97 psd not firing in cold

[dmelicious]

help! i did not plug my 97 f350 7.3 psd in last night. i went to start her this morning, and she did not start. i turned the key of, waited , and tried again all i got was a little smoke. is it the glow plugs. ?

[apgarconstruction]

could be your solenoid. check that first. try glowing it a few times in a row. that usually works for me, when i forget to plug it in, which isn't very often. i replaced all my glow plugs this past summer. and the truck has been through several solenoids. they seem to just burn up sometimes. although, the one that's on my truck now has been going for a while.

if it's got less than 100k miles, it will be under warranty, but it's not that hard to replace on your own.

[snowplowjay]

Originally posted by dapgar

if it's got less than 100k miles, it will be under warranty, but it's not that hard to replace on your own.

Its a 1997 what warranty are you talking about???


Jay

[wyldman]

All it takes is a couple of bad glow plugs,and she won't fire.Start with checking the relay.

[Joe92GT]

Plug her in for about an hour, should start right up.

If you don't plug it in, carefull on the starter.

I had the same problem with my friends... blew the starter (he had an issue with it blowing)... thats not fun to replace on your back, in snow, right before your supposed to leave for skiing.

[Pelican]

It's likely the glow plug relay is bad, it's a common item to fail. It's located on top of the engine towards the front.

If your glow plugs aren't working, you can give the truck a little snort of ether, that will get you started up. If you've cycled the glow plugs, make sure you wait 5 minutes for them to cool before shooting the ether, then immediately go to cranking, don't cycle the glow plugs again. Just give it a 2 second shot, that's plenty.

[chtucker]

My 97 lost relays on a regular basis. Glow plugs go bad to. White smoke is the sign, unburnt fuel.

If it is cold you might need to plug it in longer than an hour.

If you need to get it going, I agree with the ether. I just undo the GPR to be sure that I won't ignite the ether with the glow plugs.

Howard

[CPSS]

A rather "unscientific" test of the Glow Plug Relay is turn the key to on. Cold engine. Short a screwdriver across the 2 large terminals of the GPR, there will be a bit of a spark, thats OK. Hold it there for 10 seconds. Remove it and start the truck. If it starts fine the GPR relay is bad. Get a universal GPR at NAPA for around $25. The dealer wants $80 for the Ford one.

[SkykingHD]

I would be very careful about using any starting fluids. When I turn on the key to run in my diesels (dodge cummins & international t444e) the heaters turn on. If the induction air system has starting fluids in them they can explode. Look at engine manual.

You must go through run to get to start on both trucks. Is a short time in run going to be enough to ignite ether? does the computer keep the heaters on even if starter is turning engine over?

If an intercooler is damaged it will cost over $1000 to replace.

Dave

[wyldman]

I would be real careful too with using any starting aids.The glow plugs shouldn't come on when cranking,but they do before and afterwards.

I would only use starting fluid if you have manually disconnected the entire glow plug system,and verfied it will never come on.You can lose a lot more than just an intercooler if it ignites in the intake.If seen a few engines where it tore the entire intake off the top of the motor.

[Pickering Snow]

If ya need to use a starting aid use wd40 works great plus its not drying anything out

[John DiMartino]

fred ,wont WD40 flash when the grid heaters/glow plugs cycle too.You still need to disable them to start it up. Ive stuck my handlheld propane torch down the intake horn on my loader to get it running,when it wasnt plugged it. a few minutes and it lit right off,It was just one hose clamps and set it in there on low.

[apgarconstruction]

Originally posted by snowplowjay
Its a 1997 what warranty are you talking about???


Jay

my truck is a 97, and in 2002, i had my dealer change mine out for 100 bucks, because the engine had less than 100k miles on it.
engine was warrantied for 100k miles is what they told me.

[snowplowjay]

Originally posted by dapgar
my truck is a 97, and in 2002, i had my dealer change mine out for 100 bucks, because the engine had less than 100k miles on it.
engine was warrantied for 100k miles is what they told me.

Thanks for the reply Dan!!!

I hadn't heard of that..............


Jay

[Pelican]

It's true Jay, the PowerStroke is warranted for 5 years/100,000 miles. Outside the 3/36 warranty there's a $100 deductible on all repairs.

[CT18fireman]

It also seems to be the only warranty that Ford does not argue or fight.

I know of numerous people, who had small engine problems (some likely caused by the owners) repaired under that warranty.

To bad they don't handle the transmissions the same way.

Has anyone hears about prduction being halted on trucks and mustangs due to a gasser motor problem, something with the heads?

[CPSS]

Originally posted by snowplowjay
Thanks for the reply Dan!!!

I hadn't heard of that..............


Jay

But why pay the dealer the $100 deduct. when a universal GPR at NAPA is $25, and it takes 10 mins to swap?