frozen starter

[DecentDiesels]

if anyone else has experienced this problem, here was our solution-

(it is cold -0 here in MN, and unfortunately we do not have indoor parking for our work trucks)

we plug our 7.3 trucks in 3 hrs before start, so the oil is nice and warm

however, when you turn the key over , you hear the solenoid click

it is due to the starter actually shrinking up in the cold and will not turn

we put a small space heater on it for like 10-15 min and it will turn over fine

perhaps during some down time we will have the starter all cleaned out and see if the problem persists

[2006PSDSD]

Never heard of a frozen starter . Maybe the starter is just going south, with a bad part on the armature....

[DecentDiesels]

how long do starters typically last? this seems like a short life span

I installed it just over 2 years ago...

I suppose two years of MN road salt killed it?

or I got a weak one out of the batch?

it works fine if i warm it up, could it be a bit dirty and when it shrinks in the cold it sticks itself up on some road grit?

thanks for your input!

[2006PSDSD]

Originally Posted by DecentDiesels

how long do starters typically last? this seems like a short life span

I installed it just over 2 years ago...

I suppose two years of MN road salt killed it?

or I got a weak one out of the batch?

it works fine if i warm it up, could it be a bit dirty and when it shrinks in the cold it sticks itself up on some road grit?

thanks for your input!

I've never heard of that, but I guess anything is possible. Does the truck start and shutdown a lot? I'm thinking about the poor starters in the local UPS and Fedex trucks that are turned off everytime the driver makes a delivery . I bet those Cummins' don't like that much either

[DecentDiesels]

i suppose it averages a few starts per day, and we have used the vehicle quite a bit

we drive a lot during the winter when there is a lot of road salt

we'll see what we find when we open it up...

[2006PSDSD]

Keep us posted