So I've been having issues with starting my truck lately. It was really hard to turn over, would start really hard when it did and would blow some black smoke. Turns out my starter was bad so I replaced it with a DB Electric high torque starter. Now it starts up great... for the most part.

I'm still having some black smoke when it's a cold start and/or I have the key set to "On" to warm the glow plugs for a few seconds. It's almost like the starter is turning over the engine, but for the first few turns it sounds empty or hollow (at least that's the best way I can describe it). After the first turns it will sound normal how it's supposed to and will fire up shortly after but with some black smoke.

If my car is already warm it cranks right up without any smoke unless I have the key set to "On" for a few seconds to warm the glow plugs like I said earlier. Pretty much if I warm the glow plugs it makes it harder to start up for some odd reason.

Any insights on what might cause this or how to fix it? Maybe some of my glowplugs are going bad, or possibly my IDM? I used to have the P1670 code by itself, however, that went away when I replaced the starter. I also just replaced my camshaft position sensor just to be sure it wasn't going bad. I've also been having some boost pressure leaks if that's relevant at all.

Thanks in advance!

 

Fuel leaking into cylinder when pump pressures passages in head ?
Little diesel in the chamber would cause hard crank and over fuel initially.

 

I myself am leaning towards a leaky injector. I know someone who had a problem with the cylinder hydrolocking and never figured it out. Sold it and the next guy had it going within a day.

 

How long is the crank time? The truck should start with a 2-second crank - anything longer means you have issues. Black smoke with a cold start sounds very odd - it's typically grey, white, or blue when cold.

 

I've definitely seen some white/grey smoke in the past but I can't tell if there it's blue or black since I'm always in the cab when I start it up. However whenever it does blow some smoke it takes longer than it should to turn over.

Small update I warmed up my glow plugs this morning, but I started cranking before the glow plug light shut off and it fired up like it should. No smoke.

That's what I'm thinking too, that there is some fuel leaking or being injected into cylinder or two before it should.

 

That WTS light is just a reminder, glow plugs will remain on for 90 or 120 seconds (I forget which) when it gets cold out and they will remain on even after the engine is running.

 

Warmed your glow plugs up and cranked before WTS went out? I'm reading this as "I cycled the key once, then cranked early on the second turn." If this is the case, how long did you warm the glow plugs?

Here's my crank on a cold morning with a decent GP warming interval:

 

I wish that mine started like that. Once I get back at it and get it back together that's my next target.

 

I've found the most effective ritual is to get in, turn the key to "On", buckle up, and then turn over the engine. The glow plug light is usually still on by this point however. Doing it this way has minimized the amount of black smoke on start, but there still is a little.

I'm also in Texas so I don't know if it will work once it gets colder out.