I had some hard starting problems last winter. I ended up replacing my batteries with some AGM's because @Sous has spoke so highly of them and my lead acid ones went bad in less than 2 years. I also found that my GPR was bad and I replaced it with the Trombetta. My glow plugs ohmed out fine. The weather started warming up about this time so I didn't get to test it after that.

A couple months ago we had a cold snap. It was 2 degrees out and I turned the key on. Waited 2 minutes for the GPR to shut off. I cycled the key again. Waited 2 minutes for the GPR. I cycled the key a 3rd time and waited for the WTS light to shut off and I started cranking. I watched the voltage creep down to about 10V and then just hold there. I cranked on it for about 60 seconds before it finally started (it was making full oil pressure long before it started). When it started it revved up to about 1000 rpm and then dropped down and died. I quickly cranked on it again and it fired up after a few seconds. It romped up and down several times and then mellowed out. I was really impressed with the batteries.

I changed the oil a couple weeks ago. It had Rotella T4 15W-40 in it. I put in T6 5W-40. Fast forward to this morning. Night and Day difference. You'll notice by the oil temperature that I do not plug the block heater in. I don't drive it very often so it would be a waste to keep it plugged in. Needless to say I'm pretty happy. I was thinking it was time to change my glow plugs even though they tested good but apparently not.

https://youtu.be/LaPTF8QIImw​​​​​​​

EDIT: I just watched the vid again and I am not sure what is going on with the intake temp. I'm pretty sure I have seen it read well into the negatives before but maybe not. My best guess is that it can't read that cold and glitched out, but I am just guessing. I've never seen it read that before. I wish I would have noticed so I could have watched it as it warmed up.

 

It'll be time to replace the glow plugs, harness connectors AND relay in short order running them for 6 minutes at a time. Holy crap - WHY? By that time, the cylinder heads would nearly be up to operating temperature!

Hopefully you didn't run the starter for a minute straight too. If you have to crank it that long and you're not seeing plumes of white smoke out of the exhaust, you do not have a glow plug problem for sure.

Going to a 5W40 in the winter and having it start better than 15W40 says one thing: time for new injectors.

 

5w and AGMs both make a huge difference.
Couple those with an upgraded starter and you'll think it can start anytime!

If I have enough advanced notice I try to plug in for 2 hours before starting if it's going to be below 20, and at least 6 hours if it's going to be below zero.
When I was daily driving it I used a timer and set it accordingly, if it was below zero I just left it on all night.
Now they have timers with built in thermostats.
I've done all the above mods now and starting isn't much of an issue anymore.

Aside from helping cold starts, it is nice to have defrost heat in a couple minutes instead of a half hour.

 

BradyT88, I am grateful to hear that the AGM batteries you purchased have been serving you well. I don't know if the FLA battery manufacturers signed a blood pact against me or what, but there for a few years I could not get any of them to last more than a couple of years. It was so bad, that I even replaced the FLA battery in my John Deere riding mower with a LiOn battery left over from my motorcycle I sold.

I am not sure which AGM battery you purchased, but I highly recommended NorthStar and Odyssey Extreme in the past. I bought a set of NorthStar AGM's based on the recommendation of FTE'r Brian42 and over the past 5 years they have not disappointed me in the least bit. Even after sitting all winter for 3+ months, the truck is ready to go when I need it. I went with the AGM at the price of $569.98 on Sept 18, 2017 because we often boondock camp out in the middle of nowhere and I need the truck to start when I need it to start.

A battery warranty is good to have and I agree that a lot of people have no problems with receiving a battery under warranty or a prorated price, but I try to buy things that are of a high quality, reliable and will not find me relying on a warranty. At this point, I am about even money when I reach 6 years without the hassle of replacing group 65 batteries in order to continue our journey. If I get to 7+ years with the AGM's I will be at saved money, time and effort. I understand these are not the right choice for a lot of people based on several factors, but I encourage everyone to evaluate their budget, needs, requirements, expectations and level of frustration when considering a battery choice.

If anyone is interested reading up on the AGM battery choices available to us, FTE'r Y2KW57 wrote a great comparison post, which I have linked below.

Link: AGM Group 65 Battery Comparison

 

i have to be honest. I've started mine many times at that temp...never had to cycle the GP's 3x. But yes, the 5w-40 is a game changer.

 

Not going to get into an oil war on this but I run 15W-40 in the synthetic version. The type of oil be it Dino or synthetic, 5W or 15W will make a difference depending on how cold you consider cold really is.

You should not need more than about a 60 or so second cycle on the glow plugs prior to start if everything is healthy. Longer or repeated cycles on the plugs is just taking your batteries down.

I have often started below 0 degrees with no pre heat and a 60 glow plug cycle. The truck starts fine but is not ready to drive for a few minutes, you need to let it warm a bit but do not just idle to get it up to temp, it will never happen if it is that cold.

The glow plugs are not intended to warm the block, heads, or pistons. The glow plugs are to provide heat to combust the fuel when injected. Quite honestly, a 10-15 second on should be sufficient even at extreme cold to get them hot enough to do their job. A slightly longer soak time for the glow plugs just allows them all to come up to a near uniform temperature and the results is an easier start. Cycling the plugs for several cycles does not improve the operation of the glow plugs or does it give a better start, you are killing the batteries.

