Help I Am In Cold Start Hell!!!
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Senior User
Joined: Apr 2005
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From: Inland Empire, So Cal
Help I Am In Cold Start Hell!!!
MY PSD with 331k on it refuses to start on mornings when it is below 55 degrees (in Southern Califorina of all places) and its making me angry. i try to start it and after about 35-40 min then it slowly gets going. i have replaced GP, GP Relay, and everything i can think of. i even tried fuel additives to thin the fuel to get it through the injectors easier. Please help i am running out of time on fixing my truck as i only have a month and a half before my first baby is born.... PLEASE HELP ME!!!!!
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Joined: Nov 2000
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From: Cincinnati, Ohio
If you plug it in for a couple hours when you have had trouble does it start then? If so your problem is in the glow plug system - either the functional end or what controls it. If you will let us know if plugging in starts we can go from there.
LINK TO EXCELLENT ARTICLE about the glow plug system.
Hope this helps out.
Dave / Believer45
LINK TO EXCELLENT ARTICLE about the glow plug system.
Hope this helps out.
Dave / Believer45
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Joined: Jul 2005
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From: North Carolina
In the "Official Glow Plug/GPR/......." you said you were not getting any white smoke. I'd try the plug in believer45 suggested, but no smoke usually indicates a fuel delivery problem or some PCM issue (sensor, wiring harness, etc). When you changed the glow plugs did you check the under valve cover (UVC) harness. They have a bad habit of going bad, especially the harness connectors. But the plug in test will help isolate if it's glow plug related or other problems.
Last edited by stroker2; Nov 7, 2005 at 06:40 PM.
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Joined: Apr 2005
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From: Inland Empire, So Cal
update (sort of)
the thing is that i live in apartments and dont really have a place to plug it in. i do however have a mobile power station thing that i might be able to plug it into. dont know how long it will last powerwise but what the heck... as for smoke i tried to start her this morning and it kept cranking but wouldnt kick, so i had my wife try to start it while i watched out back and ther was a fairly good amount of white smoke. i tried for a half and hour and still couldnt get it started.is the smoke a good sign or a bad sign? as for the glowplugs i had a local shop replace them for me as i wasnt really knowledgable about diesels also isnt it kind of weird that its not that cold here but its still acting up? any help would be a God send. I am at the end of my rope...
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Joined: Jul 2005
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From: North Carolina
Any results on the plug in test?
You're right. 55* isn't that cold, but you said it started OK above that temp. Does it start OK the rest of the day after you get it started once? That could be a battery problem, draining just enough overnight to not start.
White smoke is a good thing, sort of. It's unburned fuel and means your fuel delivery system is working. What age and condition are your batteries, especially after all this cranking? I've read these PSDs don't like to start if the battery voltage is below 10 volts. Engine will spin, but won't fire. I know living in an apartment this would be difficult, but is there a way to plug in a battery charger to charge the batteries or have them tested at a parts store? Autozone, Advanced Auto, etc.
If they're OK, back to the glow plugs. Have you tried shorting the glow plug relay? Turn the key on, take a screwdriver (I've heard of people using one side of jumper cables) and short the large terminals on the glow plug relay (be careful, don't short it to anything else) Short it for 1 minute, no more than 2. then try to start it. If it starts, you probably have a bad or miswired glow plug relay. If it doesn't start, you probably have a problem in the glow plug circuit (glow plugs, UVC harness, valve cover connectors are the most common failures)
You're right. 55* isn't that cold, but you said it started OK above that temp. Does it start OK the rest of the day after you get it started once? That could be a battery problem, draining just enough overnight to not start.
White smoke is a good thing, sort of. It's unburned fuel and means your fuel delivery system is working. What age and condition are your batteries, especially after all this cranking? I've read these PSDs don't like to start if the battery voltage is below 10 volts. Engine will spin, but won't fire. I know living in an apartment this would be difficult, but is there a way to plug in a battery charger to charge the batteries or have them tested at a parts store? Autozone, Advanced Auto, etc.
If they're OK, back to the glow plugs. Have you tried shorting the glow plug relay? Turn the key on, take a screwdriver (I've heard of people using one side of jumper cables) and short the large terminals on the glow plug relay (be careful, don't short it to anything else) Short it for 1 minute, no more than 2. then try to start it. If it starts, you probably have a bad or miswired glow plug relay. If it doesn't start, you probably have a problem in the glow plug circuit (glow plugs, UVC harness, valve cover connectors are the most common failures)
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From: South Jordan Utah
I had the same problem with my 95 F250 - for me it turned out to be the valve cover gaskets where the wires go thru was shorted and also burned up the glow plug circuit. Having glow plugs inside the valver covers really sucks. They wanted $900 for a new computer board (it was all on one board) so I wired the glow plug relay to a momentary switch and replaced the valve cover gaskets and turned on the glo plugs manually -- I had glow plug problems on my 85 F250 also and this was just too much pain so went back to a gas motor.. I traded the 95 for a 03 V10 SD Crew and have been happly starting in all temps every since.
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From: SHELTON, WA
Originally Posted by DShira
I had the same problem with my 95 F250 - for me it turned out to be the valve cover gaskets where the wires go thru was shorted and also burned up the glow plug circuit. Having glow plugs inside the valver covers really sucks. They wanted $900 for a new computer board (it was all on one board) so I wired the glow plug relay to a momentary switch and replaced the valve cover gaskets and turned on the glo plugs manually -- I had glow plug problems on my 85 F250 also and this was just too much pain so went back to a gas motor.. I traded the 95 for a 03 V10 SD Crew and have been happly starting in all temps every since.
gas motors
bobsdiesel be persistent you will get er going again.
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With the white smoke and ability to crank for so long I'm thinking it's the relay. I read a while ago about a newer relay with different wiring that Ford came out with. Not really sure on the details so maybe someone else will pipe in here soon. I know I had to get the new one and it helped for a while. Let us know what happens when you jump the relay and we can be of more help.
And how do these PSD's know when you're having a baby? My 95 had the glow plug relay go bad right as my wife was expecting too! Had to take her Ch*** (Just can't say it....) to the hospital cuz the Ford was blowing happy white smoke. I ended up having Ford replace the gpr while we were delivering. Ouch. $195 for the newly wired relay with a pigtail. Hated to do it but had other priorities at the time.
And how do these PSD's know when you're having a baby? My 95 had the glow plug relay go bad right as my wife was expecting too! Had to take her Ch*** (Just can't say it....) to the hospital cuz the Ford was blowing happy white smoke. I ended up having Ford replace the gpr while we were delivering. Ouch. $195 for the newly wired relay with a pigtail. Hated to do it but had other priorities at the time.