That's what I've been doing. Christmas light timer seems to work well enough. It's only on for about 2.5 hours in the early morning before I leave for school.

 

My electricity is $.03 per kilowatt/hour, and I still use a timer - it extends the life of the block heater.

Side note: I found an extension cord with a locking end. Flip the lever on the socket end of the extension cord and it really grips the plug - this is better than the friction-grip cords I've been using. The wear on both plug and socket is usually due to moisture and arcing. I'll get the information on the cord and share it here.

 

Remember, the WTS light is meaningless. The GPR can run for around two minutes AFTER the WTS light is off. Install an LED in dash hooked to the cold side of the relay, then you know when the glow plugs have done their job. When the light turns off, the GPR has shut off. Easier on your batteries too.

 

I was just wondering if your glow plug relay is working. You shouldn't have to use a block heater at 45 degrees to get a clean start without white smoke .

 

I know that. Usually I need to wait 30ish or more seconds before I go ahead and crank it, but since it was plugged in I said to hell with it and just tried.
The LED light idea is not bad. What would be super cool would find a way to mount it behind the WTS light. A good afternoon project I'll have to try.

I've tested it in the past, maybe it's time to test it again. I was thinking one of these mornings I'll cross the relay with a jumper cable for 30 seconds then start. See if there's any change and make sure my relay is really doing its job.

 

This is what I was wondering also. The truck shouldn't have any problem starting in 40 degree temps regardless of oil or not being plugged it.

It's time to start double checking your parts and verify that everything is still functioning properly.

For the GP LED, it's not an afternoon project. Once you have the wire and light it should only take 30-45 minutes to install. It's that easy. The hardest part is picking where you want the light to be. I put mine next to the bottom gauge in my 3 gauge pillar. It was in plain sight and didn't blind me on those dark cold mornings

 

Only my 2 cents: I have 2000 f350, 350K+mi, original factory injectors, glow plugs and relays. Only parts of engine not factory original is oil pan, cps, alernator and compressor wheel. I have only ever used 15w-40 because that's what the engineers that built the engine recommend (basic 7.3 been around since 88' powerstroke since 94'). Oil change at least every 5k, pull 14k dump trailer, car trailer etc, I never plug in unless below 20, when I do its only for an hour or two before starting. My truck runs as good now as the day I bought it, always starts cold or hot, sounds great/runs great, never an issue, never failed to start, never left me stranded... Ive traveled extensively and have regularly been 1000's mi from home in -0 weather with no block heater and can grantee that it will start without issue and on the opposite end 100+ deg with no issue. Ive listened to "oil debates" for over a decade now and have tried a few myself but my own personal results in 14yrs and 300k+ mi tell me that plain old dino-15-40 has always worked well... I've also used diesel kleen every 2-3 tanks since Ive owned it.

 

Checked the GPR this morning and it's good. Showing a difference of .04 volts between posts, when I cross it with a jumper cable there is no change. I had my brother help me this morning, I timed the amount of time the relay was on, 57 seconds at 53° cold in the morning. I had him turn it over the second the relay clicked off. It started like a dream despite the horrible romps (a need to start it on high idle to avoid them) and white smoke for about 30 seconds. But no problem firing what so ever so I think the plugs are working great.
I really think it's the 15w-40 oil slowing the injectors down and they are putting too much fuel in the engine causing the white smoke.

 

Try starting in neutral. If your transmission range sensor is not reading properly or if your shift mechanism is worn and not allowing the trs to read properly it can cause the romps.

 

Is it possible that these cause the smoke?

 

Romps in neutral too. Possible wiring issue? Any other ideas?

 

Found Rotella T6 synthetic 5w-40 on sale at O'Reilly for $17 a gallon!!! so gonna run the oil change once my truck is cool enough. You guys were saying that I get double the change life out of this oil, I don't have a bypass system and am not too thrilled with the idea of a $400 system. Can I just replace my full-flow filter at 3000 miles and keep the oil?

 

When I first started having the romping problem there were several threads about this. Some people recommended starting in neutral which worked for me. Others recommended changing to 5w40 which worked for some people so your oil change may fix or at least mask your problem. Mine went away when I had my had my shift mechanism repaired to get rid of the slack in the shifter. keep us posted and good luck.

 

The one and only reason I switched to Delo 5w40 synthetic, was because of the romps. Mine would occasionally romp at temps up to 65F, but rather frequently at any temp below 45F. It definitely makes a huge difference in cold starts. If it weren't for that single reason , I would have stayed with the Delo 400 15w40. I use that in my boat and my Mercedes. It's great oil at a great price. My OA's always came back great on it too.

 

Binuya I agree with you. If I lived in a warmer climate then I would run 15-40 year round. Since the temps very so much here I run oil that allows my injectors and hpop to live.