That is the result of your grid heater warming the intake air going to the cylinders. Upon start up, your grid heater heats the incoming air to aid in cold weather/cold intake temp start up to minimize "objectionable white smoke" and ease start up...i.e. glow plugs in GM/Ford applications. The reason you see the volt meter going so low is the grid heater pulls an enormous draw on the electrical system. That is normal. You fuel pressure will drop as well, like you said, for the same reason as your lights dim during this period. The fuel transfer pump is running off the same "loop" of electricity as the rest of your truck, so when the grid heater draws all that power, its grabbing some away from everything else...again, normal...just be conservative 'till it gets to its stable 14+. As you will notice, it dosent really take that long.
Hope that helps.

 

it says that process that jeffybuilt was talkin about will take 190 seconds to complete in the owners manual. its normal

 

Aftermarket Fuel Pressure Gauge and Lift Pump are a must on these trucks. Is your truck throwing any codes?

 

I'm a little confused does the after market lift pump take the place of the problem vp44 or does it work in conjunction with the stock pump. If the vp' was to go out would you have to replace it and put in an airdog or mechanical pump of some sort.

 

Your truck has a IP(Injector Pump) and a LP(Lift Pump) which is the Air Dog and other pumps. The LP feeds fuel to the VP. So if the LP dies and you don't have a guage to see that it is dead it will kill off the LP. Your truck will run just fine without the lift pump workin but in the process kill the Injector pump which when it goes will set ya back over a grand.

Clear as mud now.

 

No the VP44 is the injection pump, it supplys the fuel to the injectors in the engine...the airdog is a lift pump or a supply pump for the VP44 Injection Pump, the vp44 is especially picky if the lift pump does not have enough pressure of at least 10 psi, cummins says 7 psi but id be scared to go lower then this

 

damn it ya beat me by that much

 

 

Ok so here's a question for ya. When I'm excellerating shifting from 1st, 2nd, 3rd is fine, my boost stays pretty steady. When i shift from3rd to 4th the boost drops out to nothing then slowly builds back up and kicks in. Would this be an indication of one of the pumps going? Am I using all the fuel that's available, sucking the pump dry?

 

The airdog does air removal too just like the fass The AirDog® eliminates the air in the fuel that robs your engine of consistently greater performance and can also cause permanent damage to your injectors. The AirDog® also provides the fuel pressures and flows your diesel engine needs to produce maximum power, any time, every time!