The past little while I have been having problems starting my truck in the colder weather right around freezing. The truck sounds like there is a problem with the starter turning the truck over however once it does start it runs fine and then starts again no problem this leads me to bad glow plugs. Any way to test this or should I be looking in a different area? Thanks

 

Two things you should check right away.

1) Glow plug relay. On your truck its most likely a little brown relay, sits next to your fuel bowl. These wear out easily and they are responsible for delivering power to your glow plugs.

2) Batteries. One weak battery will cause all sorts of hard starting issues. These trucks need two healthy batteries to start.

If you have a FLUKE or some other type of tester these are easy to test.

 

Two new batteries so that should be ok but how do i check the relay?

 

Well the picture below is what you're looking for.

You have two large posts. One is the hot post, and one is only energized when the key is in the ON position. When these relays wear out, they stop clicking over to energize the post that feeds the glow plugs.

There is a real easy shorcut way to test for a bad relay. you'll need someone to help you...and the truck needs to be cold.

Take an insulated screwdriver and cross it over the two large posts, so that the screwdriver is touching both posts.

Have someone turn the truck into the ON position for a minute or two, and start as usual.

If the truck starts normally, it means you have a bad relay.

 

i just replaced my glow plugs last week and that cleared mine right up. now if it is really cold it will crank run rough and quit for a few rounds. then it does rine. I am wondering at 232k if doing a upper oil change and switching to syn oils would help but i donno for sure..as a matter of fact why don't I just start my own thread

 

so I just tried to start the truck and it will not even turn over truck has been plugged in for 2hours and it sounds as if the starter engages and then kicks right off. How could that be glow plugs it is just below freezing.

 

If the truck won't turn over at all...thats a completely different issue.

when you turn the key on, does it try to turn over? Just really slow chugging? You say the starter kicks off...is it grinding?

Any white smoke out the tailpipe?

 

As stupid as it might seem, check your fuses. My truck, after getting good & warmed up, would sometimes not even spin the starter motor. The people on here supplied me with the fuse diagrams and they are in THIS THREAD. I had 1 fuse in of the wrong rating (a 15A instead of the 20A it should have been) and another fuse that was looking 'burnt'; the blades looked like they had been worked over with some heat. I replaced both fuses and have had no issues since. Odd, but the truth.

 

No the truck is not turning over it is as if the starter engages and then can not turn it over so it stops or it is to hard to turn over. but it only does this when cold as soon as I do get it started and run for a little while and no problems restarting. help please.

 

After trying to start the truck again I think it may be my starter that is not engaging properly or long enough but why would it only do this when the truck is cold? I am due for an oil change would thick oil cause the starter to disengage when cold? Thanks for your help.

if it is my starter how bad is this to get in and out? can you rebuild it? Thanks again.

 

In my experience, a bad starter is...a bad starter. Shouldn't matter if its cold or hot. When my starter went bad, it would grind..sometimes it would engage, sometimes it wouldn't.

You can purchase a rebuilt remanned starter but I suggest buying new, if you can.

The starters on these trucks are really simple to replace. You will find your starter on the passengers side of the truck, on the back of the motor near the transmission. Here is what it looks like:



7.3L trucks used two different starters: Nippindenso and Mitsubishi. Just make sure you get the correct starter for your year truck if you decide to go this route.

When you say the truck will not turn over...I am confused. Does it try? Does it turn over really slow?

Thick oil would not keep the truck from starting. It can cause the motor to run a bit rough and and can also cause a bit of romping. Does your dipstick show full? How long has it been since you've changed your oil?

Please describe for us, when you turn the key over what does the truck do?

When you say that the truck is only difficult to turn over when cold, it leads me to believe you are having a glow plug / glow plug relay / or battery voltage issue. When these trucks are cold, you need a few things to happen for proper starting. 1) you need both batteries working and producing full power because you are energizing the glow plugs and turning the starter at the same time. 2) if your glow plugs or relay are not working, you are attempting to start the truck on cold fuel..which will result in a no start condition.

You might also try cleaning your battery terminals and ends with a wire brush. If you have corroded battery terminals you might have a bad battery connection, and will cause the starter to turn over slowly as voltage drops.

 

I do think it is the starter now sometimes it sounds like it is grinding ad you try to start and other times it tries to start for a second or two and then the starter just stops trying. not sure why it would do this when cold and when it was warm it never did it but now it will not start at all even when plugged in for a few hours.

 

Can we get more details please? If you fill out your profile (city, etc.) it will help us out. Given that you're a "Canadian mole" I would assume that you live in Canada... but I'm not sure. Maybe you moved to Texas or Tijuana.... those details will help. Also the year of your truck, stick or auto would be helpful too.

So let's assume you're in Canada. Temps are SUPER cold. Your oil, if it is dino, is molasses. That will contribute to your problem. Thick oil is not likely to cause your starter to disengage. Go to the store and get some fully synthetic oil (Shell Rotella 5W40 is good & typically easy to find) and a Motorcraft FL-1995 filter. Next time you get her started, get her good & warm & change the oil.

Started. Take it out & go somewhere that they can test it. If it's bad & you can wait, you may want to buy one from DB Electrical; they have a "hi torque" unit that is beefy. If you don't have time, well, do what you have to do.

Some people have had luck with using a "torpedo" heater that runs off kerosene or propane, putting "curtains" around the front of the truck to help keep the heat in, and pointing it at the oil pan.

 

If you feel confident its your starter, you can pull yours out and take it to an auto parts store and have it tested. They will be able to tell you if its good or bad.

That way, you aren't randomly replacing parts and spending money unless its necessary.

These starters are really easy to take out and put back in.

 

Starter is out and will take in for testing thanks for the help