Has anyone let there engine idle while taking two to three power nap, as we start to enter chilly nights.

Thanks,
Dic

yes some people do it. just make sure you have a high idle so that the diesel dosent wash the clyender walls down

yes some people do it. just make sure you have a high idle so that the diesel dosent wash the clyender walls down


Never heard, such a thing!!! Big rigs idol overnight......trains idol for days on into weeks @ a time.

Idling is incredibly hard on your engine. Big rigs idling at truck stops is a thing of the past, call it an old wives tale if you want, I run about 5 Kenworth truck and we shut em off after a couple of minutes. In fact I tell my guys I'd rather buy a turbo than buy an inframe. :)

Idling is incredibly hard on your engine. Big rigs idling at truck stops is a thing of the past, call it an old wives tale if you want, I run about 5 Kenworth truck and we shut em off after a couple of minutes. In fact I tell my guys I'd rather buy a turbo than buy an inframe. :)

Just left Sids on I80 in Sparks Nevada and there were a good 50 big rigs hummin away in the western village casino parking lot. Maybe they are all driving solo without thier wives:D

I was just glad they still got Ice cold $1 bottles:drinking:

It uses about 1/2 gallon per hour to idle.

It uses about 1/2 gallon per hour to idle.

Without high idle i use .3 gallons by my calculations. I leave my truck idling for days on our trips to Canada. When the temps dip to over -50f (80 below freezing, 65 below gel point) its a little risky not to keep it warm. Try to start in those temps and you are going no where. Will clog your filters and then you need to build a tent arround the truck and heat up with a grill inside it. Believe me you look like an idiot when you rap your truck in a giant blue tarp and then get inside it and start cooking hot dogs ):h



-- Rick

Never heard, such a thing!!! Big rigs idol overnight......trains idol for days on into weeks @ a time.

Dont the big rigs and trains have high idle too?

Confusion!
Gassers richen up in order to idle, and do start to put lots of raw fuel into to the oil washing past the rings - so for them extended idle is a very bad idea. Diesels lean out at idle and in fact can over cool in low temps, nothing bad is happening. High idle is simply there to speed up warm up in moderate cold and stay warm in extreme cold. An argueably more important reason is to reduce the rocking harmonic the valve train experiences at idle - the forces on the crank are smoother as speed increases, and oiling is more reliable. And also PTO functions like the higher idle for varying loads.
I'd say if it runs smooth and over the lower thermostat in the particular conditions then low idle is fine. Start at high for awhile, then extended at low after warm...

Dumb question. Low idle; High Idle; how?

trains idle as needed, unattended, the on-board computers montior fluid temps and the lubricant properties of components

I was just reading over one of the Dodge forums and they are having problems with the new autos burning up (lack of oil) when placed in park and idling for long periods. Evidently the Dodge 3rd Generation autos do not pump oil through the tranny when placed in park while the engine is running:eek:

Dumb question. Low idle; High Idle; how?

It is an option in the DIC. You can enable/disable the high idle option (680-1200rpms). It kicks in when IAT are below 32 and coolant temps are lower than 150, IIRC.

Riccas,
I don't have the DIC on my 3500 W/T. What now?

Riccas,
I don't have the DIC on my 3500 W/T. What now?

Page 2-4 in the sup

Elevated Idle/Exhaust Restrictor
The engine has a cold temperature high idle and exhaust
restrictor feature which elevates the engines idle speed
from 680 to 1200 rpms, and restricts the exhaust gas
flow, when outside temperatures are below 32°F (0°C),
and the engine coolant temperature is below 150°F
(65°C.) This feature enhances heater performance
by raising the engine coolant temperature faster.
For pickup models, this feature can be turned off and
on using the DIC steering wheel control buttons. If your
vehicle is not equipped with the DIC steering wheel
control buttons, do the following to turn on this feature:
1. Turn the ignition to RUN, with the vehicle off.
2. Press the accelerator pedal to the floor and hold
while quickly pressing the brake pedal three times
in less than eight seconds.
3. Release the accelerator pedal and start the engine.
When the engine is started, it will slowly ramp up to the
high idle speed after a delay of a few seconds up to
approximately two minutes. For this method to work
properly there must be no throttle or brake pedal faults.
The engine idle speed will return to normal once the
following conditions are met:
• Once engine coolant temperature reaches
150°F (65°C).
• Air intake temperature reaches 32°F (0°C).

