Cooldown before Shutdown?

[nc_beagle]

I had a 1987 Chrysler Lebaron GTS with the 2.2L Turbo. I was told to always idle for about 15 seconds before turning the car off to let the turbo cool down.

While skimming through the manual, I actually saw a very similar recommendation for the EcoDiesel, only the length of time varied based on what sort of driving you'd just done and the idle time is longer. Anyone doing this? I'm the type who shuts everything down before turning the vehicle off. I turn off the A/C compressor (but leave the fan going) 15-30 seconds before I reach my destination to let it blow out any condensation in the lines. At least I think that's why i do it. It was something I was taught to do when I was young and it just stuck with me, LOL.

Here's the page from the manual about cooldown.

 

[Fatherof3]

A friend of mine at work has a turbo engine and he always lets his idle for a minute or two before he shuts the engine off . Another friend at work has the same engine and never lets it idle before shutting it off but he’s gone through 3 turbos now .

 

[bill-e]

Some newer turbo's actually have a fan that funs upon shutdown. The concern is that the oil will "boil" off and leave a shallac like resifue on the bearings, eventually possibly causing failure.

I always let mine cool down after towing or regen but usually forget in most other instances

 

[NorthStar]

Have done it on all the diesels I've owned as the time spent cooling down a turbo is miniscule compared to the time/labor replacing one.

I previously utilized Edge CTS3 or even a ScanGauge II to monitor the Ecodiesel. Lately, I started using my OBDLink MX+ hooked up via Bluetooth to my iPhone which I have set up to monitor the exhaust gas temps and after a long trip simply wait for temps to get down to 350 degrees which is about 2.5 minutes. You can also monitor % of Soot Mass, DPF Regen Status, and all sorts of parameters for the Ecodiesel. (See thread #8 of the following for an example: https://www.jeepgarage.org/threads/monitor-regen-status-via-obdlink-mx-app.231168/#post-2021295697)

 

[nc_beagle]

Great feedback. Thanks!

 

[bill-e]

EDGE CTS3 and Ecodiesel

By the way, I just ordered and installed an Edge CTS3 with hopes that it would read my PID's at least as well as my OBDIILink LX and Torque Pro on my phone but alas it did not. It wouldn't even pull one PID from the ECU. The CTS2 I just sold pulled about 10 of them though none were what I...

5thgenrams.com

 

[river rat]

turbo timers have been around decades for this very reason, to keep the engine idling for cool down purposes. Allows you to shutoff and lock the car while the engine continues to idle for a specified time.

 

[J-Cooz]

If I'm towing I always wait a few minutes. Lately with the summer heat I give it 20-30 seconds. I just undo my seatbelt, gather my things, and then shut the truck off.

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[NorthStar]

EDGE CTS3 and Ecodiesel

By the way, I just ordered and installed an Edge CTS3 with hopes that it would read my PID's at least as well as my OBDIILink LX and Torque Pro on my phone but alas it did not. It wouldn't even pull one PID from the ECU. The CTS2 I just sold pulled about 10 of them though none were what I...

5thgenrams.com

I should have clarified in my comment that I used the CTS3 on my 2016 and 2017 Ecodiesels...not on my 2021. I also utilized it on my Cummins and did the same with the ScanGuage II. I did read this post and saw where CTS3 was not playing nice with the 3rd Gen Ecodiesel thus the reason I utilized my OBDLink MX+ to monitor as it seems to be doing a very good job as it has specific "free" software that downloads from OBDLink specifically for the 3rd Gen Ecodiesel.

 

[nc_beagle]

If I'm towing I always wait a few minutes. Lately with the summer heat I give it 20-30 seconds. I just undo my seatbelt, gather my things, and then shut the truck off.

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That's essentially what I do. Like I said, I shut everything down (35 year habit) so by the time I have the radio off, the A/C off and the fan off, phone retrieved, etc... it's had a good chance to cool off.

