So my truck has always been good cold starting, even if original (as far as I know) injectors with 304k miles on it. I have newer oem glow plugs, as well as unvh's. I also have the stancor/white Rodgers relay. I've recently been having some issues and cant track them down. Sometimes when you go to start it cold. It will start very hard, long crank, and lots of white smoke. I've also had a time where you've had to crank it multiple times. It generally runs good but has been searching for rpms. It will rev and move up and down on its own, idling and running. I also just put a new oem fuel pump in it. I have another new black CPS I'm going to put in as well as clean the ebp valve/tube. Any other ideas? The ipr and icp are also only a couple years old. Also the ses light hardly ever comes in so the scanning it hardly does any good. Any ideas? Thanks

 

What does it do if you plug it in? When I was where you are with it a new starter made the difference. If it's not spinning fast enough it just won't catch when it's cold.

 

 

Plugging it in does sound like a good idea. I haven't owned the truck since 215k, the PO didmt do any injectors but psi ly before that, although that would seem premature. I did replace the injector o rings about 3 years ago. I suppose that all the sudden one or 2 could be going bad but it seems like it happened really all the sudden. My problem is a fear theres multiple issues going on. It sucks because now I'm not sure I can trust it to take it far. I hate throwing parts at it but I'll start with plugging it in and the new cps and cleaning the ebp tube

 

Try unplugging your fuel bowl heater. Check the 42 pin wire harness for chafing on the DS valve cover. Check the pigtails to the IPR, ICP, EBPS and follow the wiring back into the loom a couple inches

 

When you replaced the O-rings did you check the armature gap?

This can be done with injectors still in the engine.
They sell spacers to adjust the gap.

 

No i never adjusted anything on them, i wasent aware that was something you could do. I did plan on putting a new pigtail on the ICP because the grommet is gone and makes the connection a bit loose, although im not sure if thats really causing a problem

 

Check to make sure your gpr is actually transferring the power. Then, make sure your gp's are good.
my new to me installed voltmeter led me to bad gp's. The volts wouldnt drop. After realizing my manually operated switched gpr WAS transferring the power, with all bad gp's, the volts would still remain the same..my switch gpr is because the pcm is not signaling a ground to activate it when needed

 

I had a similar cold start problem earlier this year.
Truck would turn over but the RPM's were low and get slower the longer I held the key at start.
It sounded a lot like batteries to me. I threw two new batteries at it and same problem, slow cranking.
I then checked all the cables/wiring to the starter including a new GPR (still throwing parts at it) That all checked fine.
Put a brand new rebuilt Motorcraft starter in it and boom, starts with no problem now. Mine was the original starter @ 135,000 miles.
I had NO white smoke at my no starts, so not sure if yours is similar to my issues but just throwing it out there.
How old is your starter?

 

The good folks here have already given you some great places to look, but you asked for ideas... so here goes:

Does it turn over at the same speed as usual, or slower than when it has previously started just fine? Can you monitor your battery voltage at rest, and system voltage when cranking? If it starts eventually without killing the batteries, I wouldn't suspect voltage or starter.

What oil are you running? Oil level full? HPOP reservoir full? What outside air temps is this happening at? How does it hot start? Run okay once warm, or does it continue to "hunt" when fully warmed up? Does it continue to hunt under load, driving?

Was that to address this issue, or did the current issue start after replacing the fuel pump? When did this issue begin related to when the new FP went in? Had it been running okay with the new FP before it got cold out? Was the fuel filter changed when the pump was swapped out? Do you have a fuel pressure gauge?

Some codes are "soft", and won't set the SES - they can be valuable diagnostic clues nonetheless. With the age of these trucks, having a quality scanning tool and program (such as Forscan) will become more and more valuable as they age - not just to check codes, but to monitor engine vitals both when things are going fine as well as when there are issues. Some OBDII data would aid in diagnosis in this instance, if only to let us know that the electronics are working okay and we don't have to suspect sensors or electronic communication issues. Being able to monitor ICP would also add a piece to the puzzle. Knowing what RPM the starter is turning the motor at would be another good data point.

My guess is that if it does eventually start without running down the batteries but then hunts at idle, the issue isn't with batteries or starter; I'd suspect a consistent fuel supply to the cylinders. That can be caused by a ton of things, not the least of which could be the PCM commanding it to run that way based on bad information it's receiving from sensors or connection/ground issues. But also fuel pressure, air in the fuel system, HPOP output, high oil viscosity in cold weather, and others. If it were me (and I didn't have electronic diagnostic tools), I'd be all over making sure there is no air in the fuel system and I had adequate fuel flow/pressure. If it runs fine and starts fine when hot, I'd suspect oil viscosity as a contributing factor. The older the injectors, the less it takes to trip them up.

Please keep us updated...

 

so last night my brother plugged it in and it started fairly good and just idled it. It sounded almost like a miss but not horrible. Today I plugged it in (only for an hour, but I'm gona try it later) and this was the result. Sounded like it might start/sputter then acted like no sputtering at all

https://youtu.be/QQSkgn0le2Q

now to answer some question above. I'm running 15-40 but have ran it all winter since I've owned it with no issues. I didnt change the full filter because it had less than 1000 miles on it. I dont have a gauge although I wish I did. I only changed it because I thought it could be a factor and it's original so I figured is replace it anyway. My fear is its multiple issues. The starting issue and the randomly running weird issue. The ses light rarely comes on. I can try forscan again but the last couple times really had no relevant codes. Also the starter has been rebuilt within the last 2-3 years. To recap, the list of things that have been done with the last 3-4 years. Ipr, icp, uvch, stancor gp relay, glow plugs, injector o rings, I've done a bunch of other things but as far as sensor type things I think that's it (all oem, no junk btw). Again this is frustrating because this truck has been great and has always started good cold and now it seems like multiple issues. My brother (which drives the truck a lot) just wants it fixed and is willing to throw some money at it but I honestly dont know where to start. Thanks again

 

 

It's turning over fast enough, it isn't the starter and it isn't the batteries. Good advice in Colorado's post.

 

The wait to start was on. I just started recording after. But I think I found atleast the starting issue. I already tested the relay once and I got power and it also started fine. I went and checked it tonight and zero power on the other side of the post. On the constant 12v side you can see the power drop but you cant hear the relay click and no power. And again this is the "ultimate fail proof stancor/white rodgers" relay. I'm wondering if this was hit or miss and what has caused some weird starting problems in the past because all th4 sudden if you kept turning the key on eventually it would start fine. So I guess saying that. The first thing I need is a new relay.

 

Try using an old screwdriver or other device and jump the 2 relay posts for about 20 to 30 secs and see if starts. Will verify not heating the glow plugs. Next check the small terminal for ground signal when key is turned on. Might not be a bad relay, might not be getting the required signal