Given how much talk there is online on Facebook, forums and on Reddit about the killer grid heater bolt, especially in the last seven or eight years, it’s easy to think that it’s one of those vastly overblown and overreported things that manufacturers of parts talk about to sell stuff. Banks, for example, has been talking about the killer grid heater bolt since 2017, which is when its Monster Ram elbow came out that eliminates the point of failure.
When did this start?
Rather than this being a case of a company manufacturing a problem to sell their solution, it seems like the grid heater bolt issue has just remained an underground problem for so long that it seems like nobody had heard of it before 2017, but this likely has more to do with RAM not acknowledging the problem with a recall. With a little digging, it’s not hard to find evidence of this problem as early as 2013 in forums like CumminsForum and Reddit.
When did we understand the problem?
Most folks were speculating as to the exact cause of the failure, but in 2019 we got a helpful video from YouTuber Marion Blair that took a pretty serious look at the problem, rather than just fanning the flames for one side or the other. He pinned the issue on the poor electrical connection between the grid heater bolt and the busbar causing the bolt to spark-erode or melt over time and weaken. It makes sense when you consider that the grid heater draws upwards of 220 amps.
To be really safe, that kind of current would require a 4/0 gauge stranded copper cable to be safe if you were sizing a battery cable, for example. The grid heater bolt is a steel M8 which is around ⅓ of an inch thick while that cable is nearly ½-inch thick and made with a better conductor. Yes, some relays have failed in the ON position, which superheats the grid heater. But speaking with independent mechanics, only a small percentage of grid heater failures (melted fasteners) are accompanied by stuck relays. So, the problem appears to be more metallurgical than relay related.
Ram hangs us out to dry
In late 2021 Ram did issue a recall for just over 300,000 trucks for a sticking grid heater relay that could cause overheating or even a fire, but this didn’t directly address the problem with the bolt. This recall was as good as we got from Ram until it released the 2025 Cummins which ditched the grid heater entirely in favor of glow plugs.
Should you believe the internet?
Whether or not you believe that the grid heater bolt is as widespread and serious of an issue as the internet says is ultimately up to you. It’s your truck and your nearly-$30k engine and if you never have a problem, then you’ve saved yourself around $800. Congratulations. If you’re wrong, and your fastener does fail – something that gets more likely with every cold start and with every passing year – ultimately you’re on the hook for the repair bill.
Personally, I’ll bit the bullet and bought the Banks Monster Ram. Turns out the bolt was in relatively good shape. But the peace of mind is worth every penny.