I have a 94 F250 Turbo diesel that I inherited. Its in good condition visualy and was told last time it ran there was alot of black smoke and did not run well. Its been sitting for about one year. I put a charge on the battery and it turned over fine but did not start. What to do next?
Thanks for any advise

 

You need to test the Glow Plug system and bleed any air out of the fuel system ...

A lot of black smoke is either to much fuel or not enough air ...
This could be as simple as a plugged air filter to a failed Turbo!
Black Smoke is unburnt fuel and is wasteful.

First things first ... Test Glow Plugs, If the Glow Plugs are anything other then Motorcraft/Beru ZD1 or ZD9 REPLACE THEM with Motorcraft/Beru.
*** Glow Plug Test:v2.0.1
Test light test of the glow plugs.

1. Unplug the Glow Plugs at the Glow Plugs.
2. Attach one lead of a test light to 12v+ battery.
3. Touch the other lead to the terminal on the end of the Glow Plug. (where you unplugged the harness)
   Does it light up?
   1. Yes, Chances are it's good.
   2. No, Replace with Motorcraft/Beru ZD1A for 83-86, ZD9 for 87-94.5.
4. Repeat step 3 for all Glow Plugs.
5. Reconnect Glow Plugs.

This test is susceptible to miss diagnoses and should only be used for a quick reference.
To do a positive test use a volt/ohm meter and test the ohms between the terminal and base. Should be .5 to 1 ohm resistance.

Next, On the Fuel filter head is a Schrader Valve (Tire stem looking thing), Remove the valve core, attach a short hose to it and stick in into a clean soda bottle, crank the engine for 10 seconds, you should get 1/3 pint.

If you get air, keep cranking for up to 20 seconds NO MORE, then let the starter cool for 2 minutes!

After you test the Glow Plugs and they ALL work and you have fuel at the schrader valve it should start with 1 or 2 cranking cycles. (20 seconds max, cool for 2 minutes)

-Enjoy
fh : )_~

 

Thanks for the plan of attack. Since you say Black smoke is not enough air or to much fuel could filters be part of the issue? I have never worked on a diesel before I prefer working on my '66 F250 with a 352 gas motor but I recon I'm willin to try somthin new

 

The Air filter is the only filter that'll cause Black smoke.

If it started doing it all on it's own, then you have either an Air Blockage (Intake or Exhaust) or the Turbo is bad!

You might want to pull the compressor hose ((Intake Hat, Snail ... whatever) the hose that goes from the Turbo to Intake) and check the Turbo shaft movement, it should move a little end to end, not at all side to side.

I would get it running first, then we can diagnose the Black smoke.

If you take the time and the little effort required to understand these Diesels you'll never go back to a gasser! (Except for maybe for Hot Rods)

-Enjoy
fh : )_~

 

today I finally got a chance to check the glow plugs with a multi meter.
I could only reach 3 of them before removing a lot of plastic but I checked one on the driver side and two on the other and got no reading on the meter. Do these things start on a warm day without the Glow plugs. It looks like these things are around $16 each.
There was also a small amount of fuel that leaked from the injectors onto the intake from attempting to start it. I did pump the fuel pedal not knowing????

 

Test light method festus posted above is the quickest way to check gp's. Been my finding pumping can pump it full of air and really get you in trouble! It should be 1)turn key on 2)press pedal to the floor once 3) glow the plugs until WTS light goes out... about 10 to 12 seconds if cold 4)hold pedal halfway down and turn it over.

 

Also I noticed that after the WTS light goes out that a relay that is near the Turbo makes clicking noises for 15 seconds or so. I was curious if this is normal? I have no experiance with diesels and not able to talk to the previous owner

 

Pretty much Glow Plugs are required. All 8 of them!
If you have failed Glow Plugs, the Glow Plug Controller will not work properly, it responds to resistance in the Glow Plug circuit, without proper resistance it will not work correctly.

The Glow Plugs do an After burn after the initial burn, so the relay clicking is normal.

Pumping the pedal does nadda ...

I am NOT and advocate of holding the pedal down when starting ...

1. Turn the key on.
2. Hit the pedal one time about half throttle and release.
3. Start.

Why one would rev a cold motor with thick oil thats not throughly throughout the system is beyond me!

-Enjoy
fh : )_~

 

Thanks Festus well Ive never even driven one of these much less work on one. I'm going back this weekend with fresh charged batterys and some more instruction. as far as the fuel filter test you mentioned above is there a special hose that hooks to the shrader valve for filling the bottle? and the volt/ohlm meter test is between the base of the plug and the connector cap that was removed? I don't need this truck anytime soon so its just a project at this point I'm looking forward to getting it started

 

The Glow Plug test with a meter is done completely on the Glow Plug ... Pull the connector off, then between the Base (Hex) and Terminal (where the wire plugs on).

Good quality, Strong batteries are required, I think it's 850CCA minimum each.

Schrader valve, Nope, no special hose, any hose you can fit over it.
Some use clip-on air chucks, some remove the schrader core.

I remove the schrader valve core (tire core) and just stick an empty soda bottle up there to catch the fuel while I turn the motor with a remote starter button hooked to the 'S' terminal on the starter relay and positive battery ... I also unhook the Injection Pump FSS (forward most wire) to prevent it from starting. (FSS = Fuel Shutoff Solenoid)

-Enjoy
fh : )_~

 

I got out to finally do a complete check with the multimeter and i got .8 ohms on the glowplugs. I also did the fuel filter check and its good also. This Truck almost starts. I took a 4year old fully charged battery with me and it didn't last to long. I will take two batteries next weekend. This truck was not running well when it was parked black smoke and loss of power.

 

its a mechanical engine meaning when the pedal pushed halfway down its opening it up to dump more fuel into the engine much the same as a carbed gasoline engine which im sure you have experience with seeing as you have a 66 351....

the diesel engine supplement that came with the truck from FORD which i have currently in my glove box says to do as you are doing which is hold the pedal halfway down when cranking up until it fires then release as soon as it fires up

oh and these trucks require 2 batteries of about 1000 CA each.... otherwise they wont start..... i forgot to tighten the cable on my drivers side battery once it popped off going down the highway went in the house for a couple hours came back and it wouldnt start. i was freaking out thinkin wtf did i mess up now it was cranking slow i thought the alt had crapped out an stopped charging come to find out it was only trying to start on one battery... hooked the other back up she fired up an took off

 

Yea the battery was definitly not strong enough my mistake the truck is parked 15 miles away from my garage so not having everything I need when I go over there is normal I will be better prepared next weekend. Even when it does get started I know there will be problems because it was not running well when it was parked.

 

I was wondering if removing the airfilter when trying to start it would be a good idea and should I use starting fluid?

 

you can take the air filter off if your not gonna be driving around in the dust if it looks clogged that could fix your black smoke problem a clogged air filter will cause it but dont leave it off... if it clears it up get a new filter and do not use starting fluid it sounds like your GPS are working and if they are and you use starting fluid you can kiss your motor goodbye it'll blow