I'm still pretty new to my diesel. I love it though. Makes towing my enclosed trailer a breeze. I remember the old days though, before Ultra low silver diesel and DEF, when diesels would idle for days! It was like they never shut off.

In reading over the diesel supplement it talks about avoiding excessive and extended idling. But it really doesn't say what constitutes that. I did see that idling more than 10min per hour puts the truck maintenance schedule into extreme vs normal. Seems crazy! I have a 2015 6.7L PSD.

Is it ok to idle for example while waiting 10-15 min for your kids after sports practice? Or while your wife hunts for her cell phone while you wait in the driveway to leave? Or she runs in the store for 10 minutes? It's cold up here and keeping the heat running while waiting is nice.

What's ok though? I read diesels don't really warm up when idling either. So why put a remote start on them? Is running them a bit to get a jump on the heat a bad or useless thing? I was away skiing this week and rain froze on the truck and it was coated in ice. I used the remote starter and let it run 15 min to help clear the ice on the windows.

Am I hurting my engine with this behavior? Maybe I'm taking the idling warnings to an extreme.

Thanks!

 

If it were me, and thought I needed to idle my endine, I would be looking at installing a fast idle switch, research it on this forum, or maybe someone that already know the steps will chime in.
Good luck!

 

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...-pictures.html - Use an upfitter switch and the parking brake to high idle the engine.

I use it when it's cold out and intend to idle more than 10 minutes at a time. I can't believe 10 min of idle time per hour places the engine into extreme conditions, I read that same passage in the supplemental manual. Stopping at 5 or 6 stop lights while driving around town will yield 10min of idle time.

It would be nice to hear what kind of maintenance issues ambulance trucks have, since they sit and idle all day long.

 

Try to limit idling when new. Once broken in you can idle for years, these trucks in commercial applications will do so without a problem. 10-15 min while waiting to pick up the kids is no issue even when new.

 

Ask Golfmedic... Some of the ambulances his entity runs have all kinds of issues...

It's cold up here too. I wait for the kids in the winter idling... I let the truck idle with the wife/kids in the truck while I run errands. I'm a little over the 10 minutes per 60 minutes average...

FWIW, in park and as long as you are not touching the brake or accelerator, if the truck gets too cold it will high idle on its own. Once it gets up to whatever the computer thinks is a good temp, it idles down again. What I don't like, is that the newer (MY2017) trucks have a idle timer and will shut the truck off... Which I think is dangerous and bull... If I leave a kid in the truck and I get delayed, the truck will shut off, that's not good when the temps are sub zero out.

 

That's interesting to know. With a remote start from the factory you'd think cold starts and idles are to be expected. I'll have to pay attention to see if it high idles when cold on its own.

 

I am not saying that a high idle switch is a waste of time if you are going to idle a lot... But the truck to some degree will take care of itself.

 

Thanks. I wouldn't say idle a lot, like a work truck that might sit idling for 45 minutes between stops or jobs or something...just like I said, idling waiting while someone runs in a store, to be picked up, or to warm up the engine a bit when cold/iced up.

I need to read up on why idling won't warm a diesel like a gas motor.

 

First a diesel idles really low... Diesel fuel is combusted and not ignited like gas. The dangerous part is wet stacking. Take an 6.0 and let it idle in cool/cold weather without a high idle mod for 30 minutes. The first time you hit the go pedal you'll see a nice puff of usually black/blue smoke come out as the diesel fuel washes past the rings... And it's a little sluggish, but that's also due to the fact that the injectors are oil fired.

If you see your temp gauge plunge back to C, step on the go pedal and get the rpms up to between 1000-1200... Usually wherever I can keep steady pressure in that range I stay. In a minute or so, the gauge will go back up and eventually hit "center".

6.7s are better in the cold. The first way to tell that is that Ford doesn't recommend you use a winter front with a 6.7 and they don't make one for this model motor... Aftermarket does - but that is usually reserved for severe arctic operating environment, even more harsh than mine in South Central Alaska.

Just my .02. I'm sure others do things way different. I also plug mine in if it's going to rest overnight in temps lower than +20F and really try to make sure to plug it in if they go below zero. Not that it won't start after a few days cold soak in -40F/C. But why put that stress on the truck if you don't have to.

 

Thanks for the explanation. My truck is parked my garage, so the coldest it sees when at home is about 40 F. If I'm out, like skiing or something, plugging it in isn't an option.

So I need to read up on the high idle switch thing. Did a quick search and found one for the 2017s which sounds a bit different. I suppose too, since I usually only idle for pickups and stuff when I'm in the truck (unless using remote start), I could just rest my foot on the pedal a bit.

I wonder if some of this has to do with the heat output in the truck too. My kids are always complaining that the back seat area is freezing. I just thought the blower wasn't as powerful as the expedition. But is this a known issue/complaint?

 

Check the link I posted earlier in this thread, it's the process I used on my '16.

 

Do you have grille inserts to block out some of the cold? I run those in the winter, helps warm up time, retains engine heat better, and keeps rocks and sand out for the 6 months a year it's being dumped on the highway. My hours are approx 250 idle and 800 driving btw. UOA's have been great with mineral or synthetic.

 

I have heated rear seats and before that I lived in south Florida... no cold complaints from my kids.

Your use I just don't see the need for high idle... but if you want it go for it. It won't hurt. Some people use a rheostat so they can fine tune the idle on the fly...

 

Thanks. Not looking to do it if it's really not needed. My truck stats are about 18% idling. 1150 engine hrs, with 205 of so listed as idle.

 

As I kind of like pre made kits, even if they cost a bit more, I've seen this around online and it looks like a real simple solution.

Ford High Idle Kit - BD Diesel - 1036610

I also didn't realize the wires are there under the dash and stubbed, making the hookup very easy. I don't like splicing into existing wires to add something. But this seems like a best of both worlds thing. And it tells you how to use an upfitter switch if you don't want to have to mount the rotary **** (which includes the on off). You just set the **** to the RPM range, and hide it wherever you want behind/under the dash, and the upfitter switch easy turns the high idle off and on.

The reason I like it the option is for warm ups when away skiing in cold temps. I like the remote starter, but given the low idle (and the built in high idle seems to have a high threshold for when it kicks in), the flexibility to control the idle is nice.

Anyone every use one of these kits?