Starting issues in the cold.
 

this past week has been relatively cold and has caused my 94 Ram 2500 CTD...some issues.
I have found that if I don't run some sort of heat (wife's hair dryer worked great) near the fuel side of the engine for about 20minutes...I couldn't get it started.
i think it doesn't help that my batteries were dead last week (as the truck is a secondary vehicle for me and hadn't been run in a couple weeks).
I've had the truck for about 3.5yrs and this is the first time I've had problems starting it.


Adding to the fun, the plug on my block heater ripped off last year..and i don't think the replacement is actually working ( i replaced just the plug with a snap on 3 prong plug).


After getting the truck started, i poured in some fuel treatment and ran it in the driveway for 15min and then took it on a drive around town (another 25minutes local driving).
Came home...parked the truck, plugged in the block heater and kept it on over night...24hrs later (in < 0-10'F weather)....wouldn't start. Had to put a battery charger and the wife's hair dryer back on the truck to get it living again.

Oh...and once the truck starts it runs just fine (rdy to drive in just a few minutes).

Any thoughts on the primary source of my problem?
Part of me thinks the batteries should be able to crank more than they are (thus allowing all other heating components to function).
Part of me thinks that if the block heater..kept things warm..then it would provide the necessary ambient heat to make everything work.

In searching these forums..I found some references to the heating element in the fuel filter...so i think I will check out the filter at some point.


Thanks in advance.

If your having to recharge the batteries, sounds like it's time to replace them.

get new batteries

Check your air heater make sure it is working

Do you need to replace both batteries or would it be okay to do 1 at a time. Was thinking of putting in an Optima Red Top but could get 2 cheaper ones for the same price.

no... the batterys are fine... your grid heater relays are sticking.. mine are doing the same.. try disconnecting the leads off the driverside positive battery cable and see if it still drains the batterys. mine were draining my batterys and not activating the heater element so it would start like crap. try this.. bet it works.. o and i bet ur batterys are fine:tu:

You can tell for sure that his batteries are fine?