Hey everybody i have a new ram 3500 with a deisel in it. It is vey cold here where im at i mean it was -36 with a windchill of -46 and the truck was not plugged in. With that being said i know all about deisel engines not starting as well as gas and the only reason it was not plugged in is becauce the reset switch was tripped on the outlet i was using and i thought it was plugged in. I just want to know if getting more cranking amps will help the problem. The truck came with 2 730 cca batteries i thought this would be enough.

 

Hey Troy, I live in Alaska, and it sound like you live somewhere at least simular in weather. A block heater, oil Pan heater, and a heating pad under both batteries wired into a four way box you install under the hood will get you what you need for smooth starting. Provided the plug doesn't come out of the wall outlet! In that case, I would take an electriciatians wire staple or something simular and pin the cord to the side of your house or garge so it won't pull loose. As you found out, an unplugged truck will cause you several hours of grief the next day. If you wake up to an unpluged truck, the best way to warm it up fast is with a propane weed burner under the motor. Caution! Don't do this if your leaking a lot of oil or any gas! Use caution when doing this, but it does work when you need to do it. When the truck is that cold, all the amps in the world won't be enough to turn the motor over fast enough to start it, and if it did, it would be extremly hard on the engine. best to take the time to warm the block up, and then start your truck. Also, if you have all the right heaters on your truck but are away from a power source, you can get a portable generator and plug your truck into that until it warms up. Good luck!

 

"Cold cranking amperes (CCA) is the amount of current a battery can provide at 0 °F (−18 °C)" CCA goes down further as temperature drops below 0. You probably getting close to the limits of those batteries at those temps even with them being brand new. Are you running 15w-40? Switching to a 10-30 or 0w-40 for winter use will help cold starting. Synthetic oil will also help, making cranking easier.