Notices
1999 - 2003 7.3L Power Stroke Diesel  
Sponsored by:
Sponsored by: DP Tuner

Rough Cold Start

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old Jan 22, 2022 | 10:22 AM
  #31  
Picky1962's Avatar
Picky1962
5th Wheeling
5 Year Member
Liked
Joined: May 2016
Posts: 41
Likes: 5
From: Olathe, Kansas
Glad to hear this!! My wife figures if I don't have to make one extra trip for parts that I probably didn't do it right. LOL
 
Reply
Old Jan 22, 2022 | 03:16 PM
  #32  
T-wood's Avatar
T-wood
Laughing Gas
15 Year Member
Liked
Loved
Community Favorite
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 1,102
Likes: 153
From: Kansas City KS
Brady glad you got it, and thanks for reporting back.

Picky, im an Olathe guy. Born and raised. In fact im still here. I always tell people kc as noone recognizes Olathe.
 
Reply
Old Jan 22, 2022 | 06:48 PM
  #33  
kbeefy's Avatar
kbeefy
Cargo Master
20 Year Member
Liked
Loved
Community Favorite
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 2,332
Likes: 442
From: Eastern Washington
Originally Posted by BradyT88
​​​​​​​ GPR in: 11.15V
​​​​​​​ GPR out: 11.10V
That voltage drop is much better.

Your static voltage is still a little low, might be enough to slow the starter down enough to cause those initial romps.
I'm sure some 5w40 when the climate calls for it will smooth it the rest of the way out.

Congrats!
 
Reply
Old Jan 22, 2022 | 06:59 PM
  #34  
petrokiller's Avatar
petrokiller
Fleet Mechanic
10 Year Member
Liked
Loved
Community Favorite
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 1,408
Likes: 249
From: Ringgold, Ga
Brady not sure if it was mentioned before in the thread.

That wait to start only lights off for 15 seconds. Good practice on super cold start to wait 2 mins total.

Watch the clock or listen for the GPR to go off. Also watch your voltage jumps right back to 12+ when GPR turns off.

Waiting the extra 2 mins gives the starter full batt voltage also to do it's job better.

Glad you have it going your way.
 
Reply
Old Jan 22, 2022 | 07:01 PM
  #35  
Picky1962's Avatar
Picky1962
5th Wheeling
5 Year Member
Liked
Joined: May 2016
Posts: 41
Likes: 5
From: Olathe, Kansas
Awesome, small world!
 
Reply
Old Jan 22, 2022 | 09:18 PM
  #36  
kbeefy's Avatar
kbeefy
Cargo Master
20 Year Member
Liked
Loved
Community Favorite
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 2,332
Likes: 442
From: Eastern Washington
Originally Posted by Picky1962
Glad to hear this!! My wife figures if I don't have to make one extra trip for parts that I probably didn't do it right. LOL

I usually figure 3 trips. Less now as I get older and have a bigger pile of crap to rummage thru....
 
Reply
Old Jan 23, 2022 | 10:24 AM
  #37  
BradyT88's Avatar
BradyT88
Thread Starter
|
Mountain Pass
Photogenic
Liked
Loved
Community Favorite
Joined: Apr 2021
Posts: 130
Likes: 19
From: Idaho
 
Reply
Old Jan 23, 2022 | 11:30 AM
  #38  
BradyT88's Avatar
BradyT88
Thread Starter
|
Mountain Pass
Photogenic
Liked
Loved
Community Favorite
Joined: Apr 2021
Posts: 130
Likes: 19
From: Idaho
Originally Posted by petrokiller
Brady not sure if it was mentioned before in the thread.

That wait to start only lights off for 15 seconds. Good practice on super cold start to wait 2 mins total.

Watch the clock or listen for the GPR to go off. Also watch your voltage jumps right back to 12+ when GPR turns off.

Waiting the extra 2 mins gives the starter full batt voltage also to do it's job better.

