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Hard start when cold?

6K views 15 replies 8 participants last post by  elibenson 
#1 ·
I'm new to diesel, this will be my first winter with my 06 6.0. It has just under 70k miles.

Background:

Since I bought my truck, when I start it I let the glow plug light go out and then I crank for about 2 seconds I would say before it fires up. I thought it was a little strange, but being new to diesel and since everything else is good, I got accustomed to it.

Now, since it's gotten colder, it's cranked for a little bit longer I would say maybe 3 seconds before firing up. It definitely does run great -- no surging or funny idles or anything that I can tell. And after it warms up it will fire even quicker if I restart it.

Question:

Today was the coldest day we have seen yet. I started it and drove down the street (truck not warm). Shut it off for a few minutes. When I went to restart, it cranked for probably 5 seconds and no start. I stopped cranking and let it sit for a second. Then tried again and it cranked for about 3 seconds again before catching like it has been doing since it got cold.

Is something wrong with my truck? Or, is this just something to become accustomed to with diesel. It's coming due for a 5k oil change, does this have anything to do with that? How about getting the newest flash done at the dealer?

Thoughts please!

Adam
 
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#2 ·
The newest flash from the dealer will probably solve your problem. I was skeptical about the "inductive heating strategy" that Ford came up with, but it seems to work. It fixed my '03 6.0.
 
#4 ·
this is the perfect topic for me since my truck is also an 06 f350 and so far as i can tell does not like the cold... sat for 24 hours in minus 20 C today and it wouldnt start... have it plugged in now and going to head out to try again soon.. what can we do to help these trucks in this cold weather?????
 
#5 ·
The inductive heating strategy uses the coils on the injectors to actually heat the injectors up. I had my doubts at first, but it seems to work. Ford has been doing it for a few years now with no reliability problems that I have heard about.

corbzy: Seriously?? You'd be lucky to get a gasoline engine started at that temp. I don't think you are going to get your diesel to reliably start at that temp unless you are willing to sell it and go with a new 6.4l truck. They are guaranteed to start at -15F (-26C for you canadians), and they will probably start lower than that.

What I would suggest is to make sure you have a good anti-gelling agent in the fuel. Obviously you should be using winterized fuel. Make sure your glow plugs are all functioning. Make sure your batteries are 100%. Make sure it is plugged in any time you are not running it.

My alarm system with remote start has a feature that is called "Smart Start" that starts your truck if the ambient temp drops below a pre-determined level. It will run for a set amount of time, then shut off, then do the same thing again after 1 hour if the temp drops again. It can also do the same if the battery voltage drops below a certain level. All the different levels, times, and such can be adjusted to make it work for your environment.
 
#6 ·
The inductive heating strategy uses the coils on the injectors to actually heat the injectors up. I had my doubts at first, but it seems to work. Ford has been doing it for a few years now with no reliability problems that I have heard about.

corbzy: Seriously?? You'd be lucky to get a gasoline engine started at that temp. I don't think you are going to get your diesel to reliably start at that temp unless you are willing to sell it and go with a new 6.4l truck. They are guaranteed to start at -15F (-26C for you canadians), and they will probably start lower than that.

What I would suggest is to make sure you have a good anti-gelling agent in the fuel. Obviously you should be using winterized fuel. Make sure your glow plugs are all functioning. Make sure your batteries are 100%. Make sure it is plugged in any time you are not running it.

My alarm system with remote start has a feature that is called "Smart Start" that starts your truck if the ambient temp drops below a pre-determined level. It will run for a set amount of time, then shut off, then do the same thing again after 1 hour if the temp drops again. It can also do the same if the battery voltage drops below a certain level. All the different levels, times, and such can be adjusted to make it work for your environment.
thats pritty sweet
 
#8 ·
I phoned one of the dealers in town today and asked about getting the a flash done to help with the cold starts... basically thought i was crazy said we dont have such a thing>???? any suggestions what specifically i should be asking??? lol such as i would like the yadda yadda yadda flash for ......... for a 2006 f350??//
 
#9 ·
I have a 2006 f350 as well corbzy and down in calgary once the temp drops she's a ***** to start so i installed a espar diesel heater with a 7 day timer that heats the coolant up so i can start it anywhere if you don't have a plug in close by. They are the best thing ever i would look into it
 
#10 ·
where did you buy that heater from and what are they worth???? took my truck in yesterday and it showd two codes for two cylinders... found two faulty injectors on the right bank.... so since they were goin in there i told em to replace all four... both my batteries also failed lol... and also updated my programming... starting easy today with the temp -29C. but it was plugged in all night... think the heater may be the way to go, cause i wont be able to plug in 100 percent of the time
 
#11 ·
I got my espar d5 heater off ebay came with a 7 day timer I paid around 1100 canadian with shipping. I sourced out a couple shops here in Calgary that had them but they wanted like 1700 or more so I went online and bought it. It was really simple to install took maybe 3 hours, but I did it for the same reason that I can't plug my truck in all the time as well.
 
#13 · (Edited)
My ol ladies '04 has been starting poorly and occassionally throws a code on #6 glow plug, but not every time. I have my doubts as to if the glow plugs are working at all, but wouldnt that throw a seperate code? We have the latest flash and the problem still continues. She has it plugged in all the time except when she is in class but I am starting to worry as the temperatures in maine are dropping rapidly. I dont want her to get stuck at school unable to start the truck. Is there any way the GPCM can fail but not throw a code?
 
#15 ·
Oh I couldn't agree with you more when your saying plugging it in would make it easier to start shorten warm up times. I had some water in the block heater plug near the male plug at the end. This was causing a gfi outlet to keep tripping. Yesterday I was able to bring the truck in at the firehouse and figure out the problem. Got it all blown out and dried and now it is working fine. So if it wasn't for that I would have had it plugged in all night that night it went down to -2F.

Eli how does a block heater work? Is it just the coolent that is heated or does the oil get heated also? Thanks.
 
#16 ·
Eli how does a block heater work? Is it just the coolent that is heated or does the oil get heated also? Thanks.
On the old IDI trucks (6.9, 7.3) they had a freeze plug looking thing on the side of the block with wires coming out of it. I think that it heated the oil in the pan, and as a result it heated the rest of the engine by conduction of heat.

The 7.3l powerstokes had a heater in the oil cooler. It heated the oil there, and probably some of the coolant as well.

I don't know where it is on a 6.0l. If it is anything like a 6.4l, it is somewhere in the side of the block again kind of like an old IDI engine. I would guess it is, since the oil cooler is on top of the engine.
 
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