Any one elses truck do this?
 

So i have an 03 3500 cummins. Whenever it starts getting cold out(i live in indiana) 40s and below, if i dont plug my truck in at night and i go to start it in the am(this only happens when my glow plug light comes on to) i leave my drive way and take off...right when i shift into 3rd gear and get around 1800 rpm my dash lights up like a Christmas tree(for a split second) and i hear a beep noise. Then i notice my battery gauge in showing charge. Ive checked the connections to my battery and they are tight with no corrosion. I dont think its an alternator issue because like i said, only happens when my glow plug light comes on? any suggestions?

Bad cluster comes to mind.

Bad cluster as in what?

Instrument cluster or a bad connection to it.

You really think so?? Because like I said it only happens when my glow plug lights up?

It sounds like some error is being triggered when the glow plug circuit is activated. Have checked for cluster codes?

Yeah ive checked codes with a service stations programmers, and it didnt throw a single code...thats why im baffled

Glowplugs.... are you guys serious?

Did you run the cluster test? With the engine off, hold down the trip meter button and turn the key on until the cluster starts its self test. Any codes will then be displayed in the odometer window.

Light on the dash, little pig tail. It is just called a glow plug light because we all know the Cummins uses grid heaters.

:humm:

Ill have to try the cluster test tonight and see how that one goes. Ill be sure to let you know what it throws-if anything

only if you had glow plugs :scare2:

Sounds like multiple issues to me...bad cluster (if CB is correct) and possibly bad injectors. Pretty much any Cummins will start without grid heaters at 40 degrees...needing plugged in is a typical sign of leaky injectors.

has anybody looked at the intake air heater grid circuit?!?!?!?! :argh:

power? shorts? is it even heating up?!!?:scare2:

i agree with dieseldanboy, check your connections on your heater grid, there is a ground wire on the front (towards the grille) and there are 2 on the back side (towards the firewall) if they get loose the heater grid wont work or will short out. but what is also confusing is that if you do some research on the heater grid it states that it only works when you start the truck after you get over 10mph it will shut off.

thank you ^ :rocking:

with the grid heater being a high amperage circuit, bad connections through a relay or just bad connections in general can cause a bunch of crap to go haywire. get that figured out first to make sure its working properly. :pca1:

The heater grid runs for 205 seconds if the manifold tempature is under 68 degrees or until you reach 20mph, shifting to 3rd assuming its a manual puts you close to that speed. this could be y your gauge doesnt show a charge happining. as for all the other lights who knows, my advice is just let your truck run for 3:35 before you take off.

I had this exact same problem at one time. My truck had an old 7.3 powerstroke in it. I swapped in out swapped out all the ford harness's for the dodge cummins harness's dropped in the cummins, put in the allison alot of rewiring :argh: but id ended up an amazing truck. When all was done i started up the truck and i had issues with my heater grid also. I didnt have a strong connection and it shut down on me. Listen to these guys i think there right.

Hmm i will check out the connections. I know for a fact that my plug does work because i use it in the winter, and ive been using it the last few days(you can tell the difference and its already blowing luke-warm air inside the cab) Its not that my truck wont start when its cold out side thats not the problem at all, the prob is why is it making my dash do that? and then my battery is showing charge. I will check out the connections but i dont know how it could be bad injectors? there is no way. i think to help out with this i will make a video-put on you tube and post a link :humm:

your block heater and IAH are two completely seperate circuits. the block heater will stay on as long as its plugged in, and the IAH only turns on with the ignition, and only draws battery power. if you take a voltohm meter and stick the negative lead on battery ground and the positive lead on the red or red/light green (they'll be bigger wires) that go to the IAH you should see battery voltage with the key ON. (within the alloted time)

then if you want to check for high resistance along the power circuit (which could be causing your cluster to go haywire with the higher amperage from the alternator when switched on by the voltage regulator), take one lead of your meter and put that on the battery positive, and take the other lead and put it back on the red or red/light green wire feeding your IAH with the key ON (again within the window that the IAH stays on) you should see a reading from 0V to .5Volts. (.5volts is very high, what this does is measure the differential from battery voltage to what your actually getting at the IAH, the higher the reading, the higher resistance you have in the circuit.)

and as mentioned before, the cause of this could be corroded grounds, power terminals, or burned terminals, creating high resistance.

and no, injectors themselves cannot cause this because they're on their own circuit. the only way i could possibly see injector interfering with everything else is if some freak accident happened in the IDM circuitry (which is located in the ecm) and is somehow feeding your cluster with all that extra power. again very unlikely

i think you might be confused in what were talking about. the heater grid is below the intake elbow its inbetween the intake manifold and the elbow it has one wire comming off the front and 2 off the back (towards the firewall) this is all on the driver side. what your talking about is the block heater (passenger side) that is shut off when you unplug it from the wall. here is a few pictures.


http://a1.l3-images.myspacecdn.com/i...a4cc49d4/l.jpg

this is your heater grid.

http://genhho.com/images/GrdHtr3rd.JPG

Thanks dieseldanboy thats just what i need to do tho...and helton87 ill prob just check all the connections to and from those two pieces and see what i can find out(anything corroded wise) ill let you guys know! thanks for the input and info...glad to see everyone isnt out of their minds and wanting to put plastic bags over their intakes like ive read in a few other posts :jump:

HAHAHA I POSTED THAT IN ANOTHER THREAD ON HERE!!!! someone asking how to make their 3rd gen smoke :argh: :moon:

but no problem. let us know what those connections look like and if you have any questions just ask. also if you do those two tests i gave you post what you get so we can get a better idea! but i will say, if you dont find an issue with your IAH circuit, i think your looking at maybe a wiring issue to your instrument panel, a instrument panel itself, or maybe even (worst case senario) an ecm.. it is possible for certain aspects of an ecm to go bad, certain inputs and outputs. but lets hope for the best! :c: