Its my first "cold" season with my 97 PSD. Temps were in the low 30's the past 2 days and the truck has had difficulty starting up. Before i simply blame my injectors (287k on what I believe to be originals) I had a few questions

1.When I put the ignition and the WTS comes on/then off, do the glow plugs remain on? If so, how long?

2. How quickly should the truck fire up? It took me a couple glow plug cycles (I turned the ignition off/on 3-4 times just to make sure the glow plugs were firing) and it finally came to life.

What is your startup procedure? I'm curious to know what others do.

 

The glow plugs stay on for about 2 minutes on average, from what I hear. I usually just turn the key, wait a good 30 count after the WTS light turns off, and crank for 10 seconds MAX.

If it doesn't start, I do the same thing again. Usually it starts after the second attempt when it is that cold.

If you try to crank it for longer than 10 seconds, you could start wearing out your starter (over time), or kill the batteries before the truck fires.

 

What Jarrett says. Turning the key off then back on doesn't do any good. For a minute and a half to two minutes the glow plugs run. After the wait to start light goes off, try waiting for 30 seconds before turning the key to start. If it doesn't start then you probably need new GP's. Is your GPR working?

 

Good advice, Ill do this from now on.

I assume my GPR is working since the truck starts up fine any other time above 32 degrees and cold. The truck fires up very quickly in any other scenario apart from being <32 degrees outside

 

Just after turning the key on you should hear a click and the alt needle drop on the gauge.

 

I'm going to test the GPR and Glowplugs and see if anything is bad. Its the one part of this truck I have not touched.

It's also worth noting a crap ton of whitesmoke pours out during the 3 crank attempts. I wonder if my GPR isnt working??

 

Try starting the way Glenn talked about first, then see how much white smoke is produced. Hot batteries and a properly functioning glow plug system is important during these winter months.

 

^^^^^ +1 above, except 30 seconds is probably more than you need. When we're unable to plug in, we usually do a 10- or 15-count after the WTS light goes off, before cranking. The other obvious takeaway is that you should NOT "cycle" the key the way you described. That just opens and closes the GPR, leading to an earlier failure.

Of course, the best option is to plug in the block heater. Not really needed at 32F, but it helps a LOT. Plus your cab heat will be better, quicker. It's also much better on the rotating assembly to have some heat in the engine on startup. When we plug in the block heater for, say, 3 hours at 20F, the EOT is between 70F and 80F at startup.

 

on a 27 degree day I just waited 15 seconds after WTS to go out


My volt gauge does drop when GPR is on


My GPs have been ohm'd out prior


and that with 305k injectors

 

These trucks should have no problem starting right up when properly maintained in 30* weather. You have some investigating to do.

Like mad said, couple of hours of plug in is always a good idea. Keeps the block, oil, coolant warm and provides heat much faster.

 

I forgot to plug my truck in last night so I took a video this morning . 7F, 295k on original injectors I start it as soon as wts goes off. Smokes for a couple minutes then clears up. I just put all new glow plugs in because of of low temp starting issues. All 8 I removed were bad.

https://youtu.be/_X61ZaELUFg

 

Thanks for posting this. Im going to ohm out my GP's and test the GPR today. I didnt drive the truck so I can test the GPR/GP's when I get back home.

I'll be sure to post my findings.

 

remove UVCH connector and ohm outer pins to ground when cold


Should have 1 ohm, any higher and its bad


you can measure all at once from GPR but its .125 ohm and some meters are not that accurate with a low reading.