I got a 98.5 24 valve totally stock that's the daily driver for my wife. When the temp drops below 40 it drags really bad and when the temp is around 30 like it was this morning I almost had to jump start it. I put red top optima's in it about a year and a half ago now and haven't had any trouble until now. I called the dealer to see if they could give me any idea as to why it does this and he said the starter relay was probably bad or one of the batteries most likely had a dead cell in it. If this was true then why is it only hard to start when it's cold.

Does anyone have any other ideas what it may be?

Any help would be appreciated, THANKS.


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You need to do a volt test while cranking. The volts should be 10.5 or more. Check the cable connections and make sure they are clean. Then you need to do a volt drop test across the connections and cables. It's best to use a good dvom for these tests.

 

One of the guys on the NWB boards was kind of having the same problem. He cleaned his battery connections and checked his grounds. Seemed to solve the problem for him.

 

Starter contacts is another culprit.

Plus, at cold temps, the engine requires more while the batteries deliver less.

40F is nothing though. If things are right you will notice NO difference.

 

Thanks for the replies. I was going to look around this evening for any loose wires and check all the connections.

 

Tell me about the starter contacts??

 

Try plugging it in for about 4 hours before you start it and see if that solves it.

 

Mcmopar:

Here's the link to Larry B's. Contact replacement is a possible problem. Easy to fix and you can do it now or do it later. Larry B's website

40 degrees isn't cold enough to really cause problems. Mine started (albeit alittle slower) at -5 F this weekend. Let the snow and cold begin.

Paul

 

I had three problems with the starter on mine.
1. The starter contacts were fried.
2. The battery cable had corroded INSIDE the insulation and at the connector near the starter. I had to remove about 3" of the cable and install a new connector.
3. The brushes inside the starter were also worn out.

 

Didn't get to look at the truck last night after all. Stopped by the store on the way home and as I was walking around my wife popped up out of nowhere and said SINCE YOU ARE HERE ....let's finish our x-mas shopping..... OUR?????

I'm gonna try again to get a look at it tonight.

BigBlue, I have been plugging it in and although it does help a bit it still drags pretty good. It gets plugged in at about 6:00pm and unplugged at 6:00am yet still drags a bit. What I don't get is it ONLY does it when it's cold out. I realise that the cold weather is harder on the batteries but it seems like if one of them had a bad cell that it would drag every once in a while when it was warm, like after it sat all weekend without being started but it doesn't it just fires rite up.

Is this a problem with our trucks? I have never heard of a problem with the starters other than them wearing out.

 

Yes, our trucks are notorious for starter contact problems. Mine went out when I was 20 miles from home, hunting on the top of a mountain. Just out of the blue, quit working. Pulled the starter, tore it open and the contacts were worn really bad. Put a set of Larry B's in plus replaced the plunger and she works as good as new.

Pulling the starter is the hardest part of the whole process.

 

Thanks for the info guys, I had never heard about the starter problems before this.

 

My son just had a bout with "Starter Contacts" He swore that was not the problem. I finally asked him to pull the starter, go to the Larry B web site and check it out. He did and found it was the contacts. One was carboned up real bad and the other was clean. Like we use to do years ago, I told him to swap positions with the contacters and order another set. Worked great.

He ordered another set.

I've tried to post a picture of the two contacts here.

Dave

 

My starter is also acting up, but my contacts Are the oversized ones from Larry B and plunger too> I looked at them and they look just as good as when I put them in! My starter acts almost like its draging on something when I trey to start. makes a growly almost grinding sound , but the teeth on the gear is fine! any ideas?

 

Did you see the little ball bearing that goes in the starter at the end of the plunger and make sure it was still there when you put it back together? Easy to lose without even knowing you did.
Without the ball it will eventually get noisy.