# 2013 Dodge Diesel gelling up



## ultimatelawns (Dec 18, 2011)

Hello I am not new to running diesel trucks in the winter. My new 2013 has gelled up twice in 2 weeks. I have 3 other diesel trucks running the same fuel and the same additives for ant-gel and they were all within half a mile of each other all parked outside and none of them plugged in and this truck is the only one that had any trouble and now twice in 2 weeks. 

Any suggestions?


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## Camden (Mar 10, 2007)

Are you running blended fuel or straight #2? How often do you change your filters? I change mine a couple times a season just to make sure I don't have issues. It's very simple and it's just good preventative maintenance. 

And what type of additive are you running? I've had excellent luck with Sea Foam and Power Service. Other than that I don't really know what to tell you...it could very well be poor quality fuel from your station.


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## ultimatelawns (Dec 18, 2011)

It's a blended fuel from quick trip. Up to 5 percent biodiesel is what label on pump says. I had power service in it. The white jug. The truck only has 12000 miles on it and the fuel filters got changed by the dealer when it happened 2 weeks ago. Also when it happened the. It was only 2 degrees. The last time was -12 but it had the treatment in it and none of my other trucks gelled up


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## ultimatelawns (Dec 18, 2011)

I am wondering if it has something to do with the new no cap fuel tank. Not sure. The truck does not have a fuel cap which is strange. Came from the dealer that way. Said it was a new change on these


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## mega10cab (Dec 23, 2013)

The new 13s don't have a fuel cap. It is odd. I have a 2010 cummins, never a gelling issue, buts also never been in temps below 3 degrees. I keep it plugged in once it's below 34 degrees. Personal preference. I only run power service every 3-5 tanks. On these new diesels it's not really needed. I say it's something with the fuel. Maybe too much moisture in it. Just my 2cents.


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## jhenderson9196 (Nov 14, 2010)

There are reports of 13-14 dodge ram diesels having a fuel heater problem. It seems the heater in the fuel filter is not working as designed.The truck is not sending power to the heater element. The fix is a trip to the dealer for a reflash of the body computer. There is a new TSB out for it, but I do not know the reference number. Hope this helps.


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## Green Grass (Dec 5, 2006)

ultimatelawns;1697040 said:


> Hello I am not new to running diesel trucks in the winter. My new 2013 has gelled up twice in 2 weeks. I have 3 other diesel trucks running the same fuel and the same additives for ant-gel and they were all within half a mile of each other all parked outside and none of them plugged in and this truck is the only one that had any trouble and now twice in 2 weeks.
> 
> Any suggestions?


There is a star case to preform a vehicle reconfigration because the fuel filter heaters are not coming on due to a software issue.


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## ultimatelawns (Dec 18, 2011)

I took the truck into the dealer a couple days ago and told them about what I have heard about the fuel heaters and they played stupid but I told them to update the computer anyway and they did. They said they couldn't tell if it had power to the heater prior to doing the update but it does now. Will see if it is fixed tonite. Suppose to get to -5 tonite. They did add the cord for the block heater that it did not come with. 
I had to go through the salesman to get anything done.


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## ultimatelawns (Dec 18, 2011)

Thanks for all of your help. Will let you know if everything goes good in the morning.


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## SnoFarmer (Oct 15, 2004)

To all 07 and newer dodge diesels.
for some reason on some of the new trucks the fuel heater that is located in the filter head is not enabled.
your dealer can cheek and enable it for you.

Fuel is blended for you by mandate in MN.
Our fuel blending is controlled/mandated by the state.
fuel is blended at a additive is add to the fuel.
Here is what it is suppose to be.

Oct 15 30% 30/70 (OTR only) -10

Dec 1 50% 50/50 (uses 20% #1), -20

Dec 15 70% 70/30 (uses 40% #1), -30

Mar 1 50% 50/50 (uses 20% #1) -20

Mar 15 30% 30/70 (uses OTR only -10

Never, use sea~foam in a diesel,
The label and the chick on the phone will tell you there is no alcohol in it but there is IPA a alcohol as per their msds. alcohol emulsifies the water letting it pass by your fuel water separator.

Only use a additive that demulsifies or displaces water out of the fuel like howes.



Camden;1697060 said:


> Are you running blended fuel or straight #2? How often do you change your filters? I change mine a couple times a season just to make sure I don't have issues. It's very simple and it's just good preventative maintenance.
> 
> And what type of additive are you running? I've had excellent luck with Sea Foam and Power Service. Other than that I don't really know what to tell you...it could very well be poor quality fuel from your station.


There is a new cold weather problem that the industry has not adequately defined
as of today. We are calling this issue "Wax Dropout". Wax Dropout occurs when diesel fuel is "cold saturated". This where the fuel reaches a given temperature and stays at or below that temperature for a given period of time. This time period is usually between 48 and 72 hours or longer and the temperature can vary with different batches of fuel. This past winter we saw this problem at between 5°F and 10°F.

When the fuel gets to the Wax Dropout temperature, say for example 8°F and stays there for 48 to 72 hours, the wax will suddenly agglomerate and fall to the bottom of the container. This wax plugs filters and fuel lines until it is removed or until the fuel temperature is raised to a point where the fuel will reabsorb the wax.

Again there is a further complication, in that the "old" HSD and LSD wax would gradually start to reabsorb as the fuel temperature rose. With ULSD when wax dropout has occurred the wax does not begin to reabsorb until the fuel reaches fairly high temperatures, often above 40°F, 50°F or even higher. This can make the process of getting an engine with gelled fuel to run properly far more challenging than we have ever seen before.

Furthermore, OEM engine manufacturers have changed the media size of their fuel filters. Where 10 um has been almost an industry standard, we now see 7 um, 5 um, and even 2 um filters today. This throws the whole relationship between CFPP and winter operability out the window. For example fuel that is at the CP can have filter plugging problems with a 2 um fuel filter.

Water is more of a problem than ever before. Diesel and biodiesel fuels hold
water dissolved in them. The amount of water that ULSD is able to hold is greater than that of HSD or LSD. One of the characteristics of fuel is that its ability to hold water in solution diminishes as the temperature decreases. Fuel delivered at 70°F with 200 ppm of dissolved water will as the temperature drops begin to push that water out of the fuel into droplets. These droplets can be seen floating in the fuel and as temperatures reach and go below 32°F those droplets freeze becoming ice crystals.

As a result many of the cold weather problems where people believe they have fuel gelling problem are actually a fuel icing problem. If you have operability issues in temperatures above 0°F you should check to be sure that you aren't dealing with ice.


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## ultimatelawns (Dec 18, 2011)

Thanks SnoFarmer. The wax items makes a lot of sense. My has been back again to get a new module for the fuel heater. The dealer got the fuel heater working but then called two days later and said they discovered a new bulletin stating that the module for the heat is not producing enough heat.


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