06 dodge cummins overheats at idle
 

06 3500 with newly rebuilt transmission, new clutch fan, new coolant temp sensor overheats to 220 at idle at intersections and stop and go traffic. Cools to 190 at highway speed under load. We haul cargo trailers on a 53' trailer. Fan seems to engage sporadically, under no specific conditions.

Does your airconditioning blow cold air? Sometimes the condensor will get plugged up with junk and severly diminish your airflow across the radiator which would explain your low speed overheating and it would also explain why your a/c wont blow cold air. Just my two cents, but I have to use a commercial refrigeration condensor cleaner and degreaser to clean my condensor out about once a year or I start to get the problem your describing.

Thanks for the reply....
There are some a/c issues, does not always blow cold and sometimes seems to freeze up? We had new fan clutch, new fan blade and new serpentine belt done...now low idle problem seems to be gone but truck is getting hot under load. Up to 220 yesterday. Comes back down but think that's too high or at least higher than it used to run. Load is about 12 - 14K pounds, what we usually haul.

Is there any other a/c fixes that may be involved? I did read somewhere that a/c pressure may effect it?

how does the coolant look> ? you did not mix coolants and turn them into mud did you ? tried a new t stat?

Don't think coolants mixed...different brands make mud??? Have put in new t stat and new coolant temp sensor as well.

I'd be looking at the air flow over your condenser and radiator. When I first had my truck the A/C didn't work very well at all. The hose between the radiator and overflow bottle had a bad connection, and plugged my radiator, reducing airflow through the cooling package.

Thanks for that input..checking connections, etc is something that we really haven't done yet. We have 400k+ on the truck, rebuilt engine and trans this year but some things may be original. Radiator is probably original...any thoughts on replacing and what kind of costs?

My 01 did this last summer going to VA. It would be fine idling, but under load get hot, and A/C wouldn't blow cold. Turned out everything was clogged between the radiator and intercooler. Cummins shop in VA steam cleaned it and it was perfect after that, no problems on the 12 hour ride home.:tu:

An 06 has the same puke bottle? I guess the one's i've seen have already been removed.
Those puke bottles sure will stop one up in a hurry though! Seen lots of trucks with literal inches of road grime and oil on the inner side!
If the coolant hasnt ever been changed you might do a combustion gas test on the cooling system just to verify there's no contamination.
PS, looks like the cooling system has been apart and although these trucks are not know for air bubbles causing cooling system issues, I would still consider taking it back to the shop and asking them if they vacuum filled your cooling system, and if not ask what efforts were made to eliminate air in the cooling system ...for instance a coolant funnel

Okay, so I'm confused. Is there a trap or something that can be removed and cleaned out? Or was there on 2001 but not 2006? We have added coolant several times (finally found out radiator petcock was leaky) and did so without funnel. Sounds like we MAY have air in system, but I'm still convinced overeating has something to do with air conditioner?

I was joking. The cr trucks use a through valve cover ventilation system and does not use a front mounted blow by bottle. The blow by bottle issue was more of a issue for vp trucks

Im still thinking you have an airflow problem. Look at your radiator and ac condensor and make sure there is nothing plugging them up and make sure there is nothing stuck between them. Since you seem to have problems with your ac working Im willing to bet your condensor is plugged with road debris. As far as I know no other problems with the ac would cause your overheating issues, but I am not an ase certified diesel tech. If the ac condensor is not plugged up then I am almost willing to bet you have an air bubble stuck in your cooling system somewhere if its been apart, low coolant would also cause an overheating problem but a small leak shouldn't give you any problems as long as its a small leak and you make sure the truck has plenty of coolant at all times. Oh and as someone mentioned above do not mix two different types of coolant or it will form a nasty looking mud substance. Just try mixing some dex cool and some chrysler coolant together in a cup. Its actually kinda cool, just don't drink it when you put it in the cup.

HELP! Now we have a new issue! I may have forgotten to mention that with have the Edge Attitude on the truck. Coming in under load last night the engine temp went to 217!!! Thinking that radiator fins and condenser may be full of crud, we took the truck to the car wash and used degreaser as best we could to try to clean. Rinsed out thoroughly and on the way home EGT warning went off, reading 2245 degrees. Engine temp was 195. Transmission temp was 165. This was truck only, no trailer with load. Could it possibly be a false reading because of moisture?

