This truck is getting under my skin. Its been a bit colder than normal here in Seattle. Went out to start my 04 and nothing. She turns over but won't fire. I only will crank for 15 seconds. I have tried the cycling of the grid and still nothing. Help.. Anyone have any ideas. I have place a small space heater under hood to try and get temp and fuel filter warmed, nothing yet. I am also curous about the pigtail for the already installed block heater. Does anyone have pictures of the plug in site. Thanks all and yes Green bay is going all the way *.

 

have you pluged in the heater to the house??
well start with that and go from there as it should start anyway

 

I'm in the Idaho panhandle where right now 25 is a warm day! I haven't had any problems starting without the block heater. Have you drained the water off the fuel? As for the engine heater, you said it was already installed. All you need to do is plug that pig tail in and the heater will start working. But that really shouldn't make that big of difference.

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04 2500 Quad SB 4x4 HO 48RE Almond/Silver

 

and of course do you know if the lift pump is working???

 

Well the heater ran for a couple of hours and she began to start. It wouldn't continously run however. I drained some fuel out of the filter and it ran briefly again. 15-20 seconds. So this is a fuel problem. In reference to the block heater. I was asking if they are installed on the '04's. My understanding through the forums is that they are and that you have to buy the cord/plug. My question was where do you plug that adapter in? Thanks for the replies. I own an 86 VW golf diesel and she fires right up and leaves that shiny new dodge parked in the drive. I also have never had a problem with my fuel jelling.

 

The block heater was/is a $10 option on the 04's. My truck came from Seattle and had the heater installed. Since it is an option, albeit a cheap one, then I would assume that all trucks did not get them. If you have the heater it will already have the pig tail installed. Pop your hood and standing in front of your truck look to the left of the radiator, towards the top. If you have the heater you will see the plug end hanging in a plastic tie. You can take the plug out of the tie and it will extend about a foot. Or, you can leave it in place and plug it into your extension cord. Dodge claims that you do not need the heater until it reaches -20F (its suppose to be -24F tonight here in Idaho so I'm plugged in) As far as your fuel issue, trying draining off some more. Its amazing how much water can accumulate in diesel, especially if you got a bad batch. I learned this the hard way with my Bobcat. I once went a week without draining the water. It finally refused to start. Since I run dyed diesel in it I could clearly see the water when I drained off the filter. Only it was too late by then. I had to crack the injectors to get all of the water out and then reprime them with a syringe. Ever since then I drain the filter before every use of the machine. Your problem probably isn't that bad and you just need to drain the fuel some more. Good luck and don't give up on that shiny Dodge.

 

Well the big thaw is on. Still won't start. Ran the heater on the fuel filter and got it to run for 15-20 seconds the other day. Temps should be in the the high 40's tomorrow. My suspicion is the filter had some water in it and it froze. I didn't want to mess with the thing with all the snow and water so I will try day after tomorrow or she will ride on the hook for the third time in her 3 month old life. Thanks all and yes I will be using on additive in the future.

 

3 times in 3 months?, that sucks! Did you ever find out if you have the block heater? The fuel additive probably isn't going to help you that much. You are getting unusually cold temps for Seattle and it really sounds like water in the fuel is the problem. If you can, I would try and remember to drain off the water every other day or so. That should help. Good luck and hope 04 gets better!!! Hopefully this cold weather will give it a rest!

 

This is a pretty uncommon problem....

Has your "water in fuel" light ever been on??? You should replace the fuel filter and run a water dispersant/additive if you havent already....good luck.

 

I think there is some confusion about the block heater. ALL '04 CTD engines have the block heater installed. Every engine has the actual heater. The $10 option when ordering the "block heater" is actually the power cord. If you didn't opt to buy the $10 power cord when ordering/buying your truck then from what I hear on this website, you can expect to pay around $30 for the cord at the dealer.

The 5.9L diesel engine has the block heater located
on the right side of the engine below the exhaust
manifold next to the oil cooler.

 

I'm back. As I suspected the temps warmed up and what do you know, the truck fired right up. Drained the filter, got some 911 diesel anti-gel and water remover, got a new fuel filter, topped off the tank. Going to run the tank with the treatment then change the filter. Am also going to nightly drain some from the filter. Originally on day 2 the water in fuel light came on. Drained, it died, limped it to dodge dealer 6 blocks away. Said no water, bad sensor. Ordered part. Drove home 30 miles, rig died several times. Got towed in, next dealer drained fuel. Said fuel was very bad, documented, was on dealer provided tankfull when all this started thank god. The bad part of this is I never got used to the actual performance so I don't know if I wrecked the motor or not. Quite a saga, plus my first dodge, now all of this. My gm and ford buddies were nice enough to make a scrap book of the various tow rigs hauling my new baby away. So we'll see what happens next. I would love a picture of the location of the installed '04 block heater without the chord. I looked but couldn't find the obvious connecting point. Want to be sure before I spring for the chord. Thanks all for you help and support.

 

Big Ed put up some pics in his gallery. https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...0&ppuser=25234