Hard start in the summer

[LHFD_LH33]

Hi all I am new here and just bought a 2001 f350 dually with a 7.3 powerstroke. It has been a dream of mine for a while and I now have one.

So here is my problem. In the morning with average outside temp of 60 to 70 degrees even hottier recently. First thing in the morning when I start it up it usally takes 2 to 3 times to start and will chug for a while until the high idle kicks in. If I dont let it warm up for about 10 to 15 minutes the truck will not move and if it does it goes about 1 mph. Once it heats up there is no problem. I will let it warm up go to work let it set there for 8 hours and then it will have to warm up for 10 to 15 minutes before I can drive away.

Now if I plug it in to a a timer and have it prewarm at 4am to 7am it starts and runs no problem.

I am not sure if it is the glow plugs glow plug relay and some one told me it might be a cold start relay ( what is this where is it and who makes them)

Thank you in advance and I hope you can help

[najaf4life]

hey man I had the same problem with my truck.... the cps went out on my truck.... don't go to your local store to by it unless it is around $20 or so..... it doesn't take no time at all to change it.... if you want here is a website that you can but it off of... go for the one that is $15.80.... here is the website powerstrokepartsusa.com - Product Details hope this helps you out....

[Performance Oil Products]

very well could be your glowplug relay. CPS is usually after the truck warms up.

Good luck and welcome to the ORG

[najaf4life]

i guess it could be the glow plug relay but I had the same problem with mine and I changed the cps and it runs fine now.... didn't change anything with the glow plugs...

[Performance Oil Products]

Anything is possible, if you can find the cheaper CPS try it out. Both items are inexpensive and easy to change. If it's not the CPS and you buy one, Now you have a spare for your glove box

My $$$$$ is on the relay

[najaf4life]

well I change my glow plug relay last year and it was around $54 or so.... not to bad...

[LHFD_LH33]

Not wanting to sound stupid What is the CPS and where is it located.
I bought a Glow Plug Relay and havent put it in yet.
Also on the engine block behind the fuel filter and infront of the trubo there are 2 relays both have 2 big wires and 2 small wires. One is the glow plug relay ( which one is it) and the other is what kind of relay or are there 2 glow plug relays one for each side.

[Dave]

Originally Posted by LHFD_LH33

Not wanting to sound stupid What is the CPS and where is it located.
I bought a Glow Plug Relay and havent put it in yet.
Also on the engine block behind the fuel filter and infront of the trubo there are 2 relays both have 2 big wires and 2 small wires. One is the glow plug relay ( which one is it) and the other is what kind of relay or are there 2 glow plug relays one for each side.

The glow plug relay is the further back of the two the other one is for the intake air heater

[LHFD_LH33]

I replaced the glow plug relay and still having trouble starting in the morning. Put a test light on the relay. It stays on for approx 2 minutes the dashboard light only stays on for about 10 seconds if that.
Some one told me it may be an oil pressure sending unit that measures the oil temp that tells the relay how long to stay on. If that is what it does where is it and what is it called.
Should I change that or should I go straight to the glow plugs.

[bigcountrysg]

Wow a hard start in the summer. Well you deffinately want that fixed before winter.

I aggree most likely it is glowplug relay or glowplugs being bad. I am replacing mine this summer due to the hard starts I had in the winter. I got 150,000 on my orginal glowplugs I think they are getting weak if not that then I got some that are completely bad.

Oh and to answer your question the CPS ( cam position sensor) is located on the front of engine, between the crank and water pump pulley at 11 o'clock as your looking up from under neath the truck. It requires a 10 mm socket 3 inch extension and ratchet to replace this sensor.

To answer another one of your questions yes the cps can cause hard start situations.

Another answer is yes the cps is cheaper then replacing glow plugs. But the best thing to do is trouble shoot the problem find the cause and fix it.