Truck wont start when cold

[cody mapes]

1994 7.3 idi turbo has difficulty starting afyer sitting for about 5 hours or overnight.i always have to end up spraying starter fluid for it to get going.but once it starts it runs good and will start right up when warm.
I have a fuel Leak that I am about to fix from one of the Injection lines.
Would that cause it to have trouble starting?

 

[ihc1470]

Possible. What are the glow plugs doing. How fast does it crank when cold? Have you tried plugging in the block heater if it has one?

 

[YachtTech82]

Air is getting into your fuel system. Could be from numerous places. I just did a ton of work to mine and it wasn't even running bad . After getting it all back together it ran great the the next morning, long crank, fuel leaking out of fuel heater connector socket, it wasn't before but after moving everything around it was. Not saying that is the issue but there's alot of places for air to get into these fuel systems.

 

[IDIBRONCO]

I'm going to go along with ihc1470 here. The leak is from an injector line. So I don't believe that would affect the starting much. Once it starts, the engine runs fine. It doesn't start, run for a few seconds, and then die again like it would with air. I'll second the block heater trick once you get the injector line replaced. If it starts after being plugged in for a couple of hours, then it's the glow plugs system. If not, then I'd be looking at grounds, battery cables, starter, and batteries.

 

[Kdo58]

Glow plugs or controller,

 

[IDIBOBS]

Stop using starting fluid. It will kill things. Check glow plug system. It is almost % the glow plugs system. Either controller or plugs. This is part of regular maintenance that no one ever wants to do. It’s like doing spark plugs on a gasser. While your in the area messing with it move the controller to the passenger fender it will be cooler, last longer and easier to replace when you need to.

 

[cody mapes]

Possible. What are the glow plugs doing. How fast does it crank when cold? Have you tried plugging in the block heater if it has one?

I discovered there is a bypas switch for the plugs.i just had to hold this little button for 15 seconds now starts good

 

[ihc1470]

Thanks for letting everyone know what you found. It certainly helps.

 

[DirtyWood]

I discovered there is a bypas switch for the plugs.i just had to hold this little button for 15 seconds now starts good

There seems to be a range of opinions on how long to glow the plugs but 15 seconds is probably right at or very close to the safe maximum unless it's severely cold. I find 10 seconds to be pretty good for weather down to around 35 degrees.