OK, I've got the sig PSD truck moving under it's own power (clutch fragged) so now I want to attack the hard starting. It always starts up but takes extended cranking, about 5-7 seconds. When it starts running, it runs fine, you can start driving immediately, and there is no smoke, truck has gobs of power out on the road. If it is fully warmed up it starts better but maybe not as fast as I think it should, perhaps 2-3 seconds cranking. If you start it up, turn it off, and then try to restart, it still needs extended cranking. Here's what I have done so far, most of this was not to chase the hard starting, it's just getting up to speed on the maintenance with a new-to-me truck:

- Changed oil Mobil Delvac 15-40W, Motorcraft filter
- Changed fuel filter, Purolator
- Changed CPS with IH 1876736C91 (dark grey with purple o-ring)

Here's what I have checked with regards to the hard-starting:

- Checked GPR, works correctly, 11.2V to GPs
- Unplugged EOT sensor, no change
- Unplugged ICP sensor, no change
- Monitored cranking voltage, 11.3V

Tonite I want to to the following but have questions:

- Check GPs but wouldn't I have white smoke if this was the problem?
- Load test batts but with 11.3V cranking, is this a waste of time?
- Check HPOP oil level but if drainback, wouldn't it start back up immediatly when tried a second time before engine is warm?

It seems as if fuel pressure is slow coming on because when it starts, it doesn't "jump" to life like I would expect, it just kinda slowly starts running and takes over from the starter. What else should I be checking? I have no problem checking each and every thing but want to do it in the right order from most likely to least likely. TIA for any help.

 

Oh I forgot to add the truck has 228K miles on it and the ambient temps here in Texas are in the 90s during the day.

 

There are many others on here that know a whole lot more than me...but if I was trying to smoke this problem out in my yard I'd start with:

1) find someone with an AE scanner (shouldn't be too hard...)and a laptop close to you and get some baseline readings and to get readings from individual components

2) have the batteries load tested,

3) do a fuel volume test and measure fuel pressure, and

4) check HPOP for oil level...should be within an inch of the plug (IIRC).

When all of the above are in place and are within specs:

4) direct jump of GP using a screwdriver (though w/ ambients of 90, I doubt this is the problem)

This sounds like a battery/fuel problem to me, FWIW. Good luck!

 

Call in the dogs! I just found the problem. This is a lesson for folks like me who think they can listen to an engine and decide that it's cranking fast enough. Loose pos. battery cable is the verdict. This truck has an aftermarket terminal on the driver's side battery where the two positive cables come together with allen-head lock screws to secure the cable ends to the terminal. When I went to remove this terminal end from the battery to do the load test, one cable fell out. I found the allen-head screws stripped out and loose. I replaced them with bolts and cleaned the cable ends and tighted them down. Viola! Starts now in 1 sec. or less.

I had measured cranking voltage on this battery at 11.3V but no wonder, this one was not carrying a full load. I am still shocked it made such a huge difference. Cranking speed sounds about the same as before but I guess now there is more voltage left over to kick off the electronics? Anyway, wow, that sure feels good. Now I have the rest of the evening to drink beer on my victory!

 

I'm a little late, but glad you got it fixed. I'm Northwest of Leander and armed with AE if you ever need a hand. Here's a link to some decent connectors if you want to put a permanent fix on those cable ends.
Quick Cable: Connectors

 

Hey, Izzy, thanks for your offer. So, NW of Leander, are you at Seward's Junction? Liberty Hill?

 

I've only been around here 30+ yrs, you'd think I'd know where I was at. NW of Austin, West of Leander. I'm a "Creeker".

 

I had to ask a lady here at work who grew up in Leander what that meant - she told me, very sheepishly, "that means he lives out by me". So I know where you are now.

 

That's funny. Don't let that scare you, I was a Creeker long before it became a derogatory label.