 

[bill-e]

I should have clarified in my comment that I used the CTS3 on my 2016 and 2017 Ecodiesels...not on my 2021. I also utilized it on my Cummins and did the same with the ScanGuage II. I did read this post and saw where CTS3 was not playing nice with the 3rd Gen Ecodiesel thus the reason I utilized my OBDLink MX+ to monitor as it seems to be doing a very good job as it has specific "free" software that downloads from OBDLink specifically for the 3rd Gen Ecodiesel.

You cant believe everything that you read . While the CTS3 does not directly support the Gen3 motor like my CTS2 did, you have to use the OBDII names as opposed to some custom names that the Gen2 had but other than that it works perfectly.

I think what some people think of as "flakey" is the DPF % which works well both increasing and decreasing during passive regens but once it trips into an active regen cycle it goes directly to 100% and stays there until the filter is clean. That means that if you shut off your engine prior to finishing the regen, the next time you start it it will still be at 100% even if some cleaning had occurred. It will not reset until the DPF is clean.

I'm very happy with mine and find it way more convenient than utilizing my OBDLink LX and either Torque or OBDLink.

 

[NorthStar]

You cant believe everything that you read . While the CTS3 does not directly support the Gen3 motor like my CTS2 did, you have to use the OBDII names as opposed to some custom names that the Gen2 had but other than that it works perfectly.

I think what some people think of as "flakey" is the DPF % which works well both increasing and decreasing during passive regens but once it trips into an active regen cycle it goes directly to 100% and stays there until the filter is clean. That means that if you shut off your engine prior to finishing the regen, the next time you start it it will still be at 100% even if some cleaning had occurred. It will not reset until the DPF is clean.

I'm very happy with mine and find it way more convenient than utilizing my OBDLink LX and either Torque or OBDLink.

Thanks for the tip as I will dig out my CTS3 and give it a shot. I misread and understood it didn't work but knowing different now will try it. I utilize it primarily to keep a eye on soot mas and when in regen so I don't shut it down. Granted, there are other signs of regen (smell, temp, etc.) but it's nice to know when it's done and safe to shut down. After all these years of Ecodiesels, one would think they would have a light on the dash to let you know you were in regen instead of relying on a third party device.

 

[Richard320]

I do, and I don't even have a diesel!

If it's really hot out I always let the engine idle a bit before shutting it down. Always have. Even rental cars. We got a Grand Cherokee as our "Midsize car" once in Las Vegas and we took it to Death Valley. It was 122F that day. Pulling the grade up to Dante's View, the needle was climbing. I let the others out and told them to leave the doors open while I sat inside with the heater on until the radiator fan finally shut off. All around me cars would pull up and shut off and just about the time the people got out and gathered their cameras, the radiator caps would start venting. Then the reservoirs would overflow. There were puddles of coolant all over that parking lot. I didn't have much sympathy for the guy who turned the key and got only a click from a heat-soaked and stuck starter. He could have waited twenty minutes when he arrived but instead he got to wait three or four hours when he wanted to leave.


Just so you know, @nc_beagle , shutting off the AC lets any ice buildup on the evaporator melt and drain out, which is supposed to reduce mildew and odors. It's a good practice, because it does seem to work that way in my experience.

 

[Fuzznutz]

It definitely depends on how it's been driven before shutdown. I had egt Guage in most of my diesels. So I can tell you on a daily trip to work which was 17 miles at 65 mph, but by the time I got close, and the last half mile slow and easy with stop lights and turns, the egts were as low as they were gonna get by the time I parked. Didn't matter how long I idled. Now pulling a load, coming straight off the road from 75 mph to a fuel station, yes I'd let it idle a bit before shutdown.

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[AdamChandler]

It's really a shame to see RAM recommending idling before shut-down. Volkswagen's turbocharged vehicles made after 2015 have a coolant cycle pump that runs after you turn the car off. This coolant moves around and cools things down pretty well. it runs for about 60 seconds.

