Argh! It won't start! Possibly fuel issue?

[msoumas]

So I got up yesterday morning, and in the 15 degree morning, I couldn't get my truck to start. I cranked and crrrraaaanked and it wasnt too long before the battery died. So, I figured my truck was having cold issues, and called a tow truck. They tried jumping it, and the next 20 minutes were spent charging and cranking, to no avail. Got them to tow me to work courtesy of AAA, and spent the rest of the day with the batteries on chargers. Still nothing when I cranked it, but it was still cold.

Fast-forward to today, and it was much warmer. I figured that any cold-related issue would be done for, and I tried it again with a fresh charge. I cranked for a bit, it started to want to crank over, and then, MIRACLE! It burst to life.... and in a belch of white smoke, died a second later. It did this once more at the end of the day, but no dice on actually running. What could cause this? I thought gelled fuel and put some diesel 911 additive in the tank and the fuel filter, but it didn't change anything. The filter itself is only a couple months old and didn't seem to be clogged when I added the 911.... I dont even know where to start looking for the problem here.

 

[Westech]

your glow plugs are not working. ether your plugs are shot, the card is not working, or the relay is toast. I would start looking in that area.

 

[msoumas]

your glow plugs are not working. ether your plugs are shot, the card is not working, or the relay is toast. I would start looking in that area.

I can hear the relay working (clunk.... clunk. Clunk..... clunk.), and it looks as if the card was recently replaced. I'll have to test the plugs tomorrow (looks like I have some reading to do on how to accomplish this... any ideas on what sort of places to look in locally for these plugs? I called NAPA and they said they had the AC60's, but I havent converted to 12v.

 

[beaubeau]

Msoumas, are you allowing the Glow plugs to Cycle several times in this COLD weather? I allow them to Cycle once, turn key off, cycle a second time and even a third time. I then try to Crank. If no go, do it again, warm up those plugs. They are suppose to keep Warming up even after starting. It has been cold! I have had to use Starting fluid, but my glo-plugs work manually, so they won't go on with starting fluid. Phil.

 

[mangus580]

beau, they shouldnt need to cycle several times if the system is up to snuff.

I dont think you will find anyone local carrying the PROPER plugs.

I agree the plugs are likely an issue...

Although.... if the super cold was the first hint of any trouble, you might be right about the fuel. Especially considering it fired and stalled. If you suspect gel'd fuel... you really should replace the filter.

I would pull the glow plugs, and check them by powering each up.


Also... when its super cold out... are you holding the pedal to the floor like the starting decal on the visor says? IT MATTERS!!

 

[doghead]

I am nearly certain that the last set of AC60's my friend and I put in his cucv, were self limiting and they have been going strong for over 6 months now. He has a push-button to control them.(pretty sure if they could swell and burnout, they would have by now) he's a real bull in a china shoppe!

 

[msoumas]

beau, they shouldnt need to cycle several times if the system is up to snuff.

I dont think you will find anyone local carrying the PROPER plugs.

I agree the plugs are likely an issue...

Although.... if the super cold was the first hint of any trouble, you might be right about the fuel. Especially considering it fired and stalled. If you suspect gel'd fuel... you really should replace the filter.

I would pull the glow plugs, and check them by powering each up.


Also... when its super cold out... are you holding the pedal to the floor like the starting decal on the visor says? IT MATTERS!!

I've tried cycling it, the last time around I cycled it six times and still no go. It is too warm now for gelling to be a possibility, so I'm thinking it's got to be the plugs. It took a LOT a lot of cranking to get it to kick over and belch those smoke clouds. And yes, I have been standing on the pedal.

 

[mangus580]

I am nearly certain that the last set of AC60's my friend and I put in his cucv, were self limiting and they have been going strong for over 6 months now. He has a push-button to control them.(pretty sure if they could swell and burnout, they would have by now) he's a real bull in a china shoppe!

The AC60g's are ok for manual conversion, but they dont work as well with the controller, due to how the controller monitors the time length. I think they are a different resistance than the 'correct' plugs.

I've tried cycling it, the last time around I cycled it six times and still no go. It is too warm now for gelling to be a possibility, so I'm thinking it's got to be the plugs. It took a LOT a lot of cranking to get it to kick over and belch those smoke clouds. And yes, I have been standing on the pedal.

Yeah, it sounds like you have bad plugs. Granted, if your fuel did gel... your filter is plugged. It wouldnt really just clear up.

 

[Capt'nChaos]

Check to be sure that you are getting power out of the solenoid. I had one at work that clicked but the contacts inside were burned and I was getting no juice out of it. Swapped out the solenoid and the glow plugs worked great.

 

[msoumas]

I fixed it, though I'm not sure exactly how. I mean, I know what I did, just not why it worked. I tested all the plugs and they checked out, checked the relay and it was good, didnt know how to test the relay, so I pulled a plug and verified that it heated up when the key was turned. Glow plugs definitely worked, but still no go. Took the fuel filter off, it was putting out fuel just fine. That wasn't my problem either. Pulled an injector line and had a friend crank... a little puff of air, but no fuel? I don't know too much about diesels (I like to think I'm learning a bit at a time), but I knew this was all wrong. Maybe the pump is bad, I thought. So, my friend and I came up with the ridiculous plan of "verifying" that the pump was bad by pouring a bit of diesel in the intake, assuming that it would start and once it burned up that fuel, would shut off. After a good cranking session it ROARED to life, blew smoke every which way, idled a bit rough for a minute and then smoothed out and has been working fine since. Shut if off 20 minutes later, started it right back up again. Why did this work? And in the future, is it safe to pour a bit of diesel or maybe kero in the intake to help starting?

 

[mangus580]

And in the future, is it safe to pour a bit of diesel or maybe kero in the intake to help starting?

NO


It sounds like you probably gel'd a little, and in the process of messing it, you got a slug of air in the system.

 

[HAWKMAN]

I never had a problem with spraying a bit of kero into the intake to help an engine that's been sitting a while fire-up so I'd say it's not a big deal.

 

[dependable]

If electricals are ok, maybee you fuel filter mount is leaking air. This is easy to fix once diagnosed. A lot of cucv s never got the new and improved filter base, and I had a new style one fail as well.

 

[beaubeau]

I would not put fuel in the intake. It does nothing. I believe you had air in the lines. This could happen again if you have not found the problem. Could have a leaky fuel line Sucking air. Could be air from you removing the filter . Phil