im new to the forum and any help would be appreciated, im from texas but am attending a tech school in laramie wyoming, this cold wether is killin my truck bein from texas my truck never deals with this kind of weather. today the high is -9 truck wont start and to top it all off my grid heater isnt gettin power whe i turn the key but works once the engine is on. anyways i know i should be able to start it without the grid heater seeing as its main purpouse is not a starting aid but it dosnt wanna start i dont wanna go the starter fluid route cuz i dont wanna screw my engine up, also its against city ordanince in the great city of laramie to have diesels pluged in some kinda fire code BS so i cant use my block heater. iv seen other posts and guys further north dont have cold start problems. i feel realy stupid that i cant figure this out but i need some help sorry for the long post just wanted to make sure i was detailed. also the truck is a 98.5 dodge 24v cummins 5.9l

 

Don't use ether. WD-40 is the 'starting fluid' of choice, for diesels. As far as the grid heater, I'm not sure what to tell you there, other than check your relay.

 

I noticed that you have a block heater, and you are from Texas, is it possible you have a truck from out of state? Or is it a pan heater that is on your truck? Which would explain why there is a local bylaw against plugging in a diesel. Some of the pan heaters would malfunction and cause vehicle fires. Some advice from the cold country. Change your engine oil to 0W40 synthetic (know as Winnepeg starting fluid). Ensure that you have good batteries and install battery blankets. Confirm that you have a block heater and that it is working properly. Did you fuel up in Texas before you traveled to school? If so, you probably do not have winter fuel and your fuel could be gelled (which would cause a no start). You would then need to add a fuel additive and or put some local (winter rated) fuel into the tank. You should then change the fuel filters. After this is all done you can go skiing, is'nt winter fun?

 

It is possible that your fuel has gelled. If your fuel filter is a drop in, take it apart and check. If it is gelled you can see the parifin. You will need to get some antigell and possible some diesel 911 and pour some in the filter canister. If you can plug it in to get the engine warm, put some cardboard in front of the radiator to help hold the heat in the engine compartment to thaw the fuel in the lines. No need to get it warm to the touch, above zero should help.

If you can get into a garage to warm it up would be best.

 

i don't know about the "law" that says you cannot plug it in....there are a lot of diesel otr trucks that plug in .....including me when i stop overnight

 

plug it in! whoever told you it's against the law is full of it....probably your landlord who doesn't want to pay the extra power bill..............i checked all the ordinances and found nothing

 

How old are your batteries, mine were three year old, and they were dead, if your batteries are more then 4 years old I would go look for so new ones, take alot to run grids and start the truck, and plug that thing in.

 

well i did the power service anti gel stuff but it got down to -50 lastnight and the anti gel gelled, but everytime i fill up i poor it in the tank. is it not a good supplement to use? am i using the wrong one? sorry to sound stupid but bein from houston texas you dont deal with this kinda temp. also i got both the water seperater and fuel filter changed after i filled up monday did however note that all diesel here that iv found is diesel #2 so like i said i do use the anti gel would diesel #1 make the diffrence? also read owners mannual and followed the line it is a block heater but there are no plug ins in parking spaces and i actualy spoke with laramie pd and laramie fire department fire marshall and according to them it is against fire code to plug in any and all diesel block or pan heaters to any outlet with or without extension cords anyone CAUGHTdoing so will be issued a sitation. there probably jackin with me cuz i hear people from wyoming dont like ppl from texas but i dont know :/ my manual says i have to plug my truck in if its going to be zero degress or lower so i realy dont know what to do. also is 0w40 synthetic better choice then 5w 30 synthetic? thank you guys for all your help and again sorry if i sound stupid but iv only learned diesel power trains so far here at school any more advice would be greatly appreciated, oh if my gride heater cilynoid is bad would i have to get that from a dodge dealership or could i get one at like napa or somthing?

 

they are jacking youi just got off the phone to the fire dept in laramie((307) 721-5332) NO ORDINANCE PROHIBITING PLUGGING IN A DIESEL

 

Tell them to unplug their fire trucks if it's so illegal. I guaranty they're plugged in, probably not block heaters but battery chargers/conditioners, and plugged in is plugged in.

 

OW40 synthetic would be a better choice than 5W30 because it is more fluid at lower temperatures. You also need to ensure that your oil is rated for diesel use (C rated, for compression ignition engines) or you will have some engine problems. Oh, just go and plug your truck in, if it is cold enough to plug your truck in, then it will be too cold for the town officers to be outside writing tickets.

 

hi
rotella 5w/40 synthetic all year here !
cummins approved !

get that grid heater working !

good heavy battires , hi cca numbers !


keep one of those self igniter propane tourches in your tool box and heat oilpan for 5 min befor trying to start will help if you cant plug it in .

get a small generator 2000 watt honda and plug block heater to it for 20 min befor starting?

 

Hurley, mixing #1 in will help, your mileage will suffer, but when it is brutally cold, I would mix it 50 percent. Your #2 is likely already cut with some.

Synthetic oils help greatly as well. If your grid heaters are working post start, I would bet they are working pre-start as well, if they aren't, it isn't the solenoids. They are available virtually anywhere.

Also, if they try and tell you it is illegal, make them SHOW you the ordinance, and let them know the Judge will ask for it as well......

 

Read this> http://dodgeram.org/tech/dsl/trouble...niford_htr.htm

 

when i was going to school i couldnt plug my truck in so i went out and bought a cheap generator 300$ chained it to my aux fuel tank in the bed and ran an extension cord under the truck along the frame rails to the generator and it was always plugged in and i would let it run for a half hour b4 i had to start it u might also want to check your coolant i know my truck is only safe till -40 i also run the power service 911 in the red bottle when it gets real cold i have also ben told by my neighbor that back in the day they use to start fires under there truck to warm them up b4 they would start them tell the fire dpt and police u will do that since you can plug in and see what the say about that