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Truck wont start unless plugged in

2K views 7 replies 4 participants last post by  dritter 
#1 ·
Hi im new to the site and posting this for my dads 2000 Powerstroke. His truck wont start unless it is plugged in, the other day it was 50 out and not plugged in so he had to use ether to start it. I told him it had to be a problem with the glow plugs because his gauge never drops when the WTS light is on it goes right up to around 14 and never moves. We checked the relay with a test light and it was kicking in i didnt however check the voltage on it. He took it to a shop and they said all the glow plugs are working and they checked the compression 7 cyl ranged from 320-390 and one was at 290 and they believe he has 3 injectors that arent working right not sure how they tested them though. He is going to have them test the voltage on the relay and let me know but does this sound like an injector problem or glow plugs are something else all together. The day it was 50 it acted like it wasnt firing but if its plugged in it fires right up.

thanks for the help.
 
#3 ·
What if you can hear it cycle and it checked out good with a test light? does the corrosion jsut not let enough power go through?
 
#4 ·
I have told them replace the relay the worst would be that he is out a few bucks and that alot cheaper than replacing injectors to be in the same position after. I had a question, when the GPR kicks in should i be able to see a drop on the volt gauge in the pickup. I have a dodge and you can notice the whole time that the grid heater is kicking in and out as the truck warms up but i didnt know if it was the same on the powerstroke. I hear everyone say to get the Stancor relay, do any parts stores carry Stancor or is this something that needs ordered online, if so is the Napa 109 the second choice since he needs something today to get it back to going.

thanks
 
#5 ·
glo plug relay

ya i think that mite have something to do with it. because they tested mine and told me it was fine and that it was the glo plugs, i changed the glo plugs and they were fine to begin with. it still wouldnt fire tho until i changed the relay. u can buy them on ebay real cheap, i paid 50 for my last one
 
#6 ·
Ok has there been an Injector Buzz test done, was there a Cylinder Contribution test done. Were you told which injectors were not working. Are all those injectors that are not working on the same side of the engine.

It is possible that this is a UVC ( Under Valve Cover Wiring Harness) problem. Either the harness has became loose or has a bad connection. Or the harness is no good. The harness is like 32 dollars from the dealership.

You have one cylinder that has a 290psi compression test result. I would be looking at that cylinder more closely. Because that is kinda low for a diesel.
 
#7 ·
im not sure if they did a contribution test i will ask and post back. I agree that the low cylinder compression on that one could be a problem and i will try to get more info on which injectors and cylinder are bad. He has always plugged it in during the winter and now that the weather is warm he quit plugging it in and now the problem showed up. They had told him last month that he had an injector sticking and worked fine once warm so im not sure if all three are doing that or just shot i will try to find out.
 
#8 ·
I am having the same promblem as femaff with a 1995 psd wont start at 50 degrees unless plugged in.
had contribution test done checked out good. compression test cly 1-400 2-310 3-380 4-320 5-350 6-320 7-380 8-330. all new glowplugs auto lite 1111( looks like from what i have been reading that they have problems with those) Havent done the Buzz test yet. GPR tested good with a test light, looks like it is the original 248000 miles. My first diesl and have even gotten to put 100 miles on it? Bummed
 
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