Glad you have it going your way.
In the video in my first post I cycled the glow plugs twice, as in waiting the 2-3 minutes for the voltage to jump up indicating the glow plugs turned off. When they turned off the 2nd time I cycled the key again and then tried starting it after the wait to start light. I've had better luck with trying to start it while the glow plugs are on rather than with the extra voltage of them being off. My assumption is that when they are off the cold air being sucked in while trying to start the engine is cooling the cylinder back down rapidly.
 
Reply
FTE Stories

Ford Trucks for Ford Truck Enthusiasts

story-0

Top 10 Ford Truck Tragedies

 Joe Kucinski
story-1

AEV FXL Super Duty - the Super Duty Raptor Ford Doesn't Make

 Brett Foote
story-2

Lobo Vs Lobo: Proof the F-150 Lobo Should Be Even Lower!

 Michael S. Palmer
story-3

Ford's 2001 Explorer Sportsman Concept Looks For a New Home

 Verdad Gallardo
story-4

10 Best Ford Truck Engines We Miss the Most!

 Joe Kucinski
story-5

2026 Shelby F-150 Off-Road: Better Than a Raptor R?

 Brett Foote
story-6

2027 Super Duty Carhartt Package First Look: 12 Things You NEED to Know!

 Michael S. Palmer
story-7

10 Most Surprising 2026 Ford Truck Features!

 Joe Kucinski
story-8

Top 10 Ford Trucks Coming to Mecum Indy 2026

 Brett Foote
story-9

5 Best / 5 Worst Ford Truck Wheels of All Time

 Joe Kucinski
Old Jan 23, 2022 | 12:52 PM
  #39  
ESwift's Avatar
ESwift
CNCFAB
Joined: Apr 2020
Posts: 4,874
Likes: 2,006
Club FTE Gold Member
What was the temp at that start in the video?
 
Reply
Old Jan 23, 2022 | 12:53 PM
  #40  
BradyT88's Avatar
BradyT88
Thread Starter
|
Mountain Pass
Photogenic
Liked
Loved
Community Favorite
Joined: Apr 2021
Posts: 130
Likes: 19
From: Idaho
Originally Posted by ESwift
What was the temp at that start in the video?
17*F, apparently I need to add more characters to let me post it.
 
Reply
Old Jan 23, 2022 | 01:01 PM
  #41  
ESwift's Avatar
ESwift
CNCFAB
Joined: Apr 2020
Posts: 4,874
Likes: 2,006
Club FTE Gold Member
This was yesterday. It was like -10 to -14 out when I started it. It had been -21. Not plugged in all night. I had to shut it back down and add some diesel 911 as fuel gelled and I lost much if my fuel pressure
this is with new injectors, glow plugs and relay, and newer batteries. Dont know if the comparison helps you
 
Reply
Old Jan 23, 2022 | 01:22 PM
  #42  
BWST's Avatar
BWST
Got Data?
10 Year Member
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 4,239
Likes: 1,369
From: Lake Stevens, WA
Club FTE Gold Member
Originally Posted by BradyT88
... I've had better luck with trying to start it while the glow plugs are on rather than with the extra voltage of them being off. My assumption is that when they are off the cold air being sucked in while trying to start the engine is cooling the cylinder back down rapidly.
I agree with you - sounds reasonable to me. You want the glow plugs on during cranking. No need to cycle glow plugs 2 minutes in cold weather. That glow plug tip is not adding much heat to the cylinder walls, and like you said, that hot air around the glow plug is gone in one revolution of the crank, and cold air is rushing in. It's the tip that is doing the work of igniting the atomized fuel - just need a few seconds to get it hot enough to do that, and the WTS light tells us when that is.

Excerpt from the owners manual on cold start procedure.


Those of you that have better luck with long GP cycles - I'm curious why that is. Certainly keep doing that if it works for you, I just do not understand why it would help.
 
Reply
Old Jan 23, 2022 | 01:33 PM
  #43  
ESwift's Avatar
ESwift
CNCFAB
Joined: Apr 2020
Posts: 4,874
Likes: 2,006
Club FTE Gold Member
I have found that anything more then one full cycle does minimal help, maybe a little, but 45 seconds a single time and it did nearly as well as the 2 full 2 min cycles.
 