The high idle speed will be temporarily interrupted
and the engine speed will return to normal if any of
the following conditions occur:
• The brake pedal is applied.
• The accelerator pedal is pressed.
• The automatic transmission is shifted out of
PARK (P) or NEUTRAL (N).
• The clutch pedal on the manual transmission is
pressed (pickup models).
• Vehicle speed is detected.
Once these inputs are removed, the engine idle speed
will slowly ramp back up to high idle after the normal
delay, if the conditions for engine coolant temperature
and air intake temperature are still met.

[quote=CwF;1275873;]Confusion!
Diesels lean out at idle and in fact can over cool in low temps, nothing bad is happening.
You are contradicting yourself , when A diesel gets too cold, it doesn't burn all the fuel properly and then it starts WET STACKING. this when the fuel loads up on the cylinder walls, then it get past the rings and starts to dilute the oil. Also you'll get high wear from running an engine that not up to temp.

F250WHEELS (http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/member.php?u=21372)
Yes, you're right, I stopped short though. Within context that was the point to get the temp up then we're ok with the the diesels. With gas the correct temp still doesn't burn all the fuel. Also, as we move our thinking from hundred psi mechanical to modern systems measure in k's of Bar, fuel falling out of suspension or condensing is far less of an issue. Anyway, the factory took care of it with the conditional programming outlined by FlyACL (http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/member.php?u=41159), The real question might be why we have the option to disengage it? Then again, to answer another in this thread, most diesels do have a high idle option - be it a hand throttle, a rocker, a rheostat, something... Not nescesarily for temp purposes though. Set it to on in a cold climate and let the computer do the worrying...

my 96 dodge diesel ran continuously for a week up in the mountains. towed all day and idled all night because of the cold. i also ran 5w40 oil in her to make her get warm much faster. i would imagine a D-Max could do it too

i drive an 18 wheeler.. a POS freightliner with a cat c-12 and i idle it in truck stops all the time.. no problems as of yet. then again i dont own it so i dont care haha. in the winter when it gets really cold it sits and idles all weekend, i can use the cruise control to set a fast idle but never do.

the longest the truck has ran without being shut off is 3 weeks straight. thats a combo of driving and sitting in truck stops. the truck has 740,500 miles on it... that makes me believe letting it idle does nothing bad.

My dad has a diesel cummins powered motor home and met a guy in the service shop that was have an engine replaced with 8000 miles on it. The reason was excessive idle time without using high idle. The engine computer black box told the entire history of the engine. The mechanic said a diesel needs to stay at opperating temp when idling. Just one guys opinion.

The LB7 doesnt have a high idle does it in the DIC? Its just the LLY correct?

I guess the reason your all talking about idel time is cold weather start's. I also spend time in Canada snowmobiling and can get a little cold and don't need to start for day's. Has any tryied and does the remote start's that run the engine every three hours or so for 15 minute's work? and is that a good idea? Seen it on a few but not sure if needed.

i been reading all your answers and what everyone seems to say is its bad to idle in cold weather with normal idle u need to have high idle in the cold? what about in 40-80 degree weather? does that still mess your engine up?

thanks
john

i been reading all your answers and what everyone seems to say is its bad to idle in cold weather with normal idle u need to have high idle in the cold? what about in 40-80 degree weather? does that still mess your engine up?

thanks
john

That's my question too, and if it's not good why hasn't someone (smarter than me) made a little knob that plugs into the throttle-by-wire to let us adjust it when in neutral or park?

