New Batteries, New Cables, Blead Lines, No Start

[IDI Diesel7.3]

Truck: 89' 7.3 IDI Diesel with Factory ATS turbo on it (motor is on bare frame, no wiring harness other than the one on engine)

I dropped the motor into the frame and want to start it before i drop the body on to make sure everything is working fine, but as of now.. it is not

First Try: Small Cables, 2 Batteries (Not Great), Old fuel diluted with new stuff, Battery charger on cold cranking amp start, using ether, not enough cranking power, FAILURE

Second Try: JD Strong Box Batteries out of combine, changed starter from my parts truck, Heavier Cables (the stock ones from the truck), Using Ether, Cranked alot better and got a few puffs of black smoke, almost started but didn't. Drawing fuel from a jerry can. Also put on a new fuel filter on this run, and drained out most of the old fuel from the system.

Third Try (Today): Brand new 900 cold cranking amp exide batteries, new cable ends, took off starter again and cleaned all connections, Hooked up and cycling Glow Plugs, Blead Fuel Lines, Don`t seem to have as good of cranking power, white smoke but no sign of firing.

The set up right now
-New Batteries
-Power cable running to starter and ignition wire
-Ground cables grounded to engine Block
-GPs hooked up
-Mechanical and Electric Fuel Pumps Running
-Power going to both terminals on IP (not sure if you need both or just back one)

Am I missing something, At this point i`m thinking that maybe that starter is not good enough but on the second run it cranked like a champ, or am I maybe not getting ENOUGH fuel. Can someone give me some direction here please! I`m starting to get fed up with the IDI build at this point, not quite what I was hoping for... Having the turbo on maybe make a difference, no question marks in this post because for some reason my keyboard symbols switched to french and i have no idea how to change back! thanks guys

 

[DieselCowboy]

I'm having the same problem. I was running an alright battery with a junk battery the past couple days and it would crank fast the first few cranks, but then it would slow down. I took the battery out of my truck, which I know is good, and now it doesn't crank fast at all. I think I have ****** connections, to be honest. I'm getting fed up with mine like you are, but because I NEED the truck for work, I have no choice but to slave on. I probably should have done more research before I started this build. If I figure the secret out, I'll let you know. Good luck!

 

[IDI Diesel7.3]

We diagnosed now that the pump is no good, I'm getting lots of fuel to the IP but none or very little to the injectors now. So I swapped out the pump last night, but then the motor would barely crank and the started heated up quite a bit, so I couldnt prime the pump to see if switching it fixed the problem. I ordered a new Bosch starter this morning, didnt come in this afternoon like it was supposed to so hopefully get it tomorrow, and see if I can make things go! and DieselCowboyy I have new cables and have checked all the connections, I am grounded to the block on a polished surface. I'll let you know how the new starter works out that may be your problem also? The new bosch starter is smaller in size but has twice the cranking power according to them so thats a plus!