I bought a 99 5 speed 4x4 24 valve cummins and everything worked fine. I had to replace the alternator and doing so i cleaned the battery terminals using a corosion cleaner from the parts store and then using electrical grease on the terminals to stop corosion. when i went to start the truck the wait to start light took a little bit to come on then imediatly turn off and the truck started right up. Now it doesnt come on at all. I still wait at least 30 seconds then turn the truck on and it starts just fine and runs great. But im curious about the wait to start light. Any ideas? I have done some research but cant get any answers really. Any help would be apprecaited!! Thanks!

 

Probably a ground issue. You don't need them until it gets pretty cold, but I like having them work. You need to check all the grounds up near where you were working on the batt terminals.

BTW, the WTS light being on doesn't always indicate they are turned on.

 

Watch your battery gauge and see if it is dipping down to the left when you first turn the key on in the morning. That's the grid heaters cycling, I can usually hear a click when they cycle off and this is the same time the WTS light goes out and the gauge comes back up to center, which is start time.

You may just have a bulb out in the dash.

 

Sixslug-I did what you told me, no movement of the battery guage. I know what your talking about though and i have seen it. Ill check the grounds tomorrow and make sure they are good. Thanks for the help guys!

 

If it is starting up like normal for the outside temps this time of year I would suspect your grid heaters are cycling normally, unless you plug your block heater in overnight, in which case mine starts immediately with no grid heater assist.

Not sure if you can do a 3key on off code trick with a 99, but check if you can.

 

I tried the 3 key check and got nothing. I did the engine check with the tripometer and it cycled and gave me no codes. In the mornings i noticed that my battery guage is less than 14 but its solid there until i start the truck. I havent had time to get under the hood and start checking the grounds yet due to school. But its running just fine. Im gunna get a wire probe to check power in the lines up to the grid heater and see what i can find, but im debating doing a replace of all the battery lines. Ill keep ya posted and let ya know.

 

If memory serves, coming off of the passenger side battery you will see 2 #6 wires in a common termination that is slipped on the bolt of the positive side terminal lead. These wires go down to 2 relays mounted near the battery. If you had any corrosion on the terminals, you may need to take this the termination loose from the battery cable termination and clean it real well to be sure you are getting a solid connection. IF you have a high resistance connection there, you won't get enough voltage to operate the grid heaters.

 

Thanks Circle B, ill be sure to check it out and make sure I get rid of any corrosion. The wierd part is that this started AFTER i cleaned the battery terminals..

 

Right, if I understood, you cleaned the cable terminals & battery posts only and in the movement, what connection the other terminals had was lost (that one good point of contact); So, any slime created or corrosion still present on the flat surfaces of those terminations can prevent re-establishing a good contact......yeah, sounds like the who's on first routine doesn't it. But this is all speculation and arm chair quarterbacking, so may or may not be the solution, but important to check none the less.

 

Don't forget, the PCM drag the GH solenoids to ground on your 99, so irrespective of them working, the light should come on.

Not 100 percent sure, but I think the WTS light should at least light up when the key is on. Just for grins, did you check to make sure the bulb didn't burn out?

 

One other neat trick is to hold the odometer reset button in while turning the ignition on. This runs a check on all the lights and the gauges. That should tell you whether or not the light is burnt out.

Also the grids do not turn on at 60º or above. The WTS light will only come on for 2 seconds in this condition. Don't know how cold it is where you are.

If the air temp is 59º or below and the coolant temp is less than 120º, then the grids come on, and will cycle on and off as the engine idles until the engine warms up or vehicle speed goes over 20 MPH. The WTS light comes on for about 10 seconds in this condition.

Below 30º the grids will kick on for 30 seconds, with the WTS light staying on for that long too.

Good luck, and let us know what you find.

 

Maybe i have been over thinking it, Im in southern texas and it has been getting warmer even at night. Yesterday i tried cold starting it and it would just crank so i let it sit and then it started right up. I did run the tripometer check and systems check and i got 0 codes. I know the grid is working but maybe its just cause its staying constantly warm. The humidity is getting hot fast here. I still need to check the grounds but again maybe it jsut cause of how warm its been constantly here. Im originally from oregon so im always used to the WTS light being on for 30 seconds or so. Ill keep yall posted. Im hoping to get under the hood and do some snooping. Thanks for all the help though guys!

 

Which test did you do, the code check or the guage check?

Cylcling the key ON-OFF three times will get you error codes, which show up on the odometer display (this test does not work on 98 and early 99 trucks).

Holding the odometer button in and turning the key to ON once, performs the guage and light test. Do this one to make sure your light didn't burn out.

 

My truck WTS light doesn't come on for about 10 seconds after ignition on. Truck WILL NOT start until WTS comes on. If you search around it's not uncommon on 99 models. Some say it's the ECM, but I haven't tried diagnosing mine yet. I have an ECM in my wrecked truck, just haven't tried it yet.

I do know that your problem is not in the grid heaters if the light does not come on with the rest of your lights at ignition on.

Hope this helps.

Brad

 

Hey guys, sorry i havent been keeping posted like i should have with this whole thing. Still no WTS light but i have run the error diagnostics and the light doesnt come on even when all the others do. Truck still runs and starts just fine after waiting about 30 seconds or so. We did have a cold morning below 50 degrees here a few days ago and still no wait to start. Im thinking the bulb maybe burnt. I have been so busy with everything at work and at home I haven't been able to do much at all.

As a side note.. anyone know where i can order a baldwin fuel filter for my truck? Ive tried EVERY baldwin dealer in town and they have nothing. I can find fleet guard but i want baldwin due to it being able to filter 5 microns vs 7 microns.