Cummins no start in the COLD!

[Burn'n Oil]

So my otherwise trouble free truck failed to light the fire this morning. It was round about -35C. Block heater had been plugged in for about four hrs. The grid heater preheat cycled and then,"SNAP!" (same kinda sound ya get when a relay goes) Then the "Service Fuel Filter" msg flashes up on the EVIC and the tail gate dropped down. WTH! The engine would not crank. MIL is flashing so query that and get a P2509 DTC (ECM/PCM Power Input Signal Intermittent). Hmmm... Replaced the fuel filters in Oct so I'm reasonably confident they're ok. Fuel tank has anti-gel in it and the fuel is from a reputable source. I suspect I'm the victim of some form of electrical sorcery but too soon to tell for sure. Waiting on a tow truck via roadside assist. They're usually very busy when it's this cold. More to follow...

 

[jsalbre]

Oh man, that’s no good! Don’t freeze out there brother.

Sounds like it’s probably just an electrical issue, and hopefully a minor one.

 

[Burn'n Oil]

Naw, we're good - warm and toasty. Occurred while attempting to leave the ranch.

 

[RamCares]

So my otherwise trouble free truck failed to light the fire this morning. It was round about -35C. Block heater had been plugged in for about four hrs. The grid heater preheat cycled and then,"SNAP!" (same kinda sound ya get when a relay goes) Then the "Service Fuel Filter" msg flashes up on the EVIC and the tail gate dropped down. WTH! The engine would not crank. MIL is flashing so query that and get a P2509 DTC (ECM/PCM Power Input Signal Intermittent). Hmmm... Replaced the fuel filters in Oct so I'm reasonably confident they're ok. Fuel tank has anti-gel in it and the fuel is from a reputable source. I suspect I'm the victim of some form of electrical sorcery but too soon to tell for sure. Waiting on a tow truck via roadside assist. They're usually very busy when it's this cold. More to follow...

Sorry to hear of the trouble you're experiencing, Burn'n Oil! Please do not hesitate to engage our Canadian Customer Care team if any support is needed while addressing this concern. You may find their contact information by clicking on the following link and scrolling down to the "Canada" tab: https://www.fcagroup.com/en-US/footer/Pages/contacts.aspx.

Mark
RamCares

 

[Great White North Eh]

I do NOT mean to laugh at your ordeal but... the tailgate popped open ‘’like it took a dump’’. Now that’s funny! In all seriousness hope the tow/ haul goes well and await the diagnosis. I been plugging in 24/7 in case of an emergency out here in the sticks as you can’t rely on timely response. I have parked the new truck and making the wife slum it to work in the 12 limited till it warms.

 

[Deleted member 80]

Shooting from the hip, I'd guess at a weak battery. The grid warmers draw A LOT of current, and if the system voltage drops enough, all manner of wacky stuff, and stray codes can start to happen.

 

[Burn'n Oil]

Shooting from the hip, I'd guess at a weak battery. The grid warmers draw A LOT of current, and if the system voltage drops enough, all manner of wacky stuff, and stray codes can start to happen.

You may be on to something there and indeed the batteries are on my suspect list. The battery saver msg flashed up about a month ago while on the highway and after a fair bit of time at highway speeds. It went away pretty quickly but that shouldn't happen under those conditions. Haven't had time to muck with it and no tow truck yet. They've been swamped with police calls and ditch divers, which quite rightly take precedence over broken Rams at the ranch.

 

[Burn'n Oil]

I do NOT mean to laugh at your ordeal but... the tailgate popped open ‘’like it took a dump’’. Now that’s funny! In all seriousness hope the tow/ haul goes well and await the diagnosis. I been plugging in 24/7 in case of an emergency out here in the sticks as you can’t rely on timely response. I have parked the new truck and making the wife slum it to work in the 12 limited till it warms.

No worries - I thought is was rather comedic as well.

 

[Great White North Eh]

I guess there’s a 24 hour minimum wait for a tow truck here in Alberta. All of the ‘’green power’’ wind mills are frozen and the power may go out again tonite. My 16 Rebel with air suspension would eat batteries for lunch, in the cold. I put a Battery Tender on my 12 and plan to on the 19 to be a little more proactive. Stay warm!

 

[Great White North Eh]

Forgot to add the ’’stay warm’’ was sarcasm.

 

[Burn'n Oil]

I guess there’s a 24 hour minimum wait for a tow truck here in Alberta. All of the ‘’green power’’ wind mills are frozen and the power may go out again tonite.

On Tues, AB wind farms were producing 0.51 percent of total generation and solar was producing... nuthin. The province has been importing about 7.5 percent of total generation over the course of the week.

Truck finally made it to the dealer today but they're pretty busy with the cold weather carnage so it likely won't get looked at until tomorrow. I engaged both FCA Roadside Assistance and AMA cuz half the battle in getting a tow this time of year and in these nasty conditions, is getting a real person to answer the phone. FCA won, hands down. They are both using automated systems to initially engage but FCA had me on the tow provider's list within four hrs. It was almost 24 hrs before a real person from AMA even called.

 

[Great White North Eh]

On Tues, AB wind farms were producing 0.51 percent of total generation and solar was producing... nuthin. The province has been importing about 7.5 percent of total generation over the course of the week.

