Need some help I am new to the diesel thing at least in working or trouble shooting it. I live jax Fl and it has been cold down here lately and have been plugging in my truck at night for about 1 week. Tonight I went to plug it in and it is kicking two different GFI outlets. what could be wrong with the truck or is there any way to tell if it is the truck?????

I know there is a tester, search "heater tester". As far as the figuring out the electrical goes not sure, try reseting the GFI and plugging in something that pulls some real juice.
As for the truck, I live in the pensacola area and haven't had to plug my truck in once. Our trucks are designed to work fine at and below zero without plugging in. The only thing i do is run a product called "diesel clean". Makes it run better all year round and keeps the fuel more stable in cold temps.

If you have access to an ohm meter, ohm between the terminals. The ground should not show any resistance to either of the other 2. Some people have found that the cord goes bad over time, or the end on the cord.

If you have time, pull the passenger inner fender, and remove the cord from the actual heater. Ohm the heater at the block and ohm the cord. You may find that the cord is bad.

Exactly how cold is it getting in Florida?lol

Mine truck was doing the same thing I replaced the heater and cord just so I wouldnt have any more problems. That took care of it.

Exactly how cold is it getting in Florida?lol

It was 11deg according to my truck the other morning :)

If you have access to an ohm meter, ohm between the terminals. The ground should not show any resistance to either of the other 2. Some people have found that the cord goes bad over time, or the end on the cord.
If you have time, pull the passenger inner fender, and remove the cord from the actual heater. Ohm the heater at the block and ohm the cord. You may find that the cord is bad.

X2. It's the cord. They usually fail on cord near the 120 VAC plug.

Connect ohm meter from Hot -Grd, or Neutral - Grd. Ideally you should see infinate resistance. Lately I've been measuring about 2M ohms resistance and it's not tripping the GFI.

Connect ohm meter from Hot - Neutral. A good heating element and cord is around 11-13 ohms. With meter connected, flex cord near plug. If resistance varies, you found your problem.

It was 11deg according to my truck the other morning :)

holy cow! didnt realize it got that cold down there

I know there is a tester, search "heater tester". As far as the figuring out the electrical goes not sure, try reseting the GFI and plugging in something that pulls some real juice.
As for the truck, I live in the pensacola area and haven't had to plug my truck in once. Our trucks are designed to work fine at and below zero without plugging in. The only thing i do is run a product called "diesel clean". Makes it run better all year round and keeps the fuel more stable in cold temps.


hey thanks for the info i tried reseting the gfi and pluggin something else into it and it worked. so i am figuring it was ( is the truck) it stinks but .... i only plug it in cause i wanted the heat quick. i know sounded lkie i was whinning but i respect all the others in the real cold... also what is the diesel clean and where do you get it?

X2. It's the cord. They usually fail on cord near the 120 VAC plug.

Connect ohm meter from Hot -Grd, or Neutral - Grd. Ideally you should see infinate resistance. Lately I've been measuring about 2M ohms resistance and it's not tripping the GFI.

Connect ohm meter from Hot - Neutral. A good heating element and cord is around 11-13 ohms. With meter connected, flex cord near plug. If resistance varies, you found your problem.

thanks for the info i am gonna test it today i tried to also look and see if there was a fuse but the box was too confusing last night. it is not that cold here in jax fl but every bit of warmth helps me at least haha...

Mine truck was doing the same thing I replaced the heater and cord just so I wouldnt have any more problems. That took care of it.

hey how hard was it to replace the cord and heater and was it expensive.

hey thanks for the info i tried reseting the gfi and pluggin something else into it and it worked. so i am figuring it was ( is the truck) it stinks but .... i only plug it in cause i wanted the heat quick. i know sounded lkie i was whinning but i respect all the others in the real cold... also what is the diesel clean and where do you get it?

You can get Diesel Clean at any parts store, truck stop or major fuel station. It is a fuel supplement that improves both the lubricity and cetane rating (diesel equivalent of octane) in the fuel. It keeps your fuel system clean and it also helps to keep the fuel from gelling and having cold related issues. Is your high idle turned on? There is a setting within the DIC that will allow you to turn the high idle function on so that in cold temperatures it will idle the motor at a higher rpm to warm it up quicker and more effectively. Mine is usually good to go in 5-10 mins on the high idle, even in these low temps we've been having.

The cord isn't too hard to replace.
Either place floor jack under frame behind passenger front wheel and lift to gain more access through wheel well, or remove pass front wheel for easiest access. The heating element is in front of motor mount.
I highly doubt your element is bad, most likely just the cord.

Here's my opinion why cords fail and how to potentially reduce/prevent future failures.
http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/showthread.php?t=348882

I can gain access to mine by removing the inner fender on the pass side. It is not that bad to work on pass side of motor over the tire. You will only be in there about 15 min to unhook and test.

You can get Diesel Clean at any parts store, truck stop or major fuel station. It is a fuel supplement that improves both the lubricity and cetane rating (diesel equivalent of octane) in the fuel. It keeps your fuel system clean and it also helps to keep the fuel from gelling and having cold related issues. Is your high idle turned on? There is a setting within the DIC that will allow you to turn the high idle function on so that in cold temperatures it will idle the motor at a higher rpm to warm it up quicker and more effectively. Mine is usually good to go in 5-10 mins on the high idle, even in these low temps we've been having.


k thanks i am gonna try to find the diesel clean and the other question is i dont have a steering wheel computer but i assume there is still a way to turn the high idle on via some other means?

Make sure you use a plug that nothing else is on and at least has a 20 amp breaker also you can use a timer on it because they only need about 4 or 5 hours to warm the anti-freeze, they draw quite a bit of current.
Hope this helps you out.
Randy in Maryland