cant figure it out

[PowerstrokinIt F250]

i know this is overposted but i cant find the info im looking for it wont start in cold temps unless its plugged in. ive put 2 new batterys, a glow plug relay, 8 new glow plugs, did an oil change, checked the hpop reservoir, and starter and injectors are a year old. the only code it has is p1111 all systems passed. the only thing i notice is the water in fuel light is on alot but the fuel bowl wont drain for some reason. i didnt think that had anything to do with it since it pours smoke while cranking. like i said it starts first try when its plugged in, other than that it doesnt which makes me worry about taking out places where i have to leave it sit for a while. i know the kid before me used ether to start it before, and some have said they get addicted, but some say thats a myth. all i know is it runs good when its running, but hard to get it started. any ideas??

[White95f250]

Pull your fuel filter and see what it looks like in there. If your fuel bowl isn't draining then it's probably filled with a bunch of crap and gunk and needs to be pulled and cleaned. Your fpr screen could be gunked up too. I had hard problems starting but once I cleaned everything out it got much better.

O-rings!!

Check the above link for my clean up of the fuel bowl. I dumped about a quarter of my fuel bowl out which was sand and gunk. Everything was clogged up. Oh and ether is horrible on the motor. Don't ever use it.

[madpogue]

How cold is "cold temps"? Have you tried just leaving the key in RUN for an extra 10 seconds or so, for some additional GP run time?

How did the GP wiring look when you changed the plugs? Most notably the connections/harnesses at the valve covers?

[PowerstrokinIt F250]

thanks for the help guys im gonna try cleaning my fuel bowl and the temps around here are about 20 degrees right now but it wont start unless its above oh id say 50 or so. and as for the connections everything looked good to me when i changed the glow plugs, i didnt change the valve cover gaskets though. and yes i know ether is bad for the motor, ive never used it but i know its been used on it before what harm can it do?

[White95f250]

You CAN but you must disconnect your glow plug relay. Ether is fine in a gasoline motor because the spark plug is controlled and therefore will not set the ether off early. A glow plug is constantly glowing and therefore when the ether hits it, it will ignite.


So long story short, if you use ether without disconnecting the gpr......then kaboom can happen.


This is a little video I did on a quick search of youtube. There's a few other vidoes on there too.

Why you don't use starter fluid in a diesel with glow plugs - YouTube

Why you don't use starter fluid in a diesel with glow plugs - YouTube