i have a question about glowplugs. do they make warm weather versus cold weather glowplugs ? the reason i ask is that i live in MA but i bought my truck in TX last year. i noticed that the "start" light stays on a little long and i have trouble starting in colder weather. a lot of times it takes a few times of letting the plugs warm up before it will fire. i am debating replacing the glowplugs, but if this is a common thing then i might not bother. i can ALMOST always get it running, it can just be a pain. thanks for any input you have.

david

 

They only make one kind of glowplug, and it sounds like yours aren't working. I'd try testing or even just replacing the glow plug relay first, since it's easy and relatively cheap, and they do go bad over time no matter what. (The glow plugs are activated for about 2 minutes every time you turn the key on, regardless of the temps outside or the status of the wait to start light.)

Duncan

 

I don't know of any difference in glow plugs. They will cycle longer in colder weather. You may have some that are bad causing the hard start problem. Try pluging it in at night and see if it starts easier.

 

i had been plugging it in last winter after it didn't start one day. it makes a difference, but i would prefer not to have to do this. especially now where i am not driving the truck every day, i would like to just be able to start it any time without leaving time to plug it in. Frobozz, do you know where that relay is located ? i am assuming it just closes in for two minutes once the key is turned to "on" ? thanks guys.

 

The relay is just to the right of center on top of the engine, under the edge of the plastic cover that says "Powerstroke." (That's the right side of the car, which is of course slightly to the left if you're standing in front of the truck looking under the hood.)

If you take off that decorative cover, it's dead simple to get to. There are some writeups around here and in the archives giving the whole rundown on testing the relay, etc.

Duncan

 

thanks Duncan, i appreciate the advice.

david