I had left my truck in town for the last 3 days and last night when I went out to start it after work, it cranked and cranked and cranked. It wasn't a fast crank, but it was just a little slower than usual.

Let's back up a minute here. Two weeks ago, I tested my batteries just for shiggles. They are the original Motorcraft batteries and in 4 months, they will be 7 years old. Turns out they both fail a load test. They didn't fail miserably, but they didn't pass. Back to the story......

While cranking, there was no white smoke, so there was no injector pulse....had to have been less than 9.6V during crank. All it took was a brief jump from one of those jumper packs. What seemed like 2 crankshaft revoloutions is all it took to start the old girl.

The temperature when I tested the batteries was 68 degrees in the shop and it had been in there all night. The last couple days have been in the 20's and the overnight temps around 6-8 degrees.

The moral of this story is this:

These trucks need at least 9.6V maintained during cranking to fire the injectors. Just one weak battery is all that it takes to cause a no-start condition. Have your batteries tested with a REAL load tester, not one of those handheld electronic things. Guess what. The batteries tested "PASS" on the handheld. I hate those things. A carbon pile tester is mandatory for accurate battery testing.

Well, the temperature this morning is -8.....we'll see what happens. I ordered a couple batteries for the truck and will get them in next week. Until then, the truck sits........

 

Cleatus,

Thanks for the info about battery load testers. I have been thinking about getting one but wasn't sure what type. You've helped me make that decision. It's interesting that the jumper pack was enough to make the difference between no-start and start. The batteries must have been just below the minimum voltage required.

 

I use a cristie battery tester I bought off a snap-on truck back in mid '70s works real well and have tested batteries with it,is not a hand held about 10x10x4
harbor freight sells one that looks like it for about $60

 

Gee I just seen this thread. Thought it woulld be worthwhile bringing it up again. So Cody did you get those batteries installed. Stupid question I know. What brand did you use. I bet the truck starts good now. Nice tips for people to know inthe cold weather.

 

Just saw this thread myself and I do have to agree with the don't trust the hand helds to test batteries. I was having trouble with my truck starting this year, went and had the batteries tested up at NAPA and tested good as well as the charging system. Next did some checking and found out my GPR wasn't always working so replaced that and while at it I tested the GPs and found that 3 of them tested bad so went ahead and replaced all 8 since they are now officially 8 yrs old. So with new gpr and new glowplugs and supposed good batteries (only2-1/2 yrs old) it still wouldn't start, so took the truck down to the shop I had bought the batteries at and used a real load tester, passenger side bat was good, tried to do the drivers side and instantly dropped to below 10volts before could even start to apply a serious load on it.

 

Another good way to check your batteries is with a Hydrometer Battery Tester.. Napa and most auto stores sells them for about $20.. If your batteries are bad or marginal, the hydrometer will tell you. What I like is that you can check each cell individually.. one bad cell and I replace the battery.. You are checking the specific gravity.

 

Hydrometer's work great except on any battery made in the past 25 yrs that still has any warranty left. most battery places will void the warranty if you have broken the seal on the caps to test it.

 

I have bought several batteries lately, (boat, rv, truck, car) and none of them have ever had a seal on the caps..including Autolite, Exide, and Interstate.

 

made me go look, interstate in the F250 not sealed interstate in the expy sealed, exide in teh bronco not sealed group 31s in the race truck sealed. optima battery in the air compressor not sealed but can NOT be tested with a hydrometer. (gel cell)

But if you are going to use a hydrometer there are a few things you MUST do to get an accurate state of charge reading (hydrometer doesn't actually check to see if the battery is any good just what it's state of charge is period) First you must remove the flash or surface charge I.E. the battery must sit for at least 4 hrs in a warm room, optimal is 80degrees, then you can test it, now you also must first make sure it is fully charged before the rest period or a good battery can and will test bad with a hydrometer if the alt didn't get it fully charged.
also if you read a battery to soon or at the wrong temps a bad battery can show as good with a hydrometer.

You can NOT just go buy a hydrometer and check your batteries, they are about like a hand held tester, work great in perfect condition but can lie to you if anything is off just a little. which is why I quit using them 25 yrs ago (right after the first time i had a battery company void the warrenty on a 48 month battery at 20 months when I removed the cap to test with a hydrometer and broke a seal that I didn't even realize existed)