Hummin Cummins

...what is the lowest temperature the 03 Cummins eninge will start at without using the block heater?<br><br>I have heard older cummins equiped dodges wouldnt start below 30 degrees Fahrenheit.<br><br>I know my (soon to be former) diesel truck (6.5 chebby) starts in temperatures in the low 20's. NEver tried it at any lower temperature as it is too cold to get out of bed. ;D

Hunter

Mine started days in a row on first bump at 19F and was not hooked up. My old Ferd would not have, woulda ground the batts down to nothing<br><br>Hunter

UTAH

Well, I'm on my 3rd Dodge Cummins with the current truck and have never plugged 'em in. It gets down to 0 degrees F here as well.<br><br>I'm sure the truck'll start easier if it's been plugged in, will smoke less, and will put out heat quicker too. I've just never worried about it and have not had problems.<br><br>Best to y'all<br>Bill

Hunter

Bill<br><br>Ever try a Ferd in those conditions? Or know who has?<br><br>Curious Hunter

95ramtough

My brother said that his work truck will not start below 20 degrees. It is a 2000 F350 with a PS. He said they have to plug it in or cycle the plugs like 5 or 6 times to get it to fire.

CaptainDD

My 95 Power Stroke started with out being plugged in a minus 30 it was my day off and I did not plug in the night before. I have an 02 Dodge and it has be starting at 20 degrees with out being in. The new 03 Dodges should be even better at cold weather staring. I recommend putting on an engery saving plug and just plugging in. It will save you wear and tear on your system.

Bluedresser

My sales manager (who is really sharp) says that using the heater moves the engine from a 300,000 miler to a 500,000 miler. He uses a timer on his and has it come on a few hours before he's going to go to work. Mine's still in Benicia waiting for a hauler over the mountains. :'( :'(

rigsy

i installed an espar engine heater, it circulates coolant and turns on the interior fan. 1hr and the cab and engine are warm. no smoke and no wear. the BEST!

pwabbott

Bluedresser, Trucking outfit that delivers from Bay Area is very unreliable. Mine sat in lot after arrival by train for three weeks. It might still be sitting there except that fleet manager got involved. Truckers lost track and thought it had been delivered. It should not be sitting in the yard awaiting delivery to the dealer, it should be scheduled on a load for a particular day.<br><br> &gt; ??? [undecided]

Lil Dog

[quote author=Hummin Cummins link=board=20;threadid=7125;start=0#67884 date=1037478241]<br>...what is the lowest temperature the 03 Cummins eninge will start at without using the block heater?<br><br>I have heard older cummins equiped dodges wouldnt start below 30 degrees Fahrenheit.<br><br>[/quote]<br><br> ??? ??? ??? Huh??<br><br> My 1989 Dodge would start at -35 without any plugins while boosting my buddies 6.5...LOL....<br><br>I don't know who told you that line.. <br><br>J-eh

Bluedresser

Thanks for the heads up Phil. I'll check with my dealer in the morning as it should have arrived in Benicia a week ago. As for the cold weather starting - yes - it will start very cold, but it will last longer if it's heated first. While in the army I took a course in Arctic weather vehicle management. It put me in good stead a few years ago when I was sent to Milwaukee for a three-week charter one winter, flying from Milwaukee to Kingston, Jamaica. I local Hawaiian kids had no idea how to start those big RR engines in the the L-1011s in the cold weather. The warmest we saw was -19 without a windchill factor. I had to teach them all, motor each engine for it's full two minutes without turning the ignition on. That would get the molasses circulating so that the next time the engine was motored and you turned on the ignitors they would actually fire and the engines would self-accelerate.