Truck will only start off of ether

[treeeman00]

I have a 1996 F-350 4x4 psd. It was running perfectly fine then one cold morning I went to fire her up and she was not hitting at all. I was getting white smoke. Batteries were doing down so I gave her a shot of ether and she fired up. I know im not supposed to use ether. I dont like it but I was desperate. Anyways when its warm and I shut it off it will fire back up just fine. Im kind of suspecting the glow plug relay but I havent tested anything yet. I am getting my wait to start light for the normal duration. I also suspected the cps but I replaced that a couple years ago and the truck is not shutting off. It runs perfectly after its started. Anybody have any ideas?

[Turbostang500]

Go through the glow plug system. Might be more than just the relay but your problem is likely here.

[madpogue]

^^^^ +1; Test glow plugs, relay and wiring. The fact that the ether did NOT blow up your intake indicates the GPs may not be working.

[BigFuel]

^ +2 with madpogue and Lee. Warning that you should never use ether (or the like) with the GPR still functioning. Just pull the positive wire from the key switch off. You'll get a great view of the top of your motor when it's laying on the ground in front of the truck after the ether ignites from the glow plugs.

[treeeman00]

sorry for the late reply. Ive been deer hunting and have had no internet service. THanks for the replies. I agree the problem is with my glow plug system. I understand that I shouldnt use ether but I had no choice because I had to use my truck that day. It was stupid but I gambled. Anyways do these trucks use a glowplug controller or is it just a relay? Does anyone think it coulod be camshaft position sensor related? I dont think so because its not shuting off any.

[Turbostang500]

Probably not the cps. Your truck should have just a relay. I would check it AND the gp's. Just because the relay works, doesn't mean the glow plugs are good.

[madpogue]

The glow plug "controller" is the PCM. And indeed, if you're getting smoke, and if the tach is moving, the CPS is _probably_ not a cause.

[treeeman00]

sounds good guys. I will check the relay and gp's and report my findings.

[big hauss]

If you got one replace the glow plug solenoid. Mine was about 60 dollars

[jeremie444]

Originally Posted by madpogue

The glow plug "controller" is the PCM. And indeed, if you're getting smoke, and if the tach is moving, the CPS is _probably_ not a cause.

While i agree that it's prolly not his CPS, just because the tach is moving and your getting smoke still dosen't mean it not the CPS. My truck was doing this exact same thing this week, tach would move, and the truck would blow smoke, but it wouldn't stay running. Changed the CPS, runs like normal again.

to the OP, good time to do the stancor mod.