Ilikeoldfords

Ok. I thought I probably could but wanted to double check. Another issue that came up this morning is the alternator seems to not be charging that much at idle. If I am going down the road it works just like it is supposed to holding just over 14 volts. As soon as I drop the rpms to idle like at a stop like or whatever the volt gauge drops down to about 12. This just started happening this morning. Any thoughts on this? No codes have shown up for anything and the battery light hasn't gone off yet. Thanks in advance for any help!

Oh. I totally forgot those earlier posts!! You may be able to rent a compression test kit from a parts store for fairly cheap. That would definitely be the next place to look for problems. It would appear that you have covered the fuel system diagnostics pretty well. Injectors, lines, tubes, etc. I dont believe the VP could be at fault with only one hole not firing like that.

So because I dont have a scan tool of any kind, could I still test the signal voltage by pinning the signal wire and using a DVM to watch the voltage? Or do I really just need a scan tool... http://articles.mopar1973man.com/2nd-generation-24v-dodge-cummins/59-obdii-error-codes/167-p0237-map-sensor-voltage-too-low

So what was the difference that made #6 start firing instead of #1? Wasnt #6 the dead one originally?

Maybe the gauge cluster is bad? I am not sure how common they are to fail though. Do you have a buddy you could trade with to see if the problem continues?

Geez, with the treated fuel and the #1 in there it really shouldnt be gelling. Unfortunatly, I think Mopartech is right though. Those are the exact symptoms of what mine was doing when it gelled last winter too. When it got really cold though, like -25 and colder, I would actually have to turn the pump pressure up just a hair because even with straight #1 the pressure started dropping off. I dont know if the pump was getting physically to cold or what but even if the fuel was not even close to gelled, I would start losing pressure.

Like Mike said, I would probably be having them injectors pop and flow tested if possible. At the very least its pretty cheap and it will rule out the injectors for sure.

Geez Mike, seems like every time you turn around there is something else going on with your truck!! Guess its that time of year though. The cold brings out the worst in vehicles for sure.

No worries man. Didnt feel called out at all! Just surprised but I am glad that I am informed correctly now.

Depends on how much fuel is actually getting into the oil. I dont think I little would hurt it. If its like a quart of fuel in the oil then I might be worried about it.

If you are in fact making oil, that could also explain the power loss when you are at speed. Just enough of a fuel leak to not give you full power. The no black smoke definitely tells me there is a fuel delivery issue.

Well I took the Comp box off the truck and cleared the codes again. No codes have come back and I have driven about 25 miles since the clearing. Looks like the boost fooler must have died in the Comp. Really sucks!!

Well aint that something! When I was managing an auto parts store in ND their sales rep came in and we talked for a while. He was the one that told me there was alcohol in it. Maybe he just didn't know what he was talking about. All I know is I watched over a full winter season and whoever used the Howes had way less issues than the people who used the power service. I sold pallets of each product so I was really able to watch the effect it took with all of my different customers.

That was the actual air temp. There seemed to be about a 10-20 mph wind all the time and I didn't even bother trying to figure out what the wind chill factor would have been. It was truly almost impossible to go outside long enough to unplug the truck, get in, start it, and then run back inside until the truck was warm enough to drive. Just imagine this, we had 71 days (almost consecutively) that the actual air temp never came above 0* F!!! It was a big wake up call for me, someone who grew up in central WA state. We may have seen as low as 10 above a couple times but nothing worse than that.

Yep just like Tom said. The cup will be ok but the water disappears fast. You have to keep your mouth and nose covered when super cold like that too. At least for me, I could feel pain in my chest from the air freezing inside of me! It is kind of neat to watch the vapor trail from the exhaust too. I always had to keep scraping the inside of the windows to keep the ice down. Even going down the freeway for a couple hours, just the shear difference in temp from inside to outside the ice builds constantly. Every gearbox just groans and moans and everything creaks and cracks. It is definitely an experience. We got down to about -58 one night. That was the coldest night the whole year. Both of my batteries froze solid!!!

All I can say is thank the lord I dont live in Grand Forks, ND anymore. Winter last year was downright brutal. We have lows this week dipping down to about 5 above. Not to bad really. As long as it stays above -30 I am all good!!

Well I cleared the codes tonight and drove around a bit. None of them came back so that is a good sign. I will drive it to work tomorrow and thats a good 15 miles each way so if there is an issue, hopefully it will throw a code again.

Well I just picked up another commuter car finally so I can leave the truck sit for a while if I have to. Maybe I will pull the turbo off one of these weekends and put a kit in it. Thanks for the info rancherman!

Just a quick question, how much oil could one potentially lose through a worn out turbo? I am now going through about a quart every 600-800 miles. Its getting pretty bad. I know I have some play in the turbo shaft. Not enough to let it contact the housing yet but more than I would like. As far as I know the turbo has never been opened and I just crossed 235k miles on the truck.

I was on a road trip this weekend when my check engine light came on. I pulled over and did the key trick just to see what I could find. It came up with these: P0500 P1687 P0237 I know the P0500 code is probably from spinning the tires on some gravel or something. The other 2 have me wondering though. I have noticed some slight power issues lately that I didn't realize could be MAP related but its almost like the sensor is coming and going. Sometimes I can black out the sky and sometimes it feels like about 1/2 power. I haven't disconnected the comp yet to see if that effects anything. I will do that tonight and clear the codes. As for the 1687, what does it mean when it says no cluster bus? I did a gauge check and they all seem to work fine. I haven't noticed any issue with the cluster at all. everything works just how its supposed to. I don't have the overhead computer either so there isn't a problem there. Could the 1687 code and the 0237 code be related at all? I don't think so but it was kind of weird when they both came up at once. Note: I already read through the diagnostics in the Error Code articles, just trying to understand what is actually going on with these systems before I dive in. Thanks everyone!!

Do you notice any excessive smoke at all? I would be looking at maybe a boost leak somewhere. Tfaoro is also correct when he says that's a pretty big load. Pretty heavy.

If he has the HY35 I don't think a boost elbow can be used. Might have to try a j hook or something. Unless I am wrong?? I haven't heard of a bigger exhaust helping all that much with EGT's. Maybe just removing the muffler but as Mike said, the 3 in pipe is more than enough for a stock truck.

I know that the WIX filters are basically the same exact filter as the napa gold filters. Not the worst but not the best either. I would be looking at fleetguard. That is the cummins filter anyway.

The only problem would be getting at it to put a pin in it. You will have to reach up underneath the bumper to do it with the tube recessed. Might be kind of a pain if the truck is muddy or whatever.

I would also try to stay away from the fuel conditioners. Most of them and an alcohol product and will take out fuel injectors in a hurry. If you have to use one, make sure its still a petroleum product. Power service iirc is mostly alcohol where the Howes is still an oil. Last winter it was so cold where I lived that I even had #1 gel up on me. I had to run howes and #1 and keep a magnet heater on the fuel filter just to be safe!!!!! We saw temps down near -65* F multiple times though. Very brutal and I am glad I don't live there anymore. Get a good 50/50 blend of 1 and 2 and you should be good.