Failed cold start..

[mike.germann]

Tried for 25 mins to start 'er up this morning. No cigar. I was wondering...what's the starter duty cycle on these trucks?

How long can I crank on 'er before i need to give it a rest?

I have 2 fresh batteries with plenty of CCA's. It's 18 degrees today, minus wind chill. And since I'm living in the Navy base barracks, I conveniently don't have access to a power source so I can plug 'er in.

I figgered I'd just wait til afternoon and try startin 'er when it's a few degrees warmer.

 

[Zmann ARGH]

whats the outside temps? EDIT nevermind i missed it ?
can u get some diesell 911

 

[Zmann ARGH]

do you run any anti gel?
like diesel kleen white bottle?

is this a normal temp for u to start in?

is your fuel winter blend?

just thowing a bunch of ?? out there to expedite you input from others
I am no cold weather expert I live in Arizona lol

not sure on the duty cycle ? I would have to read a owners manual

 

[Tail_Gunner]

Are your dash lights normal? Are the "wait to start" light" (WTS) and check engine light coming on like usual?

A lot of 7.3 cold starting problems are due to one of 2 principle causes.

First is cased by the heater element in the fuel filter bowl shorting out. When it does that, it'll blow a fuse. The same fuse that provides power to the PCM. If the PCM isn't getting any power, you won't get the WTS light or a check engine light when you first turn the key on.

The other common cause is the glow plug relay. If it goes, your glow plugs won't get any power on a cold start attempt. Most diesels don't like starting without glow plug heat on a cold morning. If that's the case, you might be able to 'jump' the glow relay just long enough to get them to heat the cylinders enough to get ti started.

Also in this case, plugging in the block heater for a while may help. But again if you're living in a Navy dorm that may be kinda hard to do.

 

[mike.germann]

I use the white bottle of Deisel Kleen on about every other tank of fuel. Unfortunately, this tank is my off-week. I'll incorporate the red bottle since it looks like it's formulated for colder temps.

Tailgunner, all lights normal. I cycle the glowplugs 3-4 times before starting when it's below 40, even waited about 15 seconds after the WTS light went off. After about 20 seconds I could heard the click from the truck turning off the glowplugs (assume it was the GPR shutting the glow plugs off) and then i'd cycle them again.

Tried for a solid 25-30 mins, about 5 seconds crank times, with about 5 minutes in between attempts. No luck. Ended up walking the 1.3 miles to work in 18 degree weather becuase I was already late.

oorah, foot soldiers.

My batteries show fully charged, my suspicion is that it's just that cold. The truck has been stubborn before, but never not started. Even when it takes 5-6 tries it's always started. However, this is the first day the temperature has been in the teens, and I don't even know what kind of wind chill we have.

I didn't fully warm it up last night before I went home. Like i said, it's just over a mile (1.3) to get to where i work. Rather than take the 15-20 minutes warming it up to operating temps, I started home after 5 mins or so. Porbably didn't help.

 

[Zmann ARGH]

the 911 is supposed to work in an emergency the white is an every tank gel preventer
I wonder if your fuel heater is fubared like mentioned ,, it's common from what I read

 

[mike.germann]

I also replaced the GPR within the last 6 months.

Where's that fuel heater? And how can I tell if it's working or not?

 

[JLDickmon]

the fuel heater is under the fuel filter in the filter bowl..

 

[iracemine]

open the fuel bowl and pour a good drop of 911 into it, and also if you haven't changed the filter recently then change that when you are in there as well. Then fill the tank accordingly with the 911. With the new gpr and good batterys I suspect fuel is hard to flow. But if you can get your hands on a jump box that always helps %100.

 

[dpantazis]

my truck started in abysmal conditions this morning. its gonna take more than 5 second cranks to start it up. cycle key once and cycle the glow plugs. then fire her up.