Im dead in the water

[badasp118]

Well I cant get it to start at all. I have fuel to the filter, new filter, new orings in filter head, cant seem to find where the air is getting in. im cranking for ever and once in a while it acts like it wants to start. even gave it a puff of ether and it tried, but no ball game....I don't know what to do now. It has always fired right away...........all the injectors look dry and good. 7 of the glowplugs test good...I am at a loss.......

what makes these start anyways? we dont have spark plugs, and i know guys start there trucks with no glow plugs so how does it happen? It acts like a gasser getting no spark....Its not been that cold, im at a loss........... this was a all of a suden thing that came on. like I say its always started well......

 

[icanfixall]

Diesel requires about 942 degrees in the cylinders to lite off. Please explain what happened when your motor just stopped running. What has been done to the fuel system and why. Do you hear and feel a click when power is applied to the fuel shutoff switch terminal on the injection pump.

 

[GenLightening]

And to expand on that. The high compression in a diesel creates heat (ever touched an air compressor head after it's been running?) and that ignites the fuel. The glow plugs are needed when cold to help things get heated up quicker. I agree with Gary, something may be up with fuel flow somewhere.

 

[paulb3]

When you crack loose an injector line at the injector do you get fuel there?

 

[icanfixall]

Yes is the short answer about cracking loose a line at the injector but... It wont be much and usually it will only leak out if the motor is cranking. Hold the throttle wide open will cause more fuel to leak. Do this when your trying to purge air from the fuel system...

 

[badasp118]

Well, I havn't cracked at the injectors as I have been working on it by myself. I do have a loud click at the IP But I have found that Im not hearing any clicking from my glowplug controller. I dont know if thats a result of the problem or if I have burned it up trying to start it.

as for how the problem started well I havn't done anything to it lately, and it has gotten progressivly harder to start and now will not start at all. I'm getting ready to replace the glow plugs. It took me 45 min the other night after work to start it. It was pretty cold though and it had set for over eight hours with no heater. it just truns over and once in a while it will cough and spit and then back to nothing. I'm wondering if my new lift pump went out. Im about to buy a holly red.......its been six months since I put it in, and it was running good......

even with the heater plugged in I can't get it to start....Also my fuel heater isn't plugged in as I had to fill the top with silicone do to a leak. It melted from a short at some point and will not seal. I have to get a new one.

 

[icanfixall]

As for the glow plugs not working please check the main engine wireing harness plug. The two yellow wires that feed power to the glow plug controller usually shorts out and the plug melts. Just bypass the plug and run a large speaker wire directly to the controller... About runnning the block heater... How do you know that warming up the coolant. That too might be not working... Just some things to check...

 

[Compu Doc]

Plug the block heater in and about 8 hours later see if it starts. If it does then you have glow plug system issues.

 

[Michael Fowler]

badasp118,
Sorry to hear of your problems, but we need to agree on some terminology in order to help you. Since all we have to go on is your report of whats happening, it is even more important that we all use words in the same way.....
"Turn over" this is when the starter spins the engine when you are trying to start it. It turns over on the key. This is distinct from the occasional firing of a cylinder. "Turning over" simply means the starter spins the engine.

In order to start, the starter needs to spin the engine fast enough to generate enough heat for combustion. If the starter is dragging, and the engine turns over slowly, it is unlikely to start. You need a good starter, two good, strong batteries, and good. clean connections between them.
Glow Plugs provide extra heat in the combustion chamber of a diesel to help it start. They are not used after starting, except for a few seconds to make it run a little smoother. Once the engine has been running for a minute, the glow plugs are not used.

One of the beauties of diagnosing a diesel is that there is no ignition system, so the problem is ( almost) always a fuel system issue, provided the starter system, as described above, is good.
I have used a hair dryer ( don't tell Sharon) to help start a diesel when its not too cold. I insert the discharge nozzle end of the hair dryer into the air inlet of the air cleaner ( no turbo), and let it run for 5 or 10 minutes. Then I try to start it. It may take 2 or 3 trials before it fires off.
One caution--DO NOT use starting fluid, unless you are absolutely positive that the glow plugs will not operate. This is a serious warning--ignoring this advice may launch one or both of the cylinder heads into low earth orbit. OK, that's a little exaggeration, but you can blow the heads right off the engine.

One more question that will help diagnose your hard-to-start..... Can you see any smoke from the tailpipe as you crank the engine? I understand you are working alone, so you may have to adjust the right side mirror to see it. The question is, What color smoke do you see?

 

[badasp118]

Well my starting system is all new. New series 31 batteries, new cables, new 150 alternator, new high torque starter, new regulator, and a new solonoid. It turns over awesome. When I try to start it the smoke is gray but as I crank it gets darker after awhile. I pulled off the aircleaner and I have a lot of soot and oily looking residue in the "bore". The motor is spinning fast.....could it be flooding? I havnt found any leaks so far......

 

[icanfixall]

No to answer these motors flooding. If you have smoke you are getting fuel.... But is the fuel getting to the cylinders at the correct time... Has the injection pump gear cover been removed with the pump and gear attached??? If so you may have missed a tooth when you reinstalled the cover and gear... Just making a wag here... A motor spinning fast will create enough heat to make the fuel ignite... Unless you don't have enough compression.

 

[david85]

Just took a glance at the weather forecaset for Salina an I see the temps are dropping below freezing. I generally didn't have much fuel gelling issues in the 15-32F range, but if there was enough water in the filter I did have problems. Also, when was the last time you refueled the truck? Is this a tank full of summer fuel in there?

Leave the truck plugged in overnight and maybe try aiming that hair dryer at the fuel filter the next morning.

As a general rule if the engine in my truck was even luke warm to the touch, it would fire off even below 32F after 2 or 3 full turns.