needs plug

[droobie d]

I am so sick of my truck not starting unless it is plugged in. It feels like it has to be at least 40 deg. for my truck to start on its own. I feel like I can't take it anywhere for the fear of it not starting back up. Right now it is a sunny 32 deg. and the s.o.b. won't start again.

[Marty]

You need to make sure your batteries are at optimal operating condition. If they are new, properly working, with good clean connections - you may need to test your glow plugs.

You can do a test the GP relay with AE or something similar but the real test is to pull them and test their resistance. Use an Ohmmeter to measure the resistance from the tip of the glow plug to the cylinder head. Good plugs show about .5-.6 Ohms.

[droobie d]

What about oil? Right now I am using Rotella 15w40. I heard of switching to a lighter oil in the winter. This is my first winter with a diesel so any tricks would help.

[dsl_pwrd_ford]

15w40 is recommended down to 20*, colder than that and you should switch to a diesel-rated 10w30. I'm having the same problem as you. I believe that it's the batts, they have enough juice to crank, but they can't heat the glow plugs hot enough.

by the way, WELCOME TO THE ORG!

[99 Red Stroker]

I was having the same problem. Mine is a early 99 and I replaced relay and glow plugs. I had two plugs that were bad and still had the starting problem.
I switched 5w40 rotella and it starts at 5 degrees with no trouble. The lighter oil sure helped mine and has others here also. Just make sure you check out your glow plug system. Hope this helps and good luck with your fix I know that can be a pain.
99 Red Stroker

[droobie d]

thanks for all the info. as soon as the blizzard is done i will test the relay and glow plugs.

[slashpyro]

I have a 6.0, not a 7.3, but I had the same problem last winter. After not being able to start it a couple times after work (and trying so many times that it burned out my starter) I took it to the dealer to see if the plugs were bad, etc.

They said they reprogrammed my ECM and I'd 'NEVER' have a problem again. I'll be damned if it didn't start like a champ from then on. Even after I stayed at a friend's apt. over a VERY cold night and the beast started up perfectly fine in the morning.

Long story short, you might want to see if Ford has a program for the 7.3 that will do the same.