Idling is incredibly hard on your engine. Big rigs idling at truck stops is a thing of the past, call it an old wives tale if you want, I run about 5 Kenworth truck and we shut em off after a couple of minutes. In fact I tell my guys I'd rather buy a turbo than buy an inframe.
If you stop at any large truck stop you will see dozens of tractors idling. Any time of year, day or night. I see it about twice a week all over the south east.

I was travelling though New York this past April and saw several signs posted very conspicuously on the wall at the rest areas informing drivers that prolonged idling (I believe longer than 5 minutes) was against the law in New York and ofenders could receive heavy fines for prolonged idling.

Prohibition of prolonged idling is one reason why many OTR rigs are getting small diesel generators to keep them warm overnight in the winter time. They also claim signifficant annual cost savings by running the small generator vs, idling the big diesel engine all night long.

Down here I wonder how the driver stays cool at night if they arn't ideling the engine with a/c on? It stays in the 90's here at night, i sure couldn't sleep in that heat.

my opinion is that it doesnt matter if you idle your truck all night. my reasons are.... whenever i travel long distance, i have ALWAYS let my truck run for hours (mostly all night) , never had 1 problem. also alot of my friends drive OTR and they say they idle pretty much all the time cuz its either too hot or too cold out.. and the other night i was at the truckstop and out of like 100 semi's, 85 were idling.

i bet the only way that ideling your truck for hours or overnight is bad is when its in cold temperatures (below freezing) and that all makes senses because the engine is not doing anything or working hard so it doesnt stay warm.

and who cares we all have 100,000 mile warrenty anyway


:grd:

My dad has a diesel cummins powered motor home and met a guy in the service shop that was have an engine replaced with 8000 miles on it. The reason was excessive idle time without using high idle. The engine computer black box told the entire history of the engine. The mechanic said a diesel needs to stay at opperating temp when idling. Just one guys opinion.

I'm betting there's more to this story than what you were told and any of us will likely ever know.

Unless that engine has an insane amount of hours for only 8,000 miles of actual time on the clock, I find it really hard to believe.

The modern computer-controlled diesels are much better at adjusting fuel delivery during idling to reduce wet-stacking from what I understand. I still high-idle mine most of the time, regardless.

who cares we all have 100,000 mile warrenty anyway


:grd:

100,000 is only on the block?

100,000 is only on the block?


the dealer told me 100,000 mile warrenty on the drivetrain and 36,000 on the body


:grd:

It's 100,000 on the engine and some related components, 100,000 on emissions equipment, and 36,000 bumper-to-bumper. The transmission falls under the 36,000 warranty, not the 100,000 mile warranty.

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong!

It's 100,000 on the engine and some related components, 100,000 on emissions equipment, and 36,000 bumper-to-bumper. The transmission falls under the 36,000 warranty, not the 100,000 mile warranty.

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong!
:exactly:

There are 2 seperate issues that I am always concerned with on my diesels, one is a proper warm-up prior to towing and the other is a proper cool-down of the turbo after towing.

I have a motorhome with a Cummins ISL 400 (8.9L) diesel and the supplement specifically states that damage to the engine will occur if it idles for prolonged periods of time due to washing the oil of the cylinder walls. The manual also states to use high-idle to prevent this from happening, but I do not remember reading about this in my LBZ supplement.

When I enabled the high-idle on my LBZ last winter, the engine would high-idle on start up and then after a few minutes it would automatically kick it back down to normal idle after it warmed up. I always thought that this was to help minimze the warm-up time.

I think there is a balance of not allowing the engine "low-idle" too long, and allowing the turbo a proper cool-down after hauling a heavy load with high EGT's . I like to use a 5 minute cool-down for the turbo to help prevent oil coaking of the bearings. Oil coaking of the bearings in a turbo is one of the most common reasons for pre-mature turbo failure.

IMO, I think idling for no more than 5 minutes addresses both of these issues.

Thanks to all who responded, I am still on the fence about this.

