Hard starting in extreme cold

[cappybye]

I have a 2005 Harley Davidson F-350 with the EGR deleted, and the oil cooler and various valves (IPR etc) a couple of years ago, it has 140k miles. Truck has worked great since I did the job on the engine, but I live in Northern Canada and found the truck extremely hard to start in the cold last winter. If I didn't plug it in and it turned cold through the night it would start really rough and put out some black smoke. It never did this before. In minus 40 even plugged in it wasn't completely happy until it got up to operating temperature. Lately (in summer weather) I've noticed it takes a few extra seconds of cranking to get started. I would like to keep the truck for a couple more years but it needs to be reliable, so I'm a bit worried about this and need to get it sorted. Any ideas on where to start?

Also, a quick question, I can pull the turbo on my truck without lifting the cab, but do you have to lift the cab to pull the turbo on a 2006 or 2007?

[jesilvas]

Lots of threads about this.
Check batteries. 850CCA min each. Load test each individually.
Battery connections. Barely dirty, clean them.
Alternator output once GPs are off and it's fully charging. Check it.
FICM is gonna need checking too.
Wouldn't hurt to double check GPs before winter starting too.

[cappybye]

There more to it than that, it isn't an electrical issue it's an engine issue. Batteries are new, the truck cranks just fine. FICM was redone by Bulletproof diesel when I did the engine work.

[JIM_C]

What oil are you using? A 0W-40 may be in order for that kind of cold.

[cappybye]

Been using Rotella full-synthetic 0-40 for years.

[WarChild]

Are there any codes? Does it sound like stiction when it first starts up? What are your volts from the batteries and the FICM while starting until after it is warmed up? Just becouse your FICM was worked on doesnt mean it isnt bad. Also what is your fuel pressure on start up, WOT and idle?

[cappybye]

I haven't checked anything since this issue started last winter, there aren't any shops in my area and I try and stay away from the dealer as long as I can! I did run it for codes and none came up. I know these are things I could have done before posting my questions but I figured I might get a better idea of what to look for over here. I was thinking I may have an injector or fuel pump issue. Once it's up and running the truck runs flawlessly.

The truck starts really rough in the cold, runs at very low idles and struggles while putting out black smoke. After 20 seconds or so it smoothes out, but the smoke is still pretty heavy while it idles and warms up. I have noticed lately (in summer) that the truck needs to crank a second or two longer than it used to to start, both hot and cold, so I figured it's time to do a bit of investigating.

[Coach73]

Glow plugs?? They are pretty cheap.

[cappybye]

I figured that would explain the cranking time but not the black smoke and rough idling in the winter. Unless of course a few of them aren't firing at all and those cylinders don't fire either until the engine gets warm. Might be the best thing to try.

[jesilvas]

Have you checked FICM volts? Idc if it was reworked, have they been checked? You say it's not electrical, but the injectors are electrically fired and electronically controlled.