Like a lot of places, were in the midst of a brutal cold snap and I'm having cold start issues. Being a newbie I don't want to damage my 89 7.3 by repeatedly unsuccessfully starting it in the cold. I just bought it so I don't know how the truck has been maintained by the PO. He hadn't changed the coolant in 4 years(or used SCA's ever) but he also didn't use the truck much(30K in 12 years). There is a bottle of Ether in the box and he said when it's cold "use the Ether." So that has me a little worried considering the block heater cord was pooched for who knows how long.

It's suppose to have 1 year old injectors, rebuilt IP, and controller. It idles right at 500rpm's with no noticeable fluctuating when it runs. It has sat for about a week in -40 to -50 weather waiting for me to install a new block heater cord. I got the cord installed today when it was a balmy -35. I wound up with a cold burn to my wrist from the starter housing in less than 3 minutes while I got the plug on the block heater. As soon as I plugged the new cord in I could hear the block heater starting to heat up. I left it plugged in for about 2-2.5 hours while I shoveled snow.

The PO just put in Walmart Everstart Maxx 850cca Group 65 batteries in October. I don't know the quality of Walmart batteries but if it was me I would have went with 1000cca batteries and likely a well known brand. I haven't timed it but the GP light goes off in less than 10 seconds. I turned it over for about 10-15 seconds and nothing. Seemed to be spinning up quick enough but wouldn't start. The next three times, after 10-15 seconds it would just start to fire but never catch. I could tell on the fourth try the batteries were dying even though the GP light was still about 10 seconds. The fifth try was dead batteries.

Is it likely just frozen batteries from the extreme temps? Junk batteries? Or is it likely fuel gelling or some other maintenance issue?

I put the chargers on them tonight for about 5 hours and both read fully charged but it was already midnight. I didn't try and start it because I wasn't going to be running it long enough to properly run the engine up to operating temps.

Were getting a dump of snow tomorrow so I need to get it running to plow with. The temps are suppose to go up to -15C/5F for the next 2 days but then go back down to -35C/-30F. Is there anything else I should be doing? At what temps are products like Diesel 911 recommended?

 

sounds like your on the right track, I would bet that your glow plugs are bad, using starting fluid tends to burn the tips off of them. I would check them using the instructions on the sticky thread.
I use starting fluid all the time so plug it and give it a shot it will start, You may want to unhook the glow plugs.

 

If it's the GP's I thought the "wait to start" light would take longer to go out?

 

If the light stays on 10 seconds it's not glow plugs, they stay lit for a shorter time as some burn out. That cold it's most likely gelled up bad.

 

I'm going to time them when I try and start it today after the snow stops. It's been plugged in for 6 hours and the temps are suppose to come up to about -15C/5F so hopefully it will start. I thought the shorter the time, the better the condition of the glow plugs. Your saying the shorter the "wait to start light" stays on, the worse shape your GP's are in? How many seconds would indicate a problem? Will adding a product like Diesel 911 to both full tanks still work or does it need to be added when filling up to mix it in the tank? When it gets warmer I want to start doing the basic maintenance and mods that help with starting like the fuel filter return line block.

 

Normal Glow time should be around 9 seconds. If one glow plug burns out the glow time typically drops to around 2-3 seconds. Just happened to me last month.

Your glow time sounds fine. The other thing you need to consider is fuel. Is the fuel filter full before you start cranking? If not then it is leaking out or back into the tanks as air is sucked back into the system while sitting. That can make for long cranks trying to get all the air out before the injectors can be pressured up. Start reading the threads here about hard starts. There are tons of them with lots of great suggestions

Bob

 

I've been reading up as much as I can find. From what I read, the fuel filter return line being blocked off would eliminate the leaking back into the tank? It sucks I got it in the middle of a bad cold snap. I'm working in my driveway so I can't leave my hands exposed for more than a few minutes or I get frostbite. I got a cold burn on my wrist just from it touching the starter housing for 2-3 minutes while I was getting the block heater plug on. The fuel filter looks new so I think water wouldn't be an issue but when it warms up I'm going to change it to be safe. I'm also getting some diesel cold weather treatment this weekend.

 

It was about -35C/-31F with the windchill this morning so I played it safe. I left it plugged in all day and it started on the first try. When I started it it was about -10C/14F. I timed the GP's and the "wait to start" goes off after 7 seconds. The truck was idling a little higher than normal (550-600rpm's). I hopped out to let it warm up and it started to sound like it was stumbling or missing. I checked the dash and the "fuel filter" idiot light was on. It smoothed out and then started to chug again. After a couple of minutes it seemed to be running fine so I checked the dash again and the fuel filter light was no longer on and never came back on while I was plowing. It idled right at 500rpm's for the rest of the time so I'm guessing there's water in the filter. I'm going to grab a fuel filter tomorrow and some fuel conditioner and hopefully that will fix the issue. Does it matter what filter I use? If there's something I'm missing please let me know. From what I read I need to fill the filter with fuel before I install it but is there any other procedures? Do I need something like Methyl Hydrate in case there's water in the tanks or just Diesel 911? Should I do the fuel filter return line block off?
Thanks.

 

If it makes you feel any better, my wife’s Volvo 240 had a tough time this morning!