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Cold weather start

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Old Jan 1, 2011 | 11:35 AM
  #1  
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From: Bozeman, Montana
Cold weather start

I re did the whole glow plug system this summer and the truck starts fine most of the time and its always plugged in when super cold. The problem is last night I got stuck in my driveway and was to far from the house to plug it in it got to negative 45 last night and now i cant start it. I have tried everything i know of including starter fluid which i really hate to use. Any ideas or tricks on getting this thing started now? It starts to turn over but as soon as you let off the key it dies. i dont want to burn my starter up either. The only thing i know to do now is to start a fire with burgetts and let them go out to just puttin off heat to warm the bottom of the motor up.
 
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Old Jan 1, 2011 | 11:46 AM
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Is it still too far away from 120V to plug it in?
 
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Old Jan 1, 2011 | 11:58 AM
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Get a generator
 
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Old Jan 1, 2011 | 01:59 PM
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Are you running any sort of additive? Maybe your fuel gelled up? If its catching, but dying, that would be my worry. Also, please do not use ether. If that stuff gets in contact with a glow plug, your gonna have larger issues than not getting it started when its that cold out. If your gonna use ether, you really should unplug the gpr so no power is getting to the glow plugs. Which really defeats your purpose here.
 
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Old Jan 1, 2011 | 02:34 PM
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Got a propane heater? Maybe tow it closer to the house with a 4 wheeler or something
 
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Old Jan 1, 2011 | 03:39 PM
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How long are you cranking it for?
 
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Old Jan 1, 2011 | 04:02 PM
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Connect the heater hoses between your truck and another vehicle that runs to heat up the engine. I have never done it, sounds like a pain but should work.
 
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Old Jan 1, 2011 | 04:35 PM
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I've done that before in the army in Korea. It worked.

-45 and not much is gonna want to start too easy but here's a couple tips.

1st, it's a waste of electricity to plug it in more than 3 hours or so before you start it.

2nd never use ether!

3rd put some power service or some brand of winter additive in the tank now double dose and a little in the fuel filter.

4th hook up jumper cables to something that is running and turn the key on. watch your amp gauge for when the glow plugs turn off then turn the key off and back on again after a few seconds. It should be about 2 minutes each time. At the end of the second cycle turn the key off again then start it. That should get the cylinders warm enough to light.
 
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Old Jan 1, 2011 | 04:50 PM
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yeah, if the GP system is working, just cycle the glow plugs 5 or 10 times.

That should warm things up pretty well.
 
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Old Jan 1, 2011 | 05:14 PM
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Thanks guys I got it. It was too far away from any outlet to be plugged in. I hate usin ether too i dont need to bend a rod or anything but sometimes dont have a choice. Couldnt tow it any closer cause there was a skid steer stuck in the drive way in front of it which started the whole problem to begin with. I do run power service but at that temp it just wouldnt start. I got a propane torch and also lit my bbq pit up under neath the motor and with that the torch and the sun comin out it ended up startin 4 hours later
 
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Old Jan 1, 2011 | 09:02 PM
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them damn skid steers start harder than the trucks.

No glow plugs usually and just intake air heater. =(
 
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Old Jan 1, 2011 | 09:17 PM
  #12  
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glad you got it started i couldnt imagine anything starting in -45. i dont know if it was ur gps or fuel, but if it was ur fuel they make something called diesel kleen 911. its for situations just like that, iirc its a super concentrated additive that you pour strait into your fowl bowl to help with super cold situations.
 
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Old Jan 1, 2011 | 09:27 PM
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I think he meant -4 to -5.
but .. i could be wrong.

-45 is like arctic circle temps.
 
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Old Jan 1, 2011 | 09:28 PM
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From: Ashland City, TN
maybe -45 C.
which is like somewhere in the -10 to -20 range.
 
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Old Jan 1, 2011 | 11:00 PM
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Bozeman Montana, I could see -45 there.
 
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