HARD START ISSUE, GLOW PLUGS?

craneman · **Posted:** Mon Jan 09, 2012 10:16 am

had a couple hard start issues this week and i think it might be glow plugs but would like some feedback from you all.
tuesday it was 9 degrees here and the wife went out to start the lib and it would not fire. just turned over what i would
call, hard, with white smoke out the back. when i got home it was about 30 degrees and i got it to start.
same issue this moning, about 20 degrees, hard to roll over but it did finally start. im thinking the glow plugs are
not working at all hence the hard start. any suggestions on where to tackel this. Mike

papaindigo · **Posted:** Mon Jan 09, 2012 10:59 am

Try plugging in block heater ideally on timer set for like 2-4 hrs before start. Try cycling the glow plugs a couple of times; key on 15 seconds, key of, key on 15 seconds; start.

Maybe more likely what's the state of your battery? Cold/hot extremes are really hard on batteries and if your's is not completely up to par it may spin the engine but not have enough juice to convince the ECU that it's ok to tell the engine to actually fire.

BlackLibertyCRD · **Posted:** Mon Jan 09, 2012 12:58 pm

On cold mornings I turn on the key, go ahead and fasten my seat belt then I start it up. Works great! :BANANA:

craneman · **Posted:** Mon Jan 09, 2012 2:45 pm

when i start up i always allow a short amout of time to pass, letting the electric fuel pump power up, so i dont turn the key right away. i will try and cycle the glow plugs 2 0r 3 times befor i do my next cold start and see what happens. dose anyone have experience changing the glow plugs if it comes to that?

mikmaze · **Posted:** Mon Jan 09, 2012 5:09 pm

If you are still on original battery i would say its time for change, slow crank is a sure way for it to not start.

racertracer · **Posted:** Mon Jan 09, 2012 10:34 pm

Here is what I gathered from the net regarding the casue of white smoke in a diesel engine.

White smoke occurs when raw diesel comes through the exhaust completely intact and unburned.

Some causes of this include: Faulty or damaged injectors; Incorrect injection timing (could be a worn timing gear or damaged crankshaft keyway). Low cylinder compression (eg caused by leaking or broken valves, piston ring sticking, cylinder and/or ring wear, or cylinder glaze).

When white smoke occurs at cold start, and then disappears as the engine warms up, the most common causes are fouling deposits around piston rings and/or cylinder glazing. Use of a solvent like Seafoam to clear it away.

Water entering combustion spaces will also create white smoke. Faulty head gaskets and cracked cylinder heads are a common cause of water entry, and are often to blame. Unfortunately, expensive mechanical repair is the only proper solution if this happens.

Try this; Before you turn the key prime the fuel head till it is rock hard then start it.

White smoke could be due to a stuck fuel injector: Remove the fuel filter and empty the diesel fuel, then fill it with Seafoam, re-attach it and prime the fuel head again. Start the vehicle and take her out for a long hard ride to get the crud out.... see if that doesn't cure it.

BlackLibertyCRD · **Posted:** Tue Jan 10, 2012 12:19 am

If it was glow plugs you will get a code

craneman · **Posted:** Tue Jan 10, 2012 3:31 pm

thanks guys for the tips. will try and do a clean out with the seafoam. the white smoke is just at inital startup so i dont think it is an internal issue. just rolled over 80,000 last week so a touch early for the timeing belt. as for the battery i did switch it out for a new one in september. did a filter change at 75,000, so dont think the fuel filter is bad. might change it just for kicks. when i tried to start it on that cold day it would turn over fine just never fired. i thought it might be water in the fuel but then i thought what about the fuel heater so i ruled that out and put my efforts into finding glow plug problems. could not find a fuse that could have blown so thats out, but i did read here about problems with them. this moning,28 degrees, turned right over with my standard 15-20 second wait to start. lucky for us we have not seen that kind of low temp except for that day. i normally do plug in when i know its going to be cold. cold like below 20, have a timer for 3 hour run before i leave. i just dont want to have the wife leave for an extended trip somewhere and have the dam thing strand her. you know the pain that would cause.

HARD START ISSUE, GLOW PLUGS?

Who is online