starter fluid

[oldmisterbill]

"don,t give it much" "just a little shot" "occasionally won't hurt" "just a shot for part of a second" " any more than a SMALL shot "
To me this advice has a lot of variables. My "sip" of water may be a gulp to you-or a drop to someone else.

"SOMETHING LIKE WHATS ON MY 856. THAT HAS A LIL CAN OF EITHER MOUNTED BY THE ENGINE THEN YOU JUS PUSH THE BUTTON AND IT GIVES IT A SHOT "
A predeterminded "shot should be dependable for a while-but contuniously is never good for it.

I remember back in 1969 it got real cold in Massachusetts one morning. & trucks wouldn't start -all of them got a shot of ether by "professional drivers" all of them were ether locked.

I know myself-I have a tendency to want to "shoot too much" in order to get a "quick start" so myself ,I refrain from ether and When I have to I am very careful to "shoot" less then I want to.Ether is a great parts cleaner -that should be its main use.

 

[Andylad13]

The white wire is the one to disconnect for the 7.3 controller to totally disable the plugs.


This is in the tech section.

Always surf the tech section first. Lots of good stuff in there.

 

[stevewillis]

found the article still cant find the box mines a 91 250 4x4 maybe different?

 

[Goofyexponent]

My controller was clicking as well...i didn't have ANY heat to the GP's. How lon gis your WTS staying on? Just a second or less, then there is NO power going to the GP's.

I am a professional driver, I use ether when I HAVE to to get things moving. What I did to start my truck, was to give it a quick 1/2 to a 1 full second show into the air filter. This is ALL you need. Any more and you will have dain holes in the pistons to allow coolant drainage when the cavitation bug bites.

ALSO it helps to crank the truck for a couple seconds to get the pistons "wet" and full of fuel before introducing ether into the system. Less chance of burning her up.

As mentioned before, just double check that there is no voltage going to the GP's. Your controller is at the VERY back of the engine at the firewall....right beside the oil pressure sending unit. There is a big wiring harness covered in a black plastic loom going under the injection lines on the driver's side of the engine...follow that back to the rear of the engine and you will find the GP relay and controller.

 

[65sixbanger]

Ok my glow plug controller clicks and everything, but none of my GP's work, so for now I pop it off with Ether in the morning.

I have heard amyth/rumor that diesels will get addicted to to starting on ether, is this true?

 

[onebadiditurbo]

the myth /rumor about diesels getting addicted is sometrue but quite lick someone smoking . Ether used frequently can cause the cylinder to glaze some call it drying up. it basically results in a loss of compression enough that it has to have a higher flashpoint than the diesel and gp's alone can provide. 6.9l were bad about breaking head bolts if user didnt know what he was doin.

 

[timothyr1014]

a trick to avoiding an ether addiction (and a big part to using it safely) is like Goofy said...crank it 5~10 sec, then give it a quick whiff...

In all of the diesels I have ever owned I have never broken one or developed an addiction using this method...moreover, with the little bit of prep they tend to fire on the first cycle.

 

[Goofyexponent]

I have heard of a "friend of a friend's truck" getting addicted to ether, but I have never personally seen one.

I am not saying that it doesn't happen, but how can a steel object tell if it's GP's or ether making her light off?

 

[Fishin76]

I have heard of a "friend of a friend's truck" getting addicted to ether, but I have never personally seen one.

I am not saying that it doesn't happen, but how can a steel object tell if it's GP's or ether making her light off?

Because ether contains other additives for upper cylinder lubrication and propellant. It's different kinda heat. Your right, truck doesn't know the differnence, but the diesel fuel does.

 

[Andylad13]

Just remember that the relay will click during the after glow cycle, but should burn the plugs for 8+ seconds minimum on a cold day. The shorter the glow plugs burn, the less working plugs you have.

 

[needboost2live]

i was reading an article about diesels and ether. It basicly said that its harmful because diesels are so high compression to light off the diesel fuel. Ether fires at a much lower compression causing the the kaboom to happen when the piston is still on its way up on the compression stroke. IE causing a downward force on the piston when it is still moving up = like you all said, blowing holes and pistons and breaking rods etc..... anyone else read that?

 

[Goofyexponent]

i was reading an article about diesels and ether. It basicly said that its harmful because diesels are so high compression to light off the diesel fuel. Ether fires at a much lower compression causing the the kaboom to happen when the piston is still on its way up on the compression stroke. IE causing a downward force on the piston when it is still moving up = like you all said, blowing holes and pistons and breaking rods etc..... anyone else read that?

That is exactly what ether does...it lowers teh flashpoint of the diesel...allowing it to light off faster. It's main use is for cold weather starts, so using it to light off in the summer makes this worse.

I ALWAYS roll the engine for a couple of seconds to put fuel on the pistons, THEN give her a little burst, and try starting her again...This makes sure the pistons aren't dry and kind of protects them a little from the ether.