Well, my problem started Friday. Didn't really drive Thursday and didn't try Friday until late, so the engine had plenty of time to cold soak. She turns over, but will *not* start, only kick over a little. I suspect that I'm not getting enough heat into the engine from the glow plugs to maintain cumbustion, the super cold air entering the intake cools it all right back down.

I've been worried about what would happen when we got this cold all winter... guess now I know. I'm hoping that once I get the engine running again that if the truck runs once or twice a day it won't cold soak enough to have the problems. Fortunately it usually doesn't stay this cold for long stretchs, so i'm told.

Temps have been ranging from 30 to 40 degrees below zero since thursday night. Last night it got to around 40 below.

My truck is a 1990 F-350 4x4 crewcab (single wheel) and is equipped with the following:
1) factory block heater
2) oil pan heater
3) transmission pan heater
4) battery blankets (one on each battery)
5) battery maintainer (trickle charger).

I have a sample of untreated fuel in the bed, at -40 it is still very much liquid. I have Howe's additive mixed in with the fuel.

I never really had a problem at -20 or -25, but it looks like at -40 I might be getting to my limit.

The truck is plugged in and I have a full sized battery charger on it that will remain overnight. Even with the electric battery blankets the battery temperatures will likely still be well below zero. Oil temp will also likely be low due to the. I've been working on starting the truck for two days now and still don't have it running. My next idea is to get one of those jet heaters and fire it up underneath the truck to help warm up the engine.

I'm planning on adding another block heater, but I am going to try to make it through this winter first (it's really not fun to do heavy MX in subzero temps, I found that out when I had to replace the turn signal housing).


Does anyone have any other suggestions to try that I might have overlooked?



For those that are interested, the cold doesn't really feel that bad because it's so dry. The catch is that if you pull the gloves off or don't have good ones then your fingers can get cold if you are in it a long time touching metal items and other cold soaked areas that are good conductors. Means having to come in to warm up on a regular basis. The only way you can really tell is how equipment reacts...

I still say that the temperature doesn't feel any worse than GA did at 40 degrees (except for the working on stuff and touching cold metal part). The difference being that at 40 degrees in GA my truck would still start.


Thanks,
Ryan
Fairbanks, Alaska

 

I don't know about -40, but I do know that an aircraft engine on 100 octaine wont start at freezing or below with low compression engines. Sounds like you have most of the right stuff going for you, how about an insulated tarp over the front end to try to maintain some of the block, pan heater, heat in the engine compartment. Is your extension cord for all the heaters 12 gauge or bigger to carry enough amperage to effectively heat up the truck without too much voltage drop. Good luck

 

I hear some people like using old sleeping bags over their front ends, I need to locate one to use on my truck.

I have a heavy duty cable, let one of my roommates use it for the reach. Didn't seem to have a bad drop on the shorter one, but that is an idea just in case. I'll see if I can put my two shorter ones together and get the length he needs to plug in so I can take my nice one back.

I'm buying that jet style heater from a friend, so I can stick it under the engine tomorrow morning and hopefully warm everything up enough to go to work. Then at least I can keep that around if i end up needing it.

You can really tell that everything is cooling down. The first few cranks are the strongest bumps then they die down to nothing as the cylinders cool back down... amazing what the extra 20 degrees can do to starting.

 

Well if you have the block heater make sure it works........

First make sure the BH red power plug is in the BH, then do a continuity test with a meter on the main plug wires at the grill. If there is no continuity check the wires for breaks just behind the 120V plug. Pull on the wires and you can see the break as the shielding gets smaller, cut off the end. If the 2 power wires now have continuity through the BH just replace the 3 prong plug.


The block heater should be sufficient to heat the engine for a start at -40F. As an assistance..... cycle the GPs 2-3 times, ie turn the key on, when gp controller WTS light goes out or it starts to cycle/click turn ignition off and back on again. This time when the wait to start light goes out, put your foot to the floor or half way and start the engine.

How long does the WTS light stay on, at those temps it should be about 15 seconds.

 

At 20 below putting your foot to the floor floods the engine, so much fuel goes in it keeps the cylinders from warming up enough, half pedal at most. Generally the fast idle position seems to be best for these temps.

Unfortunately, pulling on the wires may not work. It's so cold the rubber is hard. You couldn't even reroute the wires right now. I tried to straighten a wire on a multimeter to use it at -20 at the wire just snapped.

Right now I'm thawing out my good multimeter so I can use it tomorrow so I'll be able to run some checks like that at that time. Any idea what the resistance should be?


Already been cycling the glow plugs... just can't get enough heat into the cylinders. It is almost enough right initially, in fact normally might be... but the cold air comes in from the intake and cools it right back down...

 

Several old timers recommended using a gasoline soaked rag held over the snorkle inlet to the air cleaner.

Have you considered or tried warming the air going into the engine? Maybe try a heat gun?

Just a couple of ideas....

 

Hmm... gasoline soaked rag seems like it'd be pretty tough to do by myself.

I have thought of just that. But I don't have a heat gun etc. I'm buying a used one of those jet heaters from a friend tomorrow... I'll stick it under the truck and that should warm the engine as well as provide some warm air for the intake (being in Alaska, I don't have the cold air intake tube running).

I've seen some models of engines with glow plugs or other heating elements in their intakes to warm air to help with starting. Cold as it gets here, about need one.

 

do you really need to go anywhere when it is -40?

 

Baradium,
Welcome to the forum.

Reading your posts has lead me to believe you recently moved from Georgia to Alaska.
Since I have seen block heaters for the IDI that range from 500 watts to 1500 watts.
Given the climate in Georgia, I have to wonder if you have a low watt block heater.

