pronounces the problem. Here when it is -20 deg. and both grids are working the cummins shakes and smokes like if it had one grid working at +20 deg.

 

Thanks for the suggestions and help guys. When the key is turned it will pull the voltage down to 10-11 volts by the factory gauge. I will check out the wires/connections and looks for fuel leaks. Will check back in when I find something out.

Fred

 

I have not had time to work on my truck since I leave at dark and get home at dark. After starting my truck this morning I watched the volt gauge for awhile. When I first turn the key on it drops to 10-11 on the factory gauge for 10 seconds or so. Truck fires up and runs rough smoking white. Every 35-45 seconds the gauge would fall from 14+ to 11.5-12.5 volts in a 3 second time period. Wait 35-45 seconds and the grid heater would come on for 3 seconds again. Repeat several times.

So... After start up my grid heaters cycle on for 3 seconds every 35-45 seconds. I do hear a faint click when it comes on and off.

I can't look at my truck until Monday. Anyone have anymore ideas with this new info?

Thanks agian!!

Fred

 

Well from what you say it sounds like at least one grid is working. I still think it is one grid not working. There are 2 solenoids and one or both are making the click noise. When mine was bad it still clicked, so the solenoid was engaging but the elec. contact inside was burned and did not let power through. Even if I am wrong it is still the first place to look to narrow down what the problem is. If the grid heaters check out ( 1hr of time + v.o.m.+$20-$150 for parts+ 2hrs to repair)then I would look check the timing ( for first timers 3+ hrs + $200 in tools) if that isn't it then check for an air leak in a fuel line (1/2 -8hrs, depends on where its at, cost $5- $150) . Most of the time if you have an air leak the longer your truck sits without being started the more you will have to crank the starter to get it to run. The air leak allows the fuel to drain back to the tank so you have to pull the fuel up before the truck starts. Many times a line will leak enough to pull in air but not enough to let fuel leak out so it can be hard to find. That is why most people that have the syptoms of an air leak just go ahead and replace the rubber fuel lines to make sure they got it fixed. If you do that make sure you use marine rated fuel line. It will be hard to find locally and it is expensive but the lines are agrivating to change so you will only want to do it once. It could also be an injector leaking . You would need to remove the injectors take them to a diesel shop and have them tested, if they test good put new brass washers and reinstall, one tests bad either replace just the bad ones or all of them . Good luck

 

What brand solenoids and part # please. I am having the same problem since it has gotten cold.
rick.henson@yahoo.com Thanks Valk

 

Valk; I replaced my oem solenoids with meyer snow plow solenoids. Electrically they work the same as the oem's but they look different than the oem. If you live in snow country any auto parts store worth its salt will have them in stock. They installed using the original holes in the fender well but you have to install them in a V shape to each other. I had to trim one bracket on one solenoid so when it is in the V shape it doesn't hit the other solenoid. Otherwise you can redrill the fender well and install them with no mod needed. The reason I used snow plow solenoids is because the contacts are rated for continous use and not momentary like a starter solenoid. I hope this helps. good luck.

 

Ok I went out to the garage and pulled the receipt out of the trash. The part number is SNO F5794K. You will need 2 of them . I paid $14.69 each. I don't know what brand they are , there is nothing that says. but The parts guy said it was for a meyer brand snowplow. I got them at a" Bumper to Bumper "auto parts store.

 

If you need to replace the grid heater relays, another good option is to get relays from allied electronics. They can be ordered online and you can get both relays for $30 or so total and they are well made. They have a 100A continuous model that can be made to fit the old mounts. I don't remember the part number but that is what I run on my truck.