This is now an urgent situation as we need to leave with load for delivery at 5 a.m. CAN ANYONE HELP US FIGURE THIS OUT???

Is it still showing high? Is the idle number staying at the typical range?

Engine idle temp is normal...EGT's off the map at idle...2200. Starting dropping then headed back up???

Sounds kind of like a common problem with the edge. Changed a bunch for that. There is not much of a chance its 2200 at idle

So you think it's a false read? Just had so much trouble with this truck lately, spent a lot of money, and it is our livelihood! Do you think we have gotten something wet that is causing a false read?

If engine temp stays ok, then you think we are good to go?

Could have but if the EJWA egt probe is properly wired and tight, I would doubt it would be the issue.
Might check it though! If you were at 2200 at idle you would know, you could feel the heat off of it, and it would be evident by looking at the manifold or smelling it.

TY for all the input...2200 @ idle and no heat or smell makes sense. Did check EGT probe and looks good. We will prob head out with our load @5 a.m. Let u know what happens. Really appreciate your knowledge!

HELP! We are back to problem with the cooling fan not coming on!!! Fan is new, fan clutch is new, wires are not cut, radiator has been flushed, new fluid. Codes are same...p0480 and p0483. Dodge house tech said we may have low voltage to #2 sensor...how do we check this???

Also...a commonality when the fan has stopped working...Laptop computer has been plugged into 12v converter for long time periods (hours) . Can this affect voltage to cooling fan???

We are desperate...have load on truck due in Kansas on Monday!!!:argh:

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P.S. We disconnected the Edge...truck ran really well for 4 weeks or so. Have not reconnected or done anything else. :scare2:

Root Cause P0480 Fan Clutch:
FAN CLUTCH
WIRE HARNESS DAMAGED
OPEN FAN CLUTCH (K160) DRIVER CIRCUIT
(K160) DRIVER CIRCUIT SHORTED TO (K690) RETURN CIRCUIT
(K160) DRIVER CIRCUIT SHORTED TO BATTERY NEGATIVE
INTERMITTENT CONDITION
ECM



Root Cause P0483 Fan Speed:
OTHER DTC’S
(K161) SIGNAL CIRCUIT SHORT TO (K668) 5-VOLT SUPPLY CIRCUIT
(K161) SIGNAL CIRCUIT OPEN FROM ECM TO FAN CLUTCH ASSEMBLY
(K668) 5-VOLT SUPPLY CKT OPEN FROM ECM HARNESS CONNECTOR TO FAN CLUTCH HARNESS
CONNECTOR
INTERMITTENT CONDITION
(K161) SIGNAL CIRCUIT SHORTED TO (690) RETURN IN THE HARNESS
(K161) SIGNAL CIRCUIT SHORTED TO VOLTAGE
(K161) SIGNAL CIRCUIT IN ECM SHORTED TO GROUND INSIDE ECM
(K161) SIGNAL CIRCUIT SHORTED TO VOLTAGE IN THE ECM
(K668) 5-VOLT SUPPLY CIRCUIT IN ECM

Read somewhere that if you ground the ground wire fan will lockup? How do you do this? We have to get this fan working so we can deliver load Monday.

We know this HAS to be an electrical problem. Fan still has tension on it.:s:

It only do it w/ the Edge installed?

Difficult to say but yes. We disconnected harnesses to injectors and map sensors but left monitor on to be able to read temps. Truck ran really well last few weeks. Now we have taken the edge completely off the truck. As of late last night still can't get fan to engage.
A/c compressor cycles off and on, truck will cool well when driving. At stop, tried turning a/c to defrost to get fan to engage, nothing.

We still think it is electrical but don't know how to find it. The truck went form fan working extremely well up until Friday when pulling a load home in strong north wind. On the way in, fan engaged, temp stayed down..until we pulled off highway and rpms dropped. During one mile off the highway, to the house, temp went to 222 and climbing.

We disconnected batteries for a couple of hours yesterday to see if ecm would reset and clear codes...did not.

It appears that when fan is engaging properly and cooling engine, a/c function is poor and vice versa. Almost as if not enough power to do both.

Anymore advice suggestions would be greatly appreciated. This truck pays the bills!