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I got impatient. It was 3 degrees when I got home from work this evening. I checked the battery voltage and it was exactly 12.00V on the dot. I let the glow plugs run for a minute or so and attempted to start it. It was noticeably slow to crank but after a few seconds it did start. But only for a couple seconds and died. I immediately attempted to start it again and it started pretty quickly. Again after a couple seconds it died. I immediately tried to start it a second time and it quickly started; did the choppy running thing for 5 seconds or so and mellowed out.
So my batteries may certainly be on their way out, but with the new GPR my 7.3L appears to be plenty capable of cold weather starting for now. The 12.00V is concerning though. I'll see if it was a fluke. I pulled those logs off of my CTS3 and I don't recall if I did that before or after starting it last so I may have stole some power. I'll have to watch my voltage for the next couple weeks to try to rule that out I guess. If I start dipping below 12V after a few days of sitting I will be replacing my batteries sooner.
I don’t have nearly the experience of most here but I’d say she lit off pretty good considering the temps and not being plugged in. I’m not sure mine would go that smoothly and everything glowplug and battery related are new.
I agree that that doesn't look/sound too bad for those temps. I cycle my glow plugs for two full 120 second cycles then recycle the key to reactivate them when I start it when it's really cold. At 20 degrees, I'll let them time out and recycle the key to start. Recycling the key resets the glow plug timer and it helps it run a little better at startup. That stink there after a minute running looks normal to me too.
Trying to figure out why ICP, IPR and IPW are so high. I don't have any data for reference starting at that cold temperature, but 1796psi ICP, 27% IPR, and 4.3ms PW at idle seems really high. I would expect the engine RPM to be much higher at those numbers, even when cold. Unless one or more injectors are not firing, creating that load.
Trying to figure out why ICP, IPR and IPW are so high. I don't have any data for reference starting at that cold temperature, but 1796psi ICP, 27% IPR, and 4.3ms PW at idle seems really high. I would expect the engine RPM to be much higher at those numbers, even when cold. Unless one or more injectors are not firing, creating that load.
I'm not familiar with when to expect what readings yet. But this was a short drive I did after the engine warmed up last night. I am running 1023 tunes with stock injectors. I believe those first 2 short pulls were in the Daily Driver tune. The last one was in the Ludacris tune. All 3 were really short pulls though. Never even left 3rd gear.
The engine speed and ICP are using the right axis.
I agree that that doesn't look/sound too bad for those temps. I cycle my glow plugs for two full 120 second cycles then recycle the key to reactivate them when I start it when it's really cold. At 20 degrees, I'll let them time out and recycle the key to start. Recycling the key resets the glow plug timer and it helps it run a little better at startup. That stink there after a minute running looks normal to me too.
This is how I have found my truck starts best when I can’t plug her in. If I try to let the glows cycle just till the light goes out the first time she will crank start to catch then die, if I hold the starter to the fire she will crank, start for a few revolutions, die, then a few more light off. Cloud of white raw fuel that lasts for a bit, when she kicks into high idle it will still blow a little white smoke for a min or so then clear up.
My glow plug relay is new and whatever the larger one is, I have CRS (can’t remember Stuff). I do have tired stock injectors, but she keeps starting so I’m going to keep running.
If I do as Walleye Hunter says she starts up first couple of cranks and far less smoke. For what it’s worth.
Ive never been in the - digits, but from you video I doubt my truck would have kicked off that well unless I cycled the glows 2x before starting.
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 https://youtu.be/2JwAoWWqXU8
I'll add my 2 cents.
In this post, you describe fuel gelling.
If that's what actually happened, then your glow plug system is not suspect.
Just use any brand diesel supplement with anti gell in it.
When you get it started, immediately place it in high idle and let the electrical system do it's thing.
. Don't know if you knew this but if you plug it in for 2-3 hours, even with a compromised glow plug system it will start.
Possibly you have an electrical drain when key is removed also. Try monitoring voltage before, during, and after starting truck to get a gander of what your electrical system is doing. Could be just a weak ground or battery terminal corrosion.
This morning my deck is reading -5*F. I did 2 full 2 minute glow plugs cycles. Cycled the key a 3rd time and tried to start it. It started much easier than yesterday for sure.
This morning my deck is reading -5*F. I did 2 full 2 minute glow plugs cycles. Cycled the key a 3rd time and tried to start it. It started much easier than yesterday for sure.
I'm not familiar with when to expect what readings yet. But this was a short drive I did after the engine warmed up last night. I am running 1023 tunes with stock injectors. I believe those first 2 short pulls were in the Daily Driver tune. The last one was in the Ludacris tune. All 3 were really short pulls though. Never even left 3rd gear.
The engine speed and ICP are using the right axis.
This data looks good to me. Even in the hot tune where IPW is somewhere above 4ms, ICP stays at 2500psi.
This data looks good to me. Even in the hot tune where IPW is somewhere above 4ms, ICP stays at 2500psi.
Did it run well for you on this test?
It did run well.
Well back to square one, maybe 1.5 since I already replaced the GPR I guess.
It was -2 this morning, though I noticed my EOT was reading -1. In the last video it was -4 but the EOT was reading 7. I cycled the glow plugs a full 2 minutes and then cycled the key again. At the 90 second mark I attempted to start it. It was cranking noticeably slower and I was pretty sure it wasn't going to start and of course it did not.
After charging the batteries for a couple hours and having the 15 amp charger and one of those GooLoo 4000 battery jumpers on there (rated for 10L diesels) I ran the glow plugs for about 5 minutes and barely got it to start after resetting the GooLoo twice.
I let it run in high idle for about 45 minutes and the battery voltage on my CTS3 was reading 14.1V. I took it to Autozone and had the batteries tested. They both tested good at 850CCA. For kicks and giggles I went to Oreilly just up the road and had them tested again. This time (with the exact same model Autometer battery tester) they both tested bad.
I rarely trust battery tests. If you feel they are bad replace them, even if tests say good. The voltage you are seeing from the cts3 is basically nothing more then what your alternator is putting out, really nothing at all as to the batteries.
I rarely trust battery tests. If you feel they are bad replace them, even if tests say good. The voltage you are seeing from the cts3 is basically nothing more then what your alternator is putting out, really nothing at all as to the batteries.
Harbour freight has a battery load tester that has helped me out several times since I bought it. If I remember correctly it has barely enough amperage to test our batteries but it does the trick to see if the battery is going bad. The parts stores will test them for free but I find the convenience to have it at the shop is worth the cost.
I rarely trust battery tests. If you feel they are bad replace them, even if tests say good. The voltage you are seeing from the cts3 is basically nothing more then what your alternator is putting out, really nothing at all as to the batteries.
I have noticed that once the CTS3 is seeing about 14V the batteries have been fully charged (or in that vicinity) from the drain of running the glow plugs and starting the engine. When the batteries are still charging I'll usually see between 13.5 and 14.