Think of this... Each glow plug is pulling about 10 amps each times 8 if all are working properly. You are pulling about 80 amps of current three times off the batteries in your truck prior to demanding an additional 800-1000 amps of rush draw to engage your starter with the same 80 or so amps for the plugs that are on. Your batteries will soon be toast, and to do anything with a few of these cycles and a failed crank to start. Remember you need to stay above 10 volts on crank or the PCM will drop out and you will have a failed start.

 

I know thats all correct in theory, but when it's really cold and not pre heated my truck does like a couple cycles of the GPR.
For me really cold is 0 Fahrenheit to -65 overnight.

 

I do get huge plumes of white smoke while cranking. Somewhere around freezing I have found I have better luck running a 2 minutes cycle and then restarting the key so I'm cranking on it while the glow plugs are running.
When I get down to 0 or below I have much better luck starting it if I do 2 full glow plugs cycles and then cycle the key again so it is trying to start with running glow plugs.
With this 5W oil I won't have to work the glow plugs so hard. The video shows my WTS light was on for 10 seconds and then it fired right up. With the 15W oil it will fire right up after the WTS light down to about 35 degrees, but below that I need to run the plugs longer.

I know the it's 20+ years old so anything can happen but do you think my injectors are going after with only 115K miles on them?
I don't usually have any advance notice. We only drive it like once a month to once a week in the winter and it's usually because my 4 year old asks if we can take the pickup as we are heading out the door to go somewhere.

I ended up with the Odyssey Extremes.
It looks like with the 5W I'll not have to cycle my glow plugs anymore. Just wait for the WTS light to turn off after 10 seconds and start it up.

But with the 15W oil I have to cycle the plugs 1 or 2 times depending on the ambient temp.

No more than 60 seconds of glow plugs even with 15W? Like I said above, mine fires right up now with 5W. Sub-zero temps with 15W were a different story though.

I would agree with this. Usually about 15 degrees and down I would do a 2nd glow plug cycle. With the 5W oil I appear to not need to worry about it anymore down to -5. January is just around the corner and we usually see a few days of -20. I'll go give it a try when we do and see if I can get away with 10 seconds of glow plugs or if I will need a little more.

 

I do not miss that. I would have a hard time not letting them cook for at least 60-90 seconds at -20 and cold-soaked.

We're supposed to get -5 in the next few days, I'm hoping that will be the coldest it gets this winter.

 

^^^ This. I run 5W-40 all year round. This stuff to be precise:
https://www.schaefferoil.com/full-synthetic-5w40.html

 

I’m still curious to know how the synthetic 15w-40 behaves in cold weather. We have seen some decent reports but no definite answer for cold weather starts.

 

My relatively brief (and currently ongoing) experience with synthetic 15W-40 and cold starts has been quite positive.

Unlike my earlier experience 20 years ago with regular "dino" Chevron Delo 400 15W-40 that used to romp romp romp on cold starts, I have not experienced a single romp with the current fill of Rotella full synthetic 15W-40 T6.

If I lived in MN, I'd probably still use 5W-40 (or 10W-30), based on International's viscosity recommendations. But Southerners and those who live along the temperate coasts with mild winters may find that moving to synthetic 15W-40 makes enough of a difference

Keep in mind, my usage comparison is flawed by the following factors:

1. The API standard for HDEO in effect at the time I used dino 15W-40 (CH-4 thru CI-4) differs from the API standards for today's synthetic 15W-40 (CK-4). Since the required changes in oil formulation (whether synthetic or dino) to meet the API standard could potentially have had an impact, it is not possible to definitively attribute, say, the more uniform size of synthetic base oil molecules, as an example, for the difference I experienced, which could just as easily be attributed to a characteristic inherent in an oil formulated to meet the newer API standard.

2. The differences between Chevron's additive package 20 years ago versus Shell's additive package today. If there was a difference in anti-aeration additive, as an example, that could have an effect separate from the difference between dino and synthetic.

3. The cocktail effect. No I haven't been drinking. But the combination of proprietary additives and new API standards can catalyze with each other chemically to produce an effect that cannot be nailed down to the difference between synthetic and dino bases.

 

i.e. strip engine down completely, hot tank and then reassemble before switching oils.

 

I will add that 10w-30 Rotella is a fine alternative to 5w-40 syn for most of the winter.

 

Having just installed all new OEM glow plugs, UVCH and injector wiring… I can tell you my starting in cold weather (Virginia so it’s only so cold) is no longer a concern. Wish I would have done it sooner. I tried 5/40, oil additives, etc and while it may crank a minuscule amount faster it still was slow to start and blew white smoke.

Now I can let her eat as soon as the idiot glow plug light goes off and she fires up quick with no smoke but the initial puff out the exhaust. No more multiple glow plug cycles, white smoke, etc.

I think many are trying (and I was too) to avoid glow plug replacement. But it was well worth the 3-4 hours and beers.

Ive started it after sitting as low as 24 degrees. Now truth be told I’m a sissy and anything in the low 30’s and she’s plugged in on a timer, but good to know she will start without it if need be.

Now I’m running 15/40 like Ferd says. Good luck gents whatever you decide.