Its been a while since i have owned a cummins my last and only one was a 92. I have an '06 with 3000 miles and am curious about its cold weather startring capabilities. My last 2 ps's (ford) did very well in cold weather my '97 better that my '05 (gone). Bothe trucks were subjected to -20 to -30 degrees with no problems and not plugged in and with number 2 deisel. They took longer to warm up but what doesn't at that temp. This is the 1st deisel i have owned with out a plug in even my rubicon had a plug in. I'm in the Texas panhandle and yes we get snow cold and wind, but we take monthly trips to our cabin in the mountains of New Mexico and our occasional trek to Minneasota to iclude the northern parts (yes even in winter). My question is should i invest in a plug for my cummins or will it handle it.

 

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They come from the factory with the block heater... With the hood up, looking at the engine, if you look down the passenger side of the block towards the front you will see a black colored cap that screws onto the block heater. It is between the size of a quarter and a fifty cent piece, and not hard to get to. The cord, according to the local dealer here in Nevada says that the cord runs between $10 - $15 and jst screws right on. If it is something you think you want or might need, get it and install it yourself to avoid the labor costs. Besides, all you do is unscrew the cap and screw the power cord on.

 

My dealer here in north Iowa told me it cost $45.00 + tax for the block heater package. I think he claimed it also had a winter battery blanket with it too. Guess it's time to shop around before I buy one as I think $30.00 extra for the battery blanket is a bit much.

Charles

 

Ive fired mine off at 10F without waiting for the grid heater. smoked like hell but ran good once the head got a little heat to it

your best bet would be to find your closest cummins dealer and get it from them. $20 I think

 

Local Cummins dealer I bought mine from had them for $11.46 OTD.

 

Bought mine on Ebay. There are diesel stores on there .

 

Just FYI, I connected the block heater through a watt meter. It pulled 650 watts!!! I can't afford to leave it plugged-in all the time, so I'm getting an outlet timer to turn it on about 1.5 hours before I need to leave. I also noted in my manual that the block heater is only needed at temperatures below 20 degrees F.

 

I can't believe they don't come with a cord from the factory anymore unless you order them with it. Maybe it depends on where you live in the US? I think they charge around $200 bucks extra from Dodge. I had to go to the Stealership and get one for $45 bucks also. I have mine on a timer that comes on 3.5hrs before I leave for work in the mourning. Also had the local dealership inable the high speed idle option that is controled with the cruise control. The only reason I plug mine in is that I have a short drive to work and I want my truck to warm up faster. I think these new ones will start at almost any temp.

 

does my 03 have this high idle feature? i know if the truck is cold and u let it idle by itself for a few minutes the idle kickes up to like 1000 - 1100rpm and once u hit the brake or the gas it drops back down. would this be considered a high idle feature?