Dic

Another issue I see is starter replacement cost. I say it's a lot cheaper in the long run to idle/high idle for a few minutes a day to save 3-4 extra starts per day.

Dmax starters run over $450 from online vendors, and that doesn't include labor or the down-time associated with getting a new starter installed. Besides, it's been my experience that starters tend to **** the bed when there's about 4 feet of snow on the ground, it's 0 degrees outside, and you have no shop to work on it inside!!!

There are 2 seperate issues that I am always concerned with on my diesels, one is a proper warm-up prior to towing and the other is a proper cool-down of the turbo after towing.

I have a motorhome with a Cummins ISL 400 (8.9L) diesel and the supplement specifically states that damage to the engine will occur if it idles for prolonged periods of time due to washing the oil of the cylinder walls. The manual also states to use high-idle to prevent this from happening, but I do not remember reading about this in my LBZ supplement.

When I enabled the high-idle on my LBZ last winter, the engine would high-idle on start up and then after a few minutes it would automatically kick it back down to normal idle after it warmed up. I always thought that this was to help minimze the warm-up time.

I think there is a balance of not allowing the engine "low-idle" too long, and allowing the turbo a proper cool-down after hauling a heavy load with high EGT's . I like to use a 5 minute cool-down for the turbo to help prevent oil coaking of the bearings. Oil coaking of the bearings in a turbo is one of the most common reasons for pre-mature turbo failure.

IMO, I think idling for no more than 5 minutes addresses both of these issues.

you need to monitor oil temp for this. synthetic oil helps with the cooking problem.

you need to monitor oil temp for this. synthetic oil helps with the cooking problem.

Monitoring the oil temperature of the engine is not indicative of the minute amount of oil in the turbo's bearings. Idling for 4 to 5 minutes will minimize oil coaking of the turbo's bearings. Even synthetic oil will coak the bearings without incorporating a sufficent cool-down.

i drive an 18 wheeler.. a POS freightliner with a cat c-12 and i idle it in truck stops all the time.. no problems as of yet. then again i dont own it so i dont care haha. in the winter when it gets really cold it sits and idles all weekend, i can use the cruise control to set a fast idle but never do.

the longest the truck has ran without being shut off is 3 weeks straight. thats a combo of driving and sitting in truck stops. the truck has 740,500 miles on it... that makes me believe letting it idle does nothing bad.

:exactly: I do want to correct my statement that idling at truck stops is a thing of the past. I was trying to make a point that the truck shops I use tell me it idling for all of the various reasons thought to be ok or valid have really not stood up to science. Thus the old wives tale. I suspect some of what you hear at a truck stop are the refer trailers running the refridgeration units.
I regularly change oil in my big rigs, and send in oil samples to the lab, we have a 78 KW with a 350 Cummins, the guys tend to let is idle on jobsites alot. The oil samples always come back and indicate excessive idling, and we have to remind them not to leave the truck sitting and idling. The same thing happens to some of our dozers and such.

Oh yeah, Ga. Chopper says giver 4-5 minutes for cool down, I do agree here.

So it is your money and your choice, but as I said before I will buy a starter or a turbo before a $10,000 inframe. I do own it.:)

im a ase and gm cert. tech at a large chevy dealer and i have never seen any duramax trucks come in with problems from prolonged idling. My thoughts are there is no reason to idle your truck for a long time unless it is real cold like canada I let mine idle for 5 to 10 min after pulling and idle to warm up and thats it. It doesn't get below zero that much here in the midwest

Since I use mine as an OTR hauler, if its hot I let it idle to sleep or just to keep it cool inside while I run in someplace. If its cold I do the same. With over 140,000 miles on my LBZ so far I see no problem.

Since I use mine as an OTR hauler, if its hot I let it idle to sleep or just to keep it cool inside while I run in someplace. If its cold I do the same. With over 140,000 miles on my LBZ so far I see no problem.


DAMN-BROTHA!!!! And i thought i had a expinsive fuel bill every month:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: i would -:t seeing your bill.