Just recently I've been having trouble starting my CRD when it's been sitting for awhile in temps at or below 55 degrees. (i.e. over night or even as short as three hours) Earlier this "winter" (I live in Houston where it rarely gets below 40 in the winter) I had no problems under the same weather situations, but recently, it takes five or six times of turning the key before it will crank over. When temps are in the 60's and above, I have no problems at all. I always wait for the glow plug light to go off before even attempting to start it up. Any suggestions?

It's an 05 CRD with a little over 25,000 mile on it.

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JeepGalPeg
Houston, TX

2008 "Jeep Green" Liberty 4x2 with moon roof
(I traded my 2005 Liberty CRD after way too many problems!)

I also have a 2005 CRD (46,000 mile) that about a month ago began to experience the same symptoms you describe. It is much colder here in New Hampshire but in previous winters it always started very quickly. About a week ago it started, ran for several seconds and then shut down and would not start. I checked for air in the fuel filter and after bleeding it again started and ran normally for several hours. I had to bleed the system several times that day and was able to get a significant amount of air out each time. Here is what I think happens. The fuel heater element is situated high in the filter head. If there is air in the system the heater element can be exposed to air rather than fuel. When this happens it's not able to transfer heat to the fuel and overheats to the point where it melts the plastic where it passes through the heater puck. This opens up a passage for further air/fuel leaks. One way to this can be checked by pulling the plug to the heater and checking for a burnt connector and the female socket wet with diesel fuel. There are other threads that talk about this problem with the fuel heater. In the fall when this was first discussed, I checked my heater plug and saw no evidence of a fuel leak or burnt plug. At that time the outside temperature was warmer and the heater was not being activated.

I was able to get the CRD to the dealer. They replaced the filter head and at this time the excessive cranking appears to be solved. I believe this will happen again due to the bad design but as long as it's under warranty I'll let them keep replacing the filter head. There are other options for a real fix but "improving" this design flaw will likely void the warranty on much of the fuel system.

Ditto on the "suspect the fuel filter and head" sentiment. Have you had the filter replaced? If it's getting close to restricted, things like cold weather will exacerbate flow through the filter especially with the stock filter element (it's adequate but not the best in the world..) Next time you have an extended period like this, try bleeding the fuel head before you start it (you'll need an 11mm wrench, some paper towels and your thumb) and see if it starts up quicker and if you haven't had the filter replaced yet, it's probably time to do it anyway.

Dan

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2005 Silver CRD Limited
245/75R16 GoodYear Duratracs
Fumoto drain | ProVent CCV Filter
Stanadyne FM100 filter | Cummins fuel pump
GDE Eco | SEGR | BoulderBars | FrankenLift | Frankenskids

Thanks so much! I'm off to the dealer on Monday with a copy of these two posts in hand!

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JeepGalPeg
Houston, TX

2008 "Jeep Green" Liberty 4x2 with moon roof
(I traded my 2005 Liberty CRD after way too many problems!)

As the previous poster suggests If you have never had your fuel filter changed by all means head for the dealer and get it changed. Although many people on this forum have experienced fuel air/leak with the filter head, my dealer's service department said they had never heard of this happening before. They needed to actually see the burnt plug and leaking fuel to be convinced. Since you have not had a "no start" I suspect your CRD may benefit from purging air from the fuel filter head. Even so, if you have a fuel/air leak in the filter head it may be in an earlier stage. To prepare for your service "experience" it's easy to pull the heater plug and look for burn marks and or leaking fuel in the socket. There are threads that describe this complete with pictures, no tools required. Good Luck.