I recently came out to my truck to discover total silence after the key was turned. Once I opened the hood, I quickly saw that the grid heater and the intake manifold were burned so badly that they are both now dark gold (nearly brown) in appearance.

Considering that the biggest headaches we've had with the truck were consistently electrical in nature, I assumed that the grid heater was somehow constantly powered on -- so I disconnected the leads running to it and installed heat shrink over the connection terminals.

It's fairly likely that the grid heater will have to be replaced now, so it's the electrical side of the issue that has me wondering ...

Has anyone on the board ever seen a grid heater "torch itself" like this?

And, if so, how did you deal with the electrical problem that caused it?

Thanks for your time,
B&W

 

I have seen it before, my buddys truck had it happen. The solenoids/relays that control the grid heater can get stuck closed, keeping constant power to the grid(s).

 

I'm in the Berkshires, RAWilliams, so this is a pressing matter. Did your friend end up replacing the heater grid and the solenoids you mentioned?

 

Just the solenoids were replaced. The grid heaters worked still. With the use of a multi-meter, we were able to diagnose the solenoid that was constantly closed, and not opening to turn the grid heater off. His intake horn is still a burnt color to this day.

There are 2 solenoids, and two heaters. Depending on the temperature, one or both will come on.



There is a schematic of the heaters. The relays are positively switched from the ECU, and have a constant ground. Hope that helps in diagnostics.

 

Thanks very much for the kind assistance, RAWilliams.

You seem to have a pretty good handle on Ram electrical issues ... With our truck, the electrical system, in general, has been our biggest headache. For some time now, the old torque converter (TC) lockup issue has been plaguing us.

To make a [very] long story a little shorter, we eventually purchased a BD noise isolator and soldered and heat-shrunk into place. Initially, it seemed to have solved the issue altogether, but now it seems to be rearing its ugly little head again. And although it's definitely nowhere near as frequent as it was prior to the BD noise isolator install, it is, nevertheless, a torturous little problem.

By any chance, do you have any thoughts on this?

 

Have a read through these:
https://www.dieselbombers.com/24-val...l-driving.html

https://www.dieselbombers.com/24-val...-apps-adj.html

There are some good write up's in there related to the APPS, and how it effects T/C lock up.

 

Dodge Truck starts fine but emits white smoke. Also lags in acceleration until the truck warms up, no matter what the weather conditions are. Looking for suggestions on what the cause may be; we are thinking the grid heater but no local mechanics in our area to discuss this issue with.

 

Ya might want to start a new thread on this, as you will get responses rather quickly.