well plans to leave on my first rip with my diesel may have been sabatoged. got the buggies loaded up-- trailer brake controller wired--new tires--cooler full--clothes loaded and boom!! my alternater gauge is pegging to the left!!
checked everything i could visually and everything looks ok. have a good relationship with my local dodge dealer so should be able to get it in first thing in the morning. problem is if it needs anything they do not stock tommorrow being new years day i may get laid up / sure hope not.

 

took truck in today . the grid heater wires were melted where they conected . dealer ordered a new heater-wire harness and relay. said the relay or fuse should have shut it down before it had done it's damage but didn"t
said ok to leave for Ca with heater disconnected from baterry as i should not run into to cold a weather problem
????

 

Think again. I don't know where you are headed but it has been quite chilly in the mornings. Was 36* this morning here in San Diego. My grid heater took a while before the WTS light went out.

 

36* wont be a problem . They will fire to life well below that with out waiting for the grid heater. They might run a litle ruff for the first few seconds.

 

thats what the dealer told me. what is heated when it is plugged in? something other that the grid heater? would it do anygood to plug it in if i get somewhere where it is cold?

 

When you plug it in you are warming the engine coolant. There is a frost plug heater on the pasanger side of the block just behind the oil filter. This would help if it realy got cold but not nesasary unles you dont want to give it any time to warm up before driveing away. I have started mine at 5 or 10* below zero before withought being pluged in and it just fired right up. Albeiet it ran REAL ruff for a while. If 36 is all the colder its going to be I would not wory abought pluging it in or any thing.

 

everyone keeps refering to the sound ???? i am new to this but all i hear is the "chatter " the engines make. drove from mich to st lois today wit a 20 foot utility trailer with 3 horse buggys (total weight maybe 5000 lbs and at 68 mph getting 11 mpg. disapointing!!

 

11 was disapointing second tank i got 6.2 , thinking maybe this deisel thing isn,t going to be for me.
constantley downshifting and will not stay in overdrive. not pulling only about 5000 pounds (including trailer.
stopped and checked tranny fluid --down a qt. laid up in motel for two days with flu so had employee who is with me take truck to service shop and get tranny and tranny filter changed (what kind of trannys are in these trucks)
cost me 109.00
left following morning same problem. stopped and checked tranny again and down a qt. put a quart in and walla!!! shifts great and milage back up to 12.4.
still not satisfied. stop and check air filter and it is COVERED and saturated in BLACK ??? put in a filter ,last milage check 14.7!!
put 678 miles on today and have not used any more tranny fluid and think i am beginning to enjoy this truck a little more tonight.
was assured by dealer i purchased this truck from all service this truck needed had been done took it back a week later and left it with them complaining of the way tranny was shifting and about the fuel milage. truck was returned saying nothing was wrong with truck

 

I would take the tranny fluid change invoice and the dirty air filter to the dealer and ask for their service records on the truck.


CR

 

i intend to. also had a couple other issues i brought up to them when i took it back to them they brushed off as insignifacnt. pulling to the right (they said would stop as soon as the shoulders wore off the new tires i had just put on) drivers door doesnt close well , have to really SLAM it. they siad it was because the cabs are so air tight. ( i see now that the paint on the door sill below this door is disapearing. the other was the door lock on the passenger side lllllllllllldoes not unlock itself when i shut the truck off. they said they are designed this way. i traded in a 2001 1500 gasser and the doors both unlocked when i shut it off and i still have a 2001 gasser shortbox sport in my garage with 26000 miles on it and both doors unlock on it when i shut it down must be those two were designed wrong?

 

AM IN BARSTOW CALIFORNIA TONIGHT. REALLY ENJOYING THIS CUMMING MORE EVERYDAY. PLENTY OF POWER MIAGE ONLY RUNNING 13.1 TODAY DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY THE MILAGE VARIATES SO MUCH. DRIVING CONDITIONS PRIMARILY THE SAME

 

Howdy Herb, I'm glad things are getting better.

When pulling my 7700 lb 26' tt, my milage varies sometimes. I think terrain and "foot motion" to maintain constant highway speed and to keep up with the traffic has a lot to do with milage. It seems I never travel on level ground, and my milage will vary between 12.5 up to 16 pulling. I haven't towed since I put my Edge Ez in, but I can't help but to believe it will even things out.
One time I got some bad diesel in Kansas. My milage dropped to about 6, and I couldn't hardly stay ahead of the rear bumper.
A little diesel "doctor" from Wally World fixed me up until I could get the filter changed.

The more you drive the Cummins, the more you will like it!

CR

 

on my way back now. bringing back a 22 foot utility trailer(1900 lbs) with a 19 foot hot tub pool (2500 lbs, tarped to cut down on wind drag and 5 wine barrels in the back of the truck 500lbs
left big bear ca this am and stopped 50 miles west of flagstaff , so have been doing some grades but nothing extreme--driving at 65mph
when climbing grades my factoory heat gauge will jump quickly from center (150) to the last marking before the red one i think would be 215 degrees. at the time it gets to this 215 mark the truck acts like i shut it off. it continues to run but loses all power in 10-15 seconds it grabs hold again like nothing happenened. if i am still climbing it may do it 3 or 4 tmes in a row??