Reply
Old Jan 23, 2022 | 01:44 PM
  #44  
BradyT88's Avatar
BradyT88
Thread Starter
|
Mountain Pass
Photogenic
Liked
Loved
Community Favorite
Joined: Apr 2021
Posts: 130
Likes: 19
From: Idaho
Originally Posted by BWST
I agree with you - sounds reasonable to me. You want the glow plugs on during cranking. No need to cycle glow plugs 2 minutes in cold weather. That glow plug tip is not adding much heat to the cylinder walls, and like you said, that hot air around the glow plug is gone in one revolution of the crank, and cold air is rushing in. It's the tip that is doing the work of igniting the atomized fuel - just need a few seconds to get it hot enough to do that, and the WTS light tells us when that is.

Excerpt from the owners manual on cold start procedure.

Those of you that have better luck with long GP cycles - I'm curious why that is. Certainly keep doing that if it works for you, I just do not understand why it would help.
Replacing the failing GPR seems to have fixed the problem of having to cycle the glow plugs multiple times.
Originally Posted by ESwift
I have found that anything more then one full cycle does minimal help, maybe a little, but 45 seconds a single time and it did nearly as well as the 2 full 2 min cycles.
I've had better luck with doing 2 or 3 full cycles vs just 1, but again that appears to be due to my GPR starting to fail.

Were you applying throttle during that start or starting in a high idle tune? Mine doesn't Rev that high to start.
 
Reply
Old Jan 23, 2022 | 02:14 PM
  #45  
ESwift's Avatar
ESwift
CNCFAB
Joined: Apr 2020
Posts: 4,874
Likes: 2,006
Club FTE Gold Member
I was not touching throttle. That was it doing its own thing. I can try a different tune from another tuner to see if it does the same thing
 
Reply



All times are GMT -5. The time now is 01:15 AM.

story-0
Top 10 Ford Truck Tragedies

Slideshow: Top 10 Ford truck tragedies.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-05-18 19:34:33


VIEW MORE
story-1
AEV FXL Super Duty - the Super Duty Raptor Ford Doesn't Make

And it might be even better than that.

By Brett Foote | 2026-05-18 19:26:42


VIEW MORE
story-2
Lobo Vs Lobo: Proof the F-150 Lobo Should Be Even Lower!

Slideshow: Does lowering an F-150 Lobo RUIN the ride quality?

By Michael S. Palmer | 2026-05-18 19:20:37


VIEW MORE
story-3
Ford's 2001 Explorer Sportsman Concept Looks For a New Home

Slideshow: Ford's bizarre fishing-themed Explorer concept has resurfaced after spending decades largely forgotten.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-05-12 18:07:46


VIEW MORE
story-4
10 Best Ford Truck Engines We Miss the Most!

Slideshow: The 10 best Ford truck engines we miss the most.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-05-12 13:09:47


VIEW MORE
story-5
2026 Shelby F-150 Off-Road: Better Than a Raptor R?

Slideshow: first look at the 810 hp 2026 Shelby F-150 Off-Road!

By Brett Foote | 2026-05-12 12:50:07


VIEW MORE
story-6
2027 Super Duty Carhartt Package First Look: 12 Things You NEED to Know!

Slideshow: Everything You Need to Know about the 2027 Super Duty Carhartt Package!

By Michael S. Palmer | 2026-05-07 17:51:06


VIEW MORE
story-7
10 Most Surprising 2026 Ford Truck Features!

Slideshow: 10 most surprising Ford truck options/features in 2026.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-05-05 11:17:22


VIEW MORE
story-8
Top 10 Ford Trucks Coming to Mecum Indy 2026

Slideshow: Here are the top 10 Fords coming to Mecum Indy 2026.

By Brett Foote | 2026-05-04 13:49:49


VIEW MORE
story-9
5 Best / 5 Worst Ford Truck Wheels of All Time

Slideshow: The 5 best and 5 worst Ford truck wheels of all time

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-04-29 16:49:01


VIEW MORE