Smoke on cold start-up

Vipa66 · **Posted:** Sun Nov 30, 2008 7:55 am

Hi guys

New boy from the UK here......

My 05 CRD has started producing a nice big cloud of smoke on cold start-up. The air temp doesn't have to be cold, just the engine, i.e. 1st start-up of the day.

Anyhoo.... cold start = big clouds of white/grey smoke (smells like unburnt diesel and a mechanic friend of mine concurs, 99.999% sure that it's not engine oil.) Coughs and stutters for 10-20 seconds (if it was a gas engine I'd say it was miss-firing) and then gets itself together and all is fine, no more smoke of any description and runs like a dream. Next morning.... same again!

She has 30k on the clock and only started doing this a couple of months ago... I do get the impression she has lost a tiny bit of power, I don't feel like I get the same turbo kick I used to but that may be because i'm used to it and I have now put 255/70/16s on her!

Any idea of what the cause might be? I'd rather not take it into my dealer to investigate just yet as I could see that costing $$$ when it could be something simple!

Thanks
Paul

CRDMiller · **Posted:** Sun Nov 30, 2008 11:22 am

I'd be looking for sticking fcv/egr.

Unburnt fuel means it needs more air. (or a injector is stuck on, witch = tons of smoke all the time, then a hole in a piston)

I'd pop the drivers side cac hose off of the engine inlet and see if i could jigger the fcv butterfly. I'm sure others will chime in =)
Until then, I would greatly enjoy the first start up of the day :p

fastRob · **Posted:** Sun Nov 30, 2008 11:54 am

On cold days when I do not plug it in I get a smokey start.
When I plug it in, no problem.
You could cycle the glow plugs a couple of times but plugging it in is probably better.

Bonehead · **Posted:** Sun Nov 30, 2008 7:54 pm

Goglio704 · **Posted:** Sun Nov 30, 2008 10:23 pm

Based on the fact that it is also missing or running rough, I'd bet money that one or more glowplugs are bad.

nursecosmo · **Posted:** Mon Dec 01, 2008 12:29 am

X2 on a faulty glow plug. Occasionaly a glow plug can be shorted out high in the shaft causing the ECU to think that it is still opperational when in reality it is not getting heat to the tip where it needs it.

retmil46 · **Posted:** Mon Dec 01, 2008 3:41 am

Point is, it SHOULD NOT be doing that, regardless of whether or not the block heater has been plugged in.

Certainly sounds as if the GP's are not functioning as intended, in particular the afterglow function. That sounds like my old '87 MB on a cold start, which doesn't have any after glow capability - white/gray smoke, some initial sputtering and missing on particularly cold nights.

One other item that also makes it worse on the MB on cold nights - clogged fuel filters have made it miss and sputter the same way on cold starts in cold weather - problem pretty much went away when I swapped out filters.

If you're not getting a CEL for the glow plugs, might want to try swapping out the fuel filter and going over the fuel system first. If that has no effect, then it's time to take it into the shop and check out the glow plugs.

Wobbly · **Posted:** Mon Dec 01, 2008 10:40 am

A resistance test should find a bad glow plug. Not sure what the correct value is. My BMW and MB engines had 2 ohm resistance plugs.

007husky · **Posted:** Wed Dec 03, 2008 10:18 am

I ve had a similar problem...

when is cold, ( like 24 F) and i haven't used the jeep for a few days, the battery gets a bit weaker. ( have a 3 yr old battery + some stuff that stays on 24/7, which doesn't help.)

So my cranking is a bit longer but slower, and when it starts if there was extended cranking, it gives out a big puff of smoke.

When i use the jeep the night before, and it starts right up... no smoke.

I need a new battery and to unplug my cell charger and radio transmitter when i leave my car).

Ranger1 · **Joined:** Mon Oct 17, 2005 7:40 pm **Posts:** 1137

Wobbly wrote:

A resistance test should find a bad glow plug. Not sure what the correct value is. My BMW and MB engines had 2 ohm resistance plugs.

In August of 2005, my first egr failed, taking 2 glow plugs with it eventually. The resistance of the bad glowplugs were 167 ohms on #4 and open on #1. The 2 remaining good ones read .5 ohms then and still do today.

Because the dealerships knew little to nothing about repairing the CRD at that time, they replaced the egr valve but not the glow plugs (no gp code set at time of egr failure). With a new egr valve and 2 failing glow plugs(they had not yet set a code), in 95*F summer temperatures, the CRD smoked badly at idle. Only when running at highway speeds did the smoke subside. I noticed instantly when picking the CRD up at the dealership the excessive black smoke at idle even in the summer time temperatures. The engine also ran slower and louder. This was factory stock, when the vehicle was only 6 months old. The vehicle had not smoked at idle prior to the egr failure.

The bad glow plugs eventually set a code, but not until 3 days after returning home from the egr repair dealer visit. I ohmed out the gp's and the dealership replaced them both, but back then STAR would not authorize new gp's until a code was set. That was over 3 years ago and they still measure .5 to .6 ohms cold, even after a 2nd egr failure and replacement in 2006. A flash update corrected the failing glowplug issue. Today there is no smoke at idle or at WOT even in 13*F temps.

Smoke on cold start-up

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