I have a 07 5.9 33k miles. Quad Cab all stock.
When I start it on cold days, the engine does not idle up 1000 rpms as the owners manual says.
I have talked to the dealer and he service rep and the mechanic said they did not know it was suppose to idle up.
Also I know about the heater elements causing the volt meter to drop while warming up, but here lately even after driving 150 miles non stop and then only turning the engine off for about 10 minutes (45 deg air temp) or stopping at a red light the volt meter still drops.... and suggestions?

Mike

 

I dont think the high idle will work if its 45 outside to warm I think its like 30 degrees and below then it kicks in. After turning off the heater grids will come on when you restart but they shouldnt cycle after driving that far and sitting @ red light.

 

The engine has to be down to about 20 - 30 degrees for the engine to kick into high idle. Sometimes it will be cold enough to kick in directly on start up and other times it will kick in after a few minutes. Though when it kicks in on start up I would be quick to tap the accelerator to make it go back down to normal. You don't have instant oil flow on cold starts and all the high idle is doing is causing excessive wear even faster.

On the voltmeter, if the grids are cycling when you start it again after recently running it then that's normal. It could be 50 degrees out and both my trucks will cycle the grids for about 2 or 3 repetitions and then it's fine. Also as soon as you go above 20 - 25 mph they will cut off. This could explain the grids coming on while at a stop light as well. The intake make suck in a real cold gulp of air and the grids will activate because of that and the fact that your not moving.

Don't sweat about anything though, it all sounds within normal operating characteristics.

 

Thanks for the info.... just wondering... If I don't let if warm up for about 5 minutes then it stutters when I back out of the drive and when I put in drive and start up. This is my 3 CTD, had a 92, 96 and now the 07. Never had this issue with the others.
I am getting 21.5-22.0 on the overhead and about 1 mpg less with hand calculating. Most of my driving is to and from work 30 miles one way 95% freeway @ 60-65 mph.. Mpg drops to about 17.5 - 18.1 in town. Only other complaint is that is does smoke bad when I get on it hard. I had the 30K service done on the trans and replaced the fuel filter.
Only upgrade is I added the drop in K&N air filter.

Mike

 

I think the stutter may be related to a cold transmission. I don't have an auto, but I think I have read where others have had stutters on reverse and drive first thing in the morning.

One way (I think and correct me if I am wrong) to get your transmission fluids moving is to put it in neutral while you are warming your engine. From what I have heard (and again I am not 100% sure) is that the fluids are not being pumped when in park.

As for the high idle, My '07 will not kick itself into the 1000RPM high idle unless it is below freezing. That is why I installed the manual high idle feature.

- Adam

 

When you start in the morning do you just immediately go from Park to Drive or do you let it idle in neutral? If you are going directly to drive then that may be your problem. The Chrysler transmission's don't pump fluid in park and the stumble you get sounds like the torque converter trying to grab the shaft with no fluid. Let it idle in neutral while it's warming up and that will fill the TC with fluid and get the fluid pumping through the transmission.

As far as smoke, once I get around 2.1k rpm then I start to get a faint noticeable trail behind me.