Good evening to everyone from Newfoundland, Canada.

Seven months ago, I bought a 2001 Ram 2500 Diesel, 4WD with a long box for towing a 5th wheel and the vehicle had 397,000 km's on it. I had a few problems at the beginning such not starting after a 2/3 day lay-up, broken 3rd cylinder HP line, faulty AC and having to replace the lower control arms. I found, to my embarassment, that the fuel guage is not working properly by running her dry. Still, being a first time diesel owner, I like the truck very much and chalked all the defects up to the vehicle having a hard existance with the previous 2 owners.

After work today, I tried to start the vehicle and the engine would barely turn over which I took as dead batteries. Out comes the cell phone and I called my wife to come down and boost me with her Corolla. Even her boosting was no help and the engine still would barely turn over. I took out both batteries, so as to charge up at home, and tried to boost directly from the car to the battery cables. This did not help any and I observed the voltage guage creep up to normal after cycling the fuel heater. Also at one point, I observed the the stereo flashing in time with the heater.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated so that I can try it out before having the truck towed to the dealership.

Regards
UM

 

check all your connections first but it sounds like it might be a starter going out if the fully charged batteries dont crank it over

 

Probably just the batteries. The corolla won't have enough juice to boost the CTD, escpecially in the cold. I would jsut plan on getting a new pair of batteries, and give it a whirl. With a bad battery , even with booster cables, the total system amperage will only be as much as the weakest battery. Sometimes you can provide more voltage , but the CTD takes a bunch. Electrical systems are kind of wierd, but then voltage is low, what the system takes ( starting ) for voltage, if not available, it will take in amperage. Just hard for a corolla to make up the difference. Have the batteries tested and charged, but I would guess they are marginal at best.

 

You almost have to run synthetic engine oil to have them turn over in the extreme cold. I run synthetic everywhere including the axles. Check your block heater chances are the wires are broken internally at the plug end. Measure across the pins and there should be some resistance it should NOT be open. The wires usually break close to the plug so cutting off a couple inches and installing a new plug should do it. If its a standard trans make sure its not in gear because if the clutch is dragging a little you'll be trying to drive on the starter. Of course battery terminals must be clean and free of corrosion but it could be your starter is getting tired or your starter contacts have seen better days. They can easily be replaced with heavy duty ones for about $40. Good luck in the cold.

 

Two new batteries would be cheap insurance and would most likely get you up and running. As said a small car bat. is no match for a Diesel starter.

 

I Agree... Not only is the battery insufficient, but the connections created by jumper cables are minimal at best. If you have to jump a diesel with a car, it is best to hook up the cables as usual and let the good vehicle charge, at idle, the other for a good while. Thirty minutes of charge should start the truck..

 

Here is a real stupid question.

What do "CTD" stand for.

Regards
UM

 

CTD: Cummins Turbo Diesel

 

Thanks for enlightening me.

Regards
UM

 

Thanks for all the info.

First thing tomorrow will be new batteries and hopefully I will get the "beast" home. Then, with the help of this site, I can get the truck fully up and running for the summer.

 

you might want to plan on replacing the starter. age, weak batteries, long cranking due to weather really puts a strain on the starter motor and does reduces it power.

 

Just a follow up on my situation.

Charged both batteries overnight and started her up first try.

Observed the voltage going up to 14+ which is as it should be when running.

Checked amps between negative post and ground and observed minimal loss.

At home checked voltage with vehicle off and observed 12+ volts on the guage which would indicate a fully charged battery. (Beats the 10+ volts observed since I bought her).

Now on my way to obtain 2 quality batteries and then will attempt to change the fuel filter for the first time which should be another adventure.

Again thanks alot for the valuable information and you will most likely hear from me as I try to learn more about what makes this vehicle tick.

 

Hey Cap just make sure that when you install the new batteries that you check the conections and check them good I have been there before and a somwhat loose conection in that climate can cause a big problem.

 

don't cheap out when it comes to batteries. i always by the biggest one i can fit in there.

you should see my vw. the battery is bigger than one of the dodge batteries.

fuel filter is fairly simple. just take your time and follow the instructions that come in the packaging.

 

often its the starter just so you know.
btw where in neufy land? my better halfs family is from there and owns royal city garage (the dodge dealership) in st johns among a couple others.