This is my first diesel Truck/Van. How long should I wait for the glow plugs before a cold start. It was 40 degrees when I tried to start her this morning & boy she is hard to get going, just like me in the morning. We don't need two of the same!

I have no owners manual to check out as a reference. On my kubota, it's three clicks on a day like today & 5 clicks when it's really cold,& it starts like it's 70 degrees.

I just don't want to over run the starter.

 

Ok the normal procedure is this. Turn the key to on position Wait until the "wait to start" lamp goes out which at 40 degrees should be about 5-8 seconds. Then turn key to starter position. If it doesn't fire right off then there might be other problems. DO NOT run starter more than 20 seconds or it could burn out.

 

On my '91, I turn on the key, and listen. After about ten seconds (depending on the temp), then the GP relay starts to click. As soon as the clicking starts, I hold the pedal down enough to allow the fast Idle to kick in and crank. It almost always starts in 1-2 seconds. On mine, the WTS light doesn't stay on nearly as long as the glow plugs...I think this is pretty common. If your relay starts clicking right away, you probably have a burned out glow plug or two. If so, I'd change them all. Do a search and research first, as there are a lot of previous threads about glow plugs/relays/controllers/manual systems.

Wait at least two minutes after cranking the starter 20 seconds before trying again.


I'm curious, while my glow plugs are on, I hear a buzzing sound. Is this common?

 

The buzzing could be either the controller or the tank fuel pump.

 

Thanks. I'm pretty sure it's the controller, as it always stops just as the relay starts cycling. I was just wondering if it's normal...

 

Thanks BigRed & TBone!

I don't have a "wait to start lamp," it must be burnt out. When it starts clicking that's when I start cranking. It sounds like it wants to start so I let go of the key & it dies. If I continue cranking instead of letting go it wants to over run the starter. It almost sounds like a flooded gas engine that is trying to start.

I was old by the former owner not to touch the throttle or I would have to wait awhile before it would start.

I don't crank the starter for more than 10 seconds. I will check the other posts as well for more info.

Also, I don't have a fast idle, after a minute of idling it picks up to normal idle RPM.

 

How long does it take for the clicking to start and at what temperature? It sounds like you may have burned out glow plug(s) or related wiring problems.

Just to be clear, does it start for a moment and then die and then not want to start? -- or does it just crank a long time with an occasional hit before starting at all?

As I understand it, the throttle position doesn't do anything until it starts (except for helping the fast idle solenoid), someone can correct me if I'm wrong

 

My wait light works off the glow plug relay I had the same starting problem no wait light. checked the glow plug relay and had power going in and none coming out. changed glow plug relay and wait light started working and truck started starting

 

my relay starts clicking within 5 to 10 seconds (can watch the amp(?) needle jump for 10 to 15 seconds and then stops. don't have any problems with truck starting right up. is this what you're talking about when you say relay starts clicking right away or do you mean the instant you turn the key on? curious to know if i'm looking at yet another part(s) to replace. LOL
speedrdr

 

Thanks Tbone, for trying to help me figure this out!

The clicking starts in about 5-10 seconds. Boy, I hope I don't have any more wiring problems, I have a rough time figuring those out. My back tail lights are out & I don't see a blown fuse. I wouldn't think that the two are relatated though.

It does want to start & then she dies. This is what I don't know, I then go back to the glow plugs & try to do the initial process over again. My experience with my Kubota is, if it won't start, put the glow plugs back on for a little longer & & it will fire right up.

Back to the E350, when it doesn't start, then I'll stay on the starter a little longer hoping she'll ketch. She does eventually start, but not as fast as I think she should. The rest of the day, I just touch the key & away she goes.

I will go out later & look for the wait to start light. On my dash, there is a space for three red lights, the top one doesn't do anything. I will recheck to make sure again what the middle & bottom one display.

 

Good point about watching the amp gauge, I didn't think of that, I will do that also!

My clicking doesn't start until 5-10 seconds.

 

I think 5-10 seconds is too short. I would strongly guess a burned out glow plug or two.

If you have a test light, clip to a positive terminal and you should get a light on each (disconnect the connector) glow plug. If you have an ohmeter, then ground one lead and you should get almost zero on each glow plug. Even one burned out glow plug will shorten the cycle time on the controller (and the life of the other glow plugs). If one is bad, I suggest changing them all.

Make sure you only use BERU glow plugs with made in Germany stamped on them. Other brands tend to swell and break off when you try to remove them. If they don't want to come out real easy, stop and ask questions here!!!

Be careful not to disturb the return lines on the injectors, or you will likely be changing the o-rings sooner rather than later. If the return lines have grey paint on them, then they are original and should be changed before you end up with air intrusion problems...but I'd look at glow plugs first.

 

Many 6.9 owners have put a manual push button switch on the dash to eliminate the erratic and dangerous auto start GP system. Check on Dave S posts for how too....

One thing do not confuse the 6.9 system with the 7.3 solid state system,,,,,, they are totally different....

Click on my name and email me I will forward system info.

 

Another point that I had a problem with is the condition of the starter, cheapest fix is make sure all your glow plugs are working- WTS light should stay on for 12 -15 seconds. When my starter brushes were worn out,( at about 150K miles) it turned over too slowly to light up like it should. New brushes and a cleaned up commutator made it light up ALMOST instantly when the GP's were heated up.

 

Well, my 86 6.9 WTS light stays on for about 8-9 seconds the first time. If you cycle the key off & back on it will only stay on 1-2 seconds the 2nd time around - and every other time if you just keep cycling the key off & back on. If you let it sit about 5-10 minutes with the key off the WTS light will come on for 8-9 seconds again.

Yours doesn't sound like the controller is acting up to me. Sounds more like maybe you have some burned out GPs. Have you changed them recently - or at all since owning the truck? Like others have said, if any ar burned out, replace them all and don't buy anything except the Motorcraft plugs that have the words "Beru" and "made in Germany" stamped on the barrel of the plugs right below the threads.

To test your GPs, connect a test light to the positive side of your battery, unplug the wiring to the GPs one at a time and touch the other end of your test light to the connector on top of the plug where the wire was attached. The test light should light up nice and bright. If it doesn't light up or is very dim, that plug is bad. Test them all this way one at a time and replace them all if even one is bad - 'cause replacing one or two at a time will cause others to burn out and you'll end up chasing your tail.

There was a thread a couple of months ago where people were getting their trucks to start quicker by unplugging the cold start timing advance. I tried it back when the weather was colder (a little below freezing) and it didn't seem to help mine - it started better with it connected. Now that it is a bit warmer in the mornings (around 40 degrees) I disconnected it again and mine starts better in the warmer weather with it disconnected. FWIW, and YMMV....