My 92 dodge cummins will start in the cold but it dumps out blue smoke and the emgine sounds rough and rocks back and forth for the forst few mins then quits is this normal? Also while the trucks smokon bad i can turn it off and back on amd the smoke isnt nearly as bad, it doesnt smoke blue at alp when im moving

 

Nope, ain't normal. When you start it, it should say running. If its cold, plug it in to keep it warm. Diesels fire off combustion pressure and heat. A cold diesel runs rough. It shou ld smooth out after about 35 seconds or so....and ready to roll in a few minutes when enough residual heat is in the motor.
Now, if your saying it smokes and then clears up, yes, normal. We need some more info.
Is your pump turned up? How many miles the motor got on it? How long do you warn it up for? You start it cold in cold weather or do you have her plugged in? Does she put out a light blue haze while she's idling after she gets up to operating temp?
All these things will have a basis on our answers....

 

Thats not what i meant the engine doesnt quit the rough smoke and idle quits the truck stays running and it has a turned up pump and 250ooo kms

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I want to know hpw much blue smoke should there be and how rough is thw idle normally

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like my truck pours a blue and white smoke like a major amount untill it starts to warm up im just concerned about the amount of smoke it literatly makes a cloud

 

Maybe it's getting a little bit of air in the fuel but if there really cold they will run rough. Also are your grid heaters working or do you let the wait to start light go out then fire it up? Your in Canada I see where abouts? Mine runs rough for a few seconds n I gotta sometimes feather the throttle but it's more a p-pump thing. But where i'm at I can't plug it in.

 

Im in slave lake alberta and i always wait for the grid hearter light and im not sure if its working how would i check?

 

Well, you should turn on your key, you should be able to count to 5 slowly....Thousand1, Thousand2......so on, then you should hear a thud on your drives side fender, ( Heater relays), then you should start it.
Hook up a multi-tester to your grid heaters. When its cold they should have power once the ignition is on. Then after the thud, should have no voltage. If you do have voltage, place your hand by the intake horn. This area will get hot fast, be warned. Have someone cycle the switch, move your hand before it gets too hot. If its hot, your heaters are working.
If not, and you have voltage, your heaters have taken a dump.
If no voltage, go back to your heater relay. Make sure its getting voltage when you turn the key on. If there is no voltage coming out when its cold, the relay is bad.....

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When its really really cold here, I cycle my ign. switch 2 or 3 times to give it some warmth before startup....

 

If its pluggin it will the grid heater still cycle

 

yes

 

like my truck pours a blue and white smoke like a major amount untill it starts to warm up im just concerned about the amount of smoke it literatly makes a cloud

1989 - 1993 Dodge Diesel Diagnostics on PDF
Cold Advance Operation; The KSB unit on the injection pump uses a temperature sensor in the intake manifold to advance the pump to engine timing when the engine is cold, which reduces blue/white smoke.

1. 89 to early 91 used a wax motor style KSB unit that voltage is applied to, via the cold start switch, once the intake air temperature is above 160 degrees.
2. 91.5 to 93 used a solenoid style KSB. The intake air temperature sensor applies 12 volts to the KSB solenoid until intake air temperature is above 90 degrees.

Low Power

1. Check for full throttle travel, worn levers or throttle spring on the injection pump can limit travel.
2. Pump to engine timing off
3. Bad AFC diaphragm, check to see if it will hold a vacuum
4. Exhaust manifold leak (low turbocharger boost)

Slow to shut off

1. Remove the overflow valve and tap out onto a sheet of white paper, or remove the shutoff solenoid. If there are a lot of metal particles, the injection pump is coming apart inside (we see this happen frequently after approximately 150,000 miles) and must be changed along with the injectors (the metal will have been pumped through the injectors).

Miss/Rough run

1. As above, if the pump has a lot of metal in it, the metal can plug some of the spray holes in the nozzle tip. If there are holes plugged in the nozzles, find and fix the cause before replacing them (if the problem is in the pump, the replacement nozzles will soon plug as well).
2. If during cold start, see cold start operation
3. Pump to engine timing incorrect.
4. Idle speed too low, should be 700-800 rpm

Smoke, Blue/White

1. Blue/White smoke, if during cold start, see cold start operation.
2. Check intake air heater operation.
3. Dirty fuel filter
4. Low fuel supply pressure

Smoke, Black

1. Dirty or restricted air filter

Supply Pump

1. 1. Supply pump pressure should be about 4-5 PSI at idle

Turbocharger

1. The turbocharger is powered by exhaust gas velocity (expanding exhaust gases). Revving the engine up while in neutral will produce low boost. To accurately measure boost pressure you must have the engine under load, such as full throttle acceleration while driving.
2. if you are lacking fuel (galley pressure) at the right time (timing) or have an exhaust leak (loss of exhaust gas velocity) the turbo will not produce the correct boost. Solve these problems first, before replacing the turbocharger.
3. The turbo should spin freely while pushing the turbine shaft left, right, up and down while gently rotating the compressor wheel. The compressor wheel should turn freely by hand, if it doesn't replace the turbocharger.
4. Visually inspect the compressor wheel. The blades should not contact the compressor housing and the blades should not be chipped, bent or damaged in any way.