cold weather starting... what to expect???

[m67tang]

I have 91 f350 and it starts good into the 20 F temp range. Any colder and it better be plugged in. Is this normal? should I expect better or lower temp starting ability in this truck? I hear others at work say their trucks, CTD or PSD, start in the single digits with out plugging in.

 

[sdfabrwannab]

Im no expert on these trucks by far, but have owned mine for about 7 years now. I would say thats about right for my truck, i plug it in if i know its going to be really cold. It depends on you glow plug system. I have had only a couple glow plugs working at one point and it didnt want to start when it was down around 50 degrees.

 

[rjjp]

My 92 7.3 will start down to -10 with one cycle of the plugs and no block heater... But it has new glow plugs and relay as of november, and only 142xxx on it. I believe that it also dapends on your compression, if it's high mileage and getting worn out then it'll be harder to start, also what was the new compression ratio of your engine, their has been atleast 2 differn't ones every year that ford had a diesel.

 

[ericboutin]

Another major factor is how much actual juice is getting to your GPC. Mine used to act a fool starting and I ran a sole power source for the GPC and now it's like night and day. We have been having "extremely" (for us) cold temps here where it has been down around 20 the last few mornings and the truck fires off now with no problems. Like was said above mine used to act a fool at 40! This is a very simple thing to do and it pays huge dividends!

 

[FordGuy100]

Mine started with a dying starter at 7*F. It started up for me a couple weeks ago at 13*F but then a day later I tried starting at 9*F and my glow plugs were fried. Oh well. I'm sure it will start real good now with new Motorcraft glow plugs

 

[icanfixall]

The Ford engineers did a real bad job of wireing up the power to the glow plug controllers on the 7.3 solid state mess. They ran two wires thru some way too small electrical plug and thats where the problem is. Those wires carry more amps that heat up the connecter. Then corrsion starts and then the heating... Thats burns up the connecter. I replaced those two tiny wires (actually 8 gauge I think) with a 4 gauge speaker wire. This wire has more strands in it so its carrying the amps easier. I didn't make a joint it it, just ran it directly from the fender solenoid to the controller. Works better than an illegal in the fields.

 

[Agnem]

If everything is 100% I'm not sure we really know how cold it would have to be to prevent one of these from starting. They always lite off if things are 100% good.

 

[7bicks]

Six new glow plugs, a push button to help with a little extra burn, -7 this morning and no start.
I thought it was plugged in but my timer either quit or got unplugged for a few hours as it did not turn on to warm the truck up.

 

[f-two-fiddy]

IF all is in working order, You can start at -30. I've done it with My 85.

So so batteries, stock 6V controller, half worn out starter, 20 year old cables, and no block heater.

2 cycles of the GP's, and She lit. She didn't seem to like waking up right away. But after 30 secs or so, She settled down, and idled fine.

You NEED some cranking RPM's at low temps.

 

[IH_444]

IF all is in working order, You can start at -30. I've done it with My 85.

I don't even think my gassers would start in that kind of cold! My IDI barely turns over when it's below 0.

 

[franklin2]

I read somewhere that officially Ford designed the truck to start with the glowplugs down to 10f. Any lower than that and they recommend it be plugged in.

 

[Rot Box]

My manual recommends 10W-30 for any temps below 20*F. That being said if everything was in perfect working order and you were running a lighter oil and treated fuel I don't think -10* would be impossible.

I wouldn't want to count on it in an emergency though!

 

[ne buckeye]

My truck starts after one cycle,all the glow plugs are good, I run the mystic semi-senthetic oil, right now in ne, its like -10 with a -30 windchill. It starts fine after work today , not plugged in

 

[LCAM-01XA]

The Ford engineers did a real bad job of wireing up the power to the glow plug controllers on the 7.3 solid state mess. They ran two wires thru some way too small electrical plug and thats where the problem is. Those wires carry more amps that heat up the connecter. Then corrsion starts and then the heating... Thats burns up the connecter. I replaced those two tiny wires (actually 8 gauge I think) with a 4 gauge speaker wire. This wire has more strands in it so its carrying the amps easier. I didn't make a joint it it, just ran it directly from the fender solenoid to the controller. Works better than an illegal in the fields.

10 gauge I thing those wires are, I pulled mine off that silly connector and spliced both ends together with good butt connectors then insulated them with heat-shrink and electrical tape over it. Then I added a 4-gauge stereo amp cable from the batte directly to the GPR, so now the GPR draws power through both factory wires and the big external one, as a result of which she actually started entering afterglow cycles (never did it before) and was also very easy to start in the cold, all till I lost a plug or two. She still fires off now, after a 15-second manual glow, and it's been in the 20s for at least a week already. So yes, the dedicated external power feed is a great thing to have!

 

[snicklas]

I know it all depends on condition of the fuel and glow plug system and the battery or batteries. My 6.0 has started at 10 degrees after 8.5 hr + cold soak at work. Turn the key, wait on the WTS to go out and hit the key. 5 or 6 seconds cranking and it fires right off, will stumble for the first 2 or 3 seconds and then smooths right out.

The ultmate cold start that I have seen is one that makes most on here cringe. This video of a truck from Dave's Farm. The engine is encased in snow and it still fires off....... so they will start when it is cold!!!