Ok so my peach of a truck is giving me fits when it comes to its first start in the morning. For example it was 52* this morning and it took three tries to get it to fire. Once it fires it runs fine, no smoke or smell or anything. There is no oil in the fuel bowl or anything else that seems out of the ordinary. Right now the truck has a stancor relay in it and 8 brand new glow plugs.... any idea why this POS is being such a PIA to fire in the morning?

After the 1st start it will fire up fine for the rest of the day...

Any ideas? I know there are a million possibilities. TIA!

 

What is your oil? How many miles on your oil and injectors? Have you tried unplugging the ICP on your first start?

 

i would check the batters and the grounds.

 

All fleet 15w40, about 100 miles old. Injectors have 95k on them.

Forgive the stupid question but how would I go about unplugging the ICP?

I will double check but the batteries are a year and half old or so old.

 

Like a bra.

Lift and separate.

 

Just pi**in in the wind here without data but imma gonna suspect low icp or low batt voltage.

 

the question to the puzzle is, 'What would make it hard to start in the morning and fine the rest of the day'. If it was cooler or cold, we would say, 'GPR or glow plugs'.... not cold, so we can cross that off. On the two sides of the scale are always 'Electrical' or 'Fuel'.

Does it crank over fast in the morning or slow and sluggish? A slow and sluggish starting in the morning, always seems to start better later in the day, as the engine is warm and the oil is warmed and thinner.

Do you have a way of reading for codes?

 

So just unplug and try to fire it up and see how it goes?

No codes (of course) according to my scan gauge 2 and no SES light. Truck spins over like normal. I actually have a fuel pressure gauge sitting in my shed waiting to be installed... might as well.

 

The truck will run fine/better with out it plugged it. It is a regulator. If it is not plugged in you (I think) will get full pressure. That is one way to check if it is bad (oil coming from the connection is another), unplug it and it will run ok without it. But don't leave it off or unfixed forever.

 

Ok, I will give it a whirl.

Thanks guys!

 

Once a diesel is warmed up, the fuel ignites much easier (remember, no spark... just pressurized air and atomized fuel).

A proper multiweight oil doesn't get thinner with heat. The base weight (cold) is the thinnest and the additives actually "thicken" the oil as it warms. 15-40 has a base weight of 15. Many synthetics have a base weight of 5. When the engine is cold, a heavier oil does not play well with a HEUI injection system. Many people keep thinking gasser: "Oil is just for lube." Nope. High oil pressure squeezes the fuel out of the injector... so the oil is the show on our 7.3L Powerstrokes.

 

Ok folks update...

This morning, about 45* or so when I went to fire the truck up, unplugged the ICP tired to fire the truck... no change still cranked for 30 seconds for nothing. Plugged the ICP back in, cranked for 30 seconds... oil pressure gauge went up and the ICP started reading pressure (250-400) on my scan gauge but didn't start. Finally on the third attempt (again) it fired up.

Back out the drive way and give it some throttle... all hell breaks lose. IPR shoots up to 30 at idle and the truck has a SES light and is idling like crap. I limp the truck down to a shop down the street to see if I can get someone to hit it with a code reader, diesel guy won't be in for another half hour. Fire it up at the shop, only takes one crack but did take 10-12 seconds before it fired but the SES light is gone and the truck idles and runs totally fine. Drive it down to the dealership down the street since their service department opens at 7, to see if I can get a scanner to the truck (my scan gauge 2 doesn't read a code) and of course they refuse to come outside with the scanner for "insurance" reasons but they would love for me to make an appointment.

Anyways fire the truck back up, same deal take 10-12 seconds but fires. Go to Honey Dew Donuts cause after this morning I needed a donut, unplug the ICP in the parking lot with the truck running... no change in idle. SES light pops up on the dash. Plug the ICP back in and shut the truck off, now the oil is 195* so it fires just fine. Get to work, unplug the ICP there is a change in how the truck idles, almost a slight surge, then smooths right out again a SES light pops up.

Any thoughts, advice or interpretative dance would be appreciated! TIA.

 

One other thing is there any way to test the IPR? Thanks.

 

Delay on oil pressure? What's your oil level? This is an IPR, LPOP, ICP sensor, or HPOP issue. Focusing on the oil will help to reduce a lot of other questions and guesses. You need 500 PSI ICP just to start. The fact that the truck is stubborn to start with the ICP unplugged almost eliminates the ICP sensor as a suspect. The LPOP shows up on the dash gauge. Low oil level or bad LPOP will give every symptom you descripe. Are there bubbles on the oil dipstick?

 

Last time I checked it, about a week ago, it was fine right in the middle of the hash marks. No bubbles. But I will check again today...

Thanks again guys.