Will Not Start When Temp is Below 45
Get a mild heat source like a hair dryer and point it at various components until individually warmed, try starting after each item. When the truck starts, you've found your trouble source. For what it's worth, a worn ignition switch can cause this issue. The contacts inside are spring loaded. Worn switches when cold will not make contact, usually on the "run" circuit, but occasionally the "start" circuit. The hair dryer held on the starter switch will expand the springs if they are overly-contracted or the contacts are overly worn. This technique helps you easily find or rule out the switch as well as other components. Be sure to not be in an ambient temperature-increasing situation like morning headed towards midday, since you can be thwarted by natural warming of the components. Also, don't put the vehicle into a heated building during troubleshooting for the same reason.
Credit where credit is due to my father who was a mechanic/flight engineer/top turret gunner on B-17s during WWII. He was trained in this problem and an emergency technique taught to them was to warm components with their heated bunny suit gloves, and even their bare hands and breath if no other heat source was available. Nearly 36 years later as a 16 yr old I was at the farm in extreme North Missouri on super cold winter day and the '67 F100 would turn over great, but not start. I called him at his architectural office in Kansas City and described the problem to him. Sitting there in his warm office he calmly and in precise B-17 repair manual technical terms (Switch, ignition, dash mounted) guided me through the components most likely to cause the problem, including the ignition switch. After I warmed it with my hand, VROOM, voila, problem found! Thanks, again, Pop, after all these years. RIP... Darned freshly cut onions. Misting my eyes up again.