The fact my 2021 says "idle the engine and contribute more smog to the environment" before turning it off is something I can't really believe regulators are allowing. I'm not a tree-hugger but a motor that moves coolant is far better user experience & environmental than "sorry guys, I can't go in the restaurant yet, I have to idle my truck for 2.5 minutes"

 

[bill-e]

Using VW and environmental in the same sentence ...Ha!

 

[AdamChandler]

Using VW and environmental in the same sentence ...Ha!

sorry to get semantic but I didn't. I'm saying that Volkswagen and other turbocharged combustion engines from other companies have a motor that makes idling not essential. It takes care of the cool down for you.

This isn't exclusive to Volkswagen but VW didn't invent this...garret/honeywell/etc probably did and RAM is being cheap here by asking their owners to actually read the owners manual and be responsible for idling their motor for as much as 2 minutes before turning it off.

Given how many questions I see asked here that are covered in our manual, I'm going to say that almost no EcoDiesel owner is going to do this and RAM is doing their customers a dis-service burying it in a 500 page owners manual when an $18,000 VW Golf has had this function for 7 years and RAM should just include it.

So ignoring the tree-hugging aspects, RAM needs to ask less of their owners, not more.

...the reason why I'm acting a bit impassioned here is because I read my entire owners manual front to back when waiting on my truck to arrive and I somehow missed this section and I"m pretty pissed off about it. I just did 2200 miles of full payload hauling of two cruiser motorcycles and never once idled the truck when arriving at a destination. I'm the kind of owner who follows these things to the T but this is something so important that everyone should know. so I'm not happy this is randomly buried in the huge owners manual.

 

[bill-e]

I don't usually idle mine since I always tow a camper and spend a few minutes driving slow and jockeying it into it's final resting place and that always seems to be enough time to drop the temps.

And as said above by someone, getting off the highway and doing some slower speed driving cools things down fast so you probably didn't hurt anything and I've never seen the topic brought up in any of the turbo replacement threads over the last 6 years....of which there were very few by the way.

 

[nc_beagle]

sorry to get semantic but I didn't. I'm saying that Volkswagen and other turbocharged combustion engines from other companies have a motor that makes idling not essential. It takes care of the cool down for you.

This isn't exclusive to Volkswagen but VW didn't invent this...garret/honeywell/etc probably did and RAM is being cheap here by asking their owners to actually read the owners manual and be responsible for idling their motor for as much as 2 minutes before turning it off.

Given how many questions I see asked here, I'm going to say that almost no EcoDiesel owner is going to do this and RAM is doing their customers a dis-service burying it in a 500 page owners manual when an $18,000 VW Golf has had this function for 7 years and RAM should just include it.

So ignoring the tree-hugging aspects, RAM needs to ask less of their owners, not more.

...the reason why I'm acting a bit impassioned here is because I read my entire owners manual front to back when waiting on my truck to arrive and I somehow missed this section and I"m pretty pissed off about it. I just did 2200 miles of full payload hauling of two cruiser motorcycles and never once idled the truck when arriving at a destination. I'm the kind of owner who follows these things to the T but this is something so important that everyone should know. so I'm not happy this is randomly buried in the huge owners manual.

I just happened upon it when I was looking for something else or I'd never have noticed it. It does seem like it would just be a software thing to have the truck continue the cooldown process after you press the stop button, if it needs to.

Like I said in my original post, a brief cooldown idle has been ingrained in me since my first car, but I never would have thought to idle for two minutes after traveling under heavy load.

 

[bill-e]

If you're a techie kind of person buy yourself a gauge or use an OBDII reader and Smartphone and monitor your EGT's. It will become quite obvious to you that it would be wise to let it cool down a bit rather than shut it off at 800° after towing. Everything gets real hot from the Turbo inlet through the emission system. If you turn it off in the middle of a regen your DPF can be over 1200°F.