Also what is the CCA of the batteries in your truck?
Bigger is better.

Do watch the torpedo heater under your truck, oil and grease may make it a little warmer than you want. Also wind may carry off most of the heat. I had a rig gell up in Kansas one morning, the guy on the service rig brought out a torpedo heater we put under the tractor. He also had a roll of canvas about 3 feet wide and 30 feet long with wood strips attached every 2 feet. We pulled the canvas out to close off the wind from blowing under the truck. The wood strips made the canvas stand up without having to tie it up. Fired up in an hour or two with the heat under the truck.

Another option would be a diesel fired hot box, warms the coolant without electricity.

I know what you mean about the -40 temps, I used to live in Denver and worked for the BN railroad. I remember one night it was -47 on the thermometer with about a 25 MPH wind. I worked out in the yard surrounded by metal flat cars that just spent the last 20 hours running across the high plains at 60 MPH. Grab the metal with bare skin and you might not be able to let go.

 

My truch has a block heater AND an antifreeze heater hook on the heater hose. When both are plugged in, it starts quite good, I never had minus 40. I tried it at minus 30 and it worked well. I have two 900 amps cold start batteris. At those temp, batteries must be of high amps output, no leak at any of the fuel lines,all the glow plugs working, at least 15 to 18 seconds before it the glow plug timer shuts off.
When I start in cold I do not touch the pedal to start, it seems to make it worst. I do touch the pedal a little if it fires up but let it go. I put in some cetane booster, the additive you buy at Wally.
I heard about the diesel soaked rag in the intake but never tried it. I heard some guys are giving a very small burst of ether in the intake while starting with the glow plugs on, but be carefull you may blow off you head! You may try ehter but you have to unplug all your glow plugs.
You could try a ready heater, the round heater, and hook a hose to it, like when they warm up airplane, direct the hose in the intake.

Diesel are not made for cold wheather, i wonder how the newer truck handle the cold wheater. good luck.

 

Also what weight oil are you using? I would use the lightest weight you could get for that region. How fresh are the batteries. In that cold even with blanket and charger - you should have batteries which are right up to max output in cold weather.

 

Good catch. I moved from Georgia last April. In fact, my IHs are still out of state. As far as the block heater, I cheated and bought a truck that was up here already. Ex fairbanks natural gas company truck (bought it directly from them). The only things I added were the battery blankets

I'd been worried about what would happen at -40 since I got the truck, but didn't have a clue what to do until it happened.

I'm thinking it might be good to add another block heater to the mix come spring, regardless of what size this one has.
I replaced the batteries in the truck with the biggest Napa premium ones they had in group 31. Want to say they were 1200 CCA, but that might be overestimating.

Hahaha, yeah, I was worried about catching the truck on fire.

The local army base had some diesel fired block/coolant heaters on the auction block, would have been perfect (close by, exactly what I was looking for etc etc). Too bad they went for well more than I can afford to spend on them!

Ouch! Yeah, it's amazing the difference that touching the metal does. Working on the unheated truck isn't very fun either!



I stuck the heater under the truck. The nice thing about it being a 350 4x4 in that regard is that the heater, even though it's quite a big one, fit under the bumper. I spaced it a few inches from the bumper and ended up putting it slightly off center. It actually doesn't get windy in Fairbanks (we're in a valley, also why it gets so cold, the hills can be 30 degrees warmer). My goal was to get the heat to naturally rise into the engine compartment. I wasn't too worried about whether it would come up through the cracks in the hood or not, as long as it was slow enough for a heat build up.

I watched it for 5 minutes (after I got the ancient thing going, it has a belt to drive a fuel pump off the fan motor and the belt gets so stiff at -40 it took 5 minutes or better just to get it to be able to turn the pump). This thing also has a 1950s patent date on it.

I came back at the 10 minute point to check on it, and then the 15 and 20 minute points. I readjusted during the initial watching and then a slight amount at the 10 minute point to get more even heating. The 15 and 20 minute intervals confirmed my position and I waited until the 45 minute point and tried to start it. Fired right up like it was a warm summer day. A nice thing was it was putting some heat on the oil pan (without making me afraid of fire by puttiing on too much) which thinned the oil out some.

It started up after work (almost 8 hours later) without a hitch (this was now -29 by this point). If I can keep it from cold soaking, it might act a lot better. Otherwise, might keep this heater in the back of the truck.


As far as what you can do at -40? Well, I still have to go to work. Nothing closes down up here for a mere 40 below. It's really not as bad as it sounds thanks to the low humidity... except for how equipment reacts...

 

Honestly, I still have 15W40 rotella in it. I've seen 10w30 rotella before, but havn't seen it up here yet. I have seen 0W40 synthetic Delo, but hesitate to run a synthetic in anything without fresh gaskets (can cause more oil leaks).

I've been counting on the oil heater to keep the oil thinner...

 

I would Switch oil to Mobil 1, That oil was developed for the military by Mobil, (On Goverment money of corse) for the Militaries cold climate vehicles, As I understand it , it doesn't thicken like Dino based oil.

Also, If you can get a propane torch to light in that cold, holding the lit flame right over the open intake plenam, At Least remove filter top cover , I remove entire housing on my N/A. While cranking the motor, it will draw the flame into the cylenders and help warm the combustion air and greatly help starting. IMHO. We have 2 very old diesel tractors on the farm that this is the only cold starting aid the have. Both are IDI type engines. One has 9600 hrs on it, and the flame from a propain torch or a dirty ecetelene flame will start them every time, hold the flame there till they run smooth.

Ken in Central NY w/ The Mighty Pre-94 IDI

 

As the previous posts quoted, switching to lighter wt oil would help a lot.