Howdy guys. I struggled with a high altitude, cold start issue for the last couple of years and just wanted to share my findings and what corrected the issue for me. I don't post often, but this one bothered me enough to want to share. The truck: 2002 F250, 200K miles. Typical no-start, cold complaint: below @ 35'F, cranks indefinitely without starting, tons of white smoke out of the tail pipe. When camping, my solution was to put a small portable propane heater under the front axle for 1/2 hr before I needed to start it, and it started fine. But cold, particularly above 5K' elevation, it would never start. I went through the typical checks and service: religious oil changes every 3K, GPM, glow plugs, solid grounds, two brand new Odyssey Extreme batteries with a good B+ signal to the module and to the GPs, all new battery cables with clean connections, new ICP etc... I live in a warm climate in CA, so this situation only presents itself when I go camping maybe 2-3 times a year, only in the winter, or for a month or two when it is @ 32'F and the truck is stone cold (parked overnight), a total of maybe 15 days a year. At all other times, she started fine, ran fine and had zero driveability issues, but those 15 mornings...good luck if I didn't put the heater under it.
I used Torque Pro to watch my HPOP pressures and I would always see 480-490 psi at a warm idle (stock 200K mile HPOP) and top out at @ 2600-2700 with a Hydra and 65hp daily tune (also intake and exhaust). She has always run very well. After a few weeks of running the Torque Pro app and specifically watching the HPOP pressures, I had a good feel for what was normal with her, and the pressures were virtually identical to my old Ex 7.3 with the same setup and a T500 with no cold start issues. I always thought that based on the numbers, she was a good performing pump. No long crank, no lack of power, etc... Torque Pro is not a great data logger, and the values are filtered and not a direct gauge reading, but at least I could see the ICP was working correctly and the pressures 'should' be about where they're supposed to be. When I hit 200k, I figured it was time to get some new injectors and with those, a new HPOP. I got FF 1.5s and an Adrenaline HPOP. (In retrospect, I think a manual gauge may have shown the low pressure situation when ice cold...but I used what I had).
I haven't put the sticks in yet, but the HPOP went in about a week ago. I've been watching the Torque Pro app and based on the numbers, you wouldn't know anything was different from the old pump: 480-490 warm idle, with @ 2700psi @ full load. Virtually identical numbers...with one changed characteristic: she fires noticeably faster when starting. Instead of a 2 second-ish crank, it is now about 50% of that. It is significantly shorter. Faster than it's ever fired. Just like with the T500 in my old Ex, it took about 50-100 miles for this new pump to work all the air out, but when it did...it really changed the starting characteristic. I didn't record the actual cranking time.

It's been very cold in the AMs so I parked outside and let her get good and cold overnight. Frosty cold, @ 29'F today. A definite scenario for the no-start cold condition. I've done this every day this week, and she's fired up with a 2-3 second crank. I was so bold that I didn't let the GP cycle this AM and just hopped in and started cranking her to see if she'd fire. Fired right up.
The cold start issue is cured with this HPOP. I still plan on installing the FF injectors, but I thought I'd pass this along in case somebody else had the same cold starting problem that the usual fixes didn't seem to correct. Even though the Torque Pro numbers seem to indicate a solid HPOP, that may not be the case when cold/old as there is a delay in the data transmission... Deadheading with a manual gauge might have shown the problem, but the Torque Pro did not. Hope this information is useful to somebody in the same situation down the road.

I don't post here often but it's the best forum with the most knowledgeable and friendly folks around, and I appreciate every one of you guys who have contributed to my 7.3 journey along the way.
Have a Merry Christmas.

 

Interesting, I too am chasing a very similar scenario. Starts fine when 50* or above, may blow some smoke depending on temperature. When it gets in the 30's to low 40's it won't bust off. If I plug it in for 30 minutes it will bust off but blow some smoke that is unburnt fuel. I have a new GPR and fuel pump and am about to test the glow plugs...

 

Yeah, there's a lot more to the cold start problem than, "Did you change the GPR?" sometimes, that's for sure. If you can get a gauge on one of those HPOP hoses and deadhead the other (I'm guessing that's the procedure, but could be wrong), I'd bet you could rule out, or narrow the diagnosis down quite a bit real quick.

 

Thanks for sharing; I have a issue like this also. I have not had the solid no start or white smoke issue. But I do have long cranking before starting when cold. I have suspected the HPOP, it has 294,000 miles. I'm seriously thinking about doing the HPOP with all new lines, fitting and doing the valve cover gaskets and injector wiring harness. All just for preventive maintenance.

 

I think it's worth it. I'm constantly amazed at how long things last on these trucks. I went through a ton of maintenance stuff on my old 7.3 Excursion at 200K, thinking everything was on the brink of wearing out. 38R, T500, every seal and o-ring, boots, etc... After I sold it, a contractor came by the house with 390K on his f350. I said, "Did you go through all of the maintenance stuff? HPOP, turbo, etc...? Have you replaced the transmission?". He said, "I don't know what that stuff is." I haven't touched it since I bought it in '03 other than change the oil and fuel filter. Never had a problem other than it leaks oil, and I beat the living hell out of it every single day".

 

Interesting!! So do you think the fresh pump just makes a better seal or something??

Were you able to confirm ICP was not adequate during cold start attempts?

Ive got several sets of cores if you want to sell your ‘good, used injectors’. PM for price.

 

I actually replaced the ICP with an OEM new one just to see if it made a difference, but it did not. I'm convinced this pump cured my issue, despite the Torque Pro indicating identical operation. I wasn't able to get that cold crank ICP value, however, and I think that would have been the tell-tale indicator to compare the two pumps. Operating pressures are only part of the equation, I think. How quickly they come on-line to that operating pressure is definitely another factor.
I didn't realize that the cores have to go back to Full Force within 21 days of receipt (HPOP and injectors), or they start taking $25/day from the core deposit. I am working 12 hrs a day through mid-January and the truck is my only car right now, so I shot them an e-mail and asked if I should just keep the cores (injectors and pump). They were very nice and offered to extend the return window to the end of January. It's $625 I think...no small amount, so I have to send them back, but they do work great. Fired up in frosty conditions this AM (@ 30'F), just like any other morning, no more cold start issues at all, so far. I did have to pull the Hydra and send it back to FF for programming for the single shots, but it runs just and operates just like it did when I bought it, though believe it or not, the injectors are a little quieter now with the new pump.

 

30'F...Frosty.

 

True, lol.