Truck finally made it to the dealer today but they're pretty busy with the cold weather carnage so it likely won't get looked at until tomorrow. I engaged both FCA Roadside Assistance and AMA cuz half the battle in getting a tow this time of year and in these nasty conditions, is getting a real person to answer the phone. FCA won, hands down. They are both using automated systems to initially engage but FCA had me on the tow provider's list with four hrs. It was almost 24 hrs before a real person from AMA even called.

Glad you at least got it to the dealer. The wind chill today was yet another kick in the ball... bearings. Even the 5/40 syn in the tractor hydrolics/trany was (@(£ stiff!! Just a battle to get the cattle fed and something under them so the aren’t froze to the ground in the morning. Going to throw on a battery tender on her tomorrow and hopefully everything will be good to go next week when the weather finally breaks.

 

[Burn'n Oil]

So the truck spent the day in the dealer's warm & toasty service dept. The batteries were recharged, load tested and placed back in service. Can't say that I'm surprised by that. Load test was obviously within spec but then I've run across batteries over the years that check out fine at room temp but fall on their face when the OAT is making like we're in the Arctic. Batteries are still suspect and I may wire up a tender (trickle charger) going forward. I used to employ these gadgets yrs ago and electrically heated battery blankets too. Haven't in recent yrs, though because automotive batteries, generally, have gotten better and they're typically packing much more capacity than their historical counterparts. I'm thinking a couple of big AGM replacements might make on the to-do list for the LongHorn.

 

[Great White North Eh]

Ya them AGM’s are soo expensive but might be worth it. I put a battery tender on mine yesterday about 4:00 pm and the battery I hooked up to was reading a respectable 12.4V and will check voltage today. It has been sitting at -30 to -40 for about 5 days. I don’t trust batteries or load testing them in warm conditions. I guess when you get it running you will have to geter upto 88 and travel back to find your battery blanky

 

[ahhhr]

So the truck spent the day in the dealer's warm & toasty service dept. The batteries were recharged, load tested and placed back in service. Can't say that I'm surprised by that. Load test was obviously within spec but then I've run across batteries over the years that check out fine at room temp but fall on their face when the OAT is making like we're in the Arctic. Batteries are still suspect and I may wire up a tender (trickle charger) going forward. I used to employ these gadgets yrs ago and electrically heated battery blankets too. Haven't in recent yrs, though because automotive batteries, generally, have gotten better and they're typically packing much more capacity than their historical counterparts. I'm thinking a couple of big AGM replacements might make on the to-do list for the LongHorn.

So you're back in service after a warm night in the shop?
Still trying to understand this so went back and read your first post. I got another chuckle out of the tail gate dropping - you cant make this s#!t up.
At first I thought it might be gelled fuel but you said you were using anti-gel.

 

[Burn'n Oil]

Ya them AGM’s are soo expensive but might be worth it. I put a battery tender on mine yesterday about 4:00 pm and the battery I hooked up to was reading a respectable 12.4V and will check voltage today. It has been sitting at -30 to -40 for about 5 days. I don’t trust batteries or load testing them in warm conditions. I guess when you get it running you will have to geter upto 88 and travel back to find your battery blanky

Coincidentally, the Diesel Supplement to the OM talks about Mopar plug-in battery blankets. Perhaps that speaks to the quality of their OE batteries? Picked up a Charger/Tender from Crappy T for 25 percent off. Motomaster thing but their chargers are generally decent.

 

[Burn'n Oil]

So you're back in service after a warm night in the shop?
Still trying to understand this so went back and read your first post. I got another chuckle out of the tail gate dropping - you cant make this s#!t up.
At first I thought it might be gelled fuel but you said you were using anti-gel.

Yep, seems to be ok now but the mercury's gradually climbing too. I'd made a couple of 50 km trips on Sat and Sun, respectively. The truck sat thru Mon and Tues. On Wed morning with the OAT at -35C, and after being plugged in (block heater) for more than four hrs, the grid heater cycled and... nuthin. Kind of a snap/clunk sound but the engine would not crank, not even a little. The tailgate drop was a proverbial fart, I suppose. I'd filled her up the week prior so the gelled thing did cross my mind. All for naught, though - the fuel was fine.

 

[ahhhr]

Do you know how those batteries are connected / isolated?
Are they connected in parallel or isolated with each battery servicing different systems.
Im guessing the latter - as 2 full size batteries should be able to crank the engine.

 

[Burn'n Oil]

Do you know how those batteries are connected / isolated?
Are they connected in parallel or isolated with each battery servicing different systems.
Im guessing the latter - as 2 full size batteries should be able to crank the engine.

Batteries are paralleled and not isolated. Connect a charger to one and the other will charge at the same rate. Been like this in Cummins equipped Dodge/Rams for many yrs. The arrangement, in theory, yields lots of cranking amps and plenty of reserve capacity. That theory assumes the batteries are up to snuff, though.

 

[Camr]

My theory on starting to diagnose this issue would be as follows. The next time the truck will not start, or even turn over, attempt to boost it with good quality booster cables and a truck with topped up batteries. If it starts, then the issue is with the batteries. If it still won’t start with a proper boost, then the issue is likely something else.