M1009 Cold Starting Tips

[jawalter]

I had some trouble starting my M1009 yesterday and was wondering how long you should crank the engine. The outside air temperature was ~45F. I have a manual glow plug system installed using AC Delco 60G glow plugs. My glow plug relay is controlled by a momentary toggle switch. My glow plugs are good.

Here is what I was doing to try to start my cold engine:
1. Turn the ignition key to "ON" position.
2. Activate glow plugs for 20 seconds using the momentary toggle switch. (I can hear the glow plug relay click closed when I close the momentary toggle switch.)
3. Release the momentary toggle switch after 20 seconds.
4. Turn the ignition key to the "START" position to crank the engine for about 4 seconds.
5. If the engine doesn't start after 4 seconds of cranking, turn the key to the "OFF" position. Wait 1 minute and go back to step #1.

Is 4 seconds is enough cranking time to start a cold diesel engine? I haven't had a problem using the above method over the last 2 months (September & October). However, it is now November and the outside air temperature is now getting colder. I have never owned a diesel prior o my M1009, and I don't want to crank the engine longer than 4 seconds for fear of draining the batteries or damaging the starter. Any cold starting tips would be appreciated.

Jeff

 

[doghead]

4 seconds should be plenty long enough to fire it up cold. Pull the wires and individually test your glow plugs. Look for 0-3 ohms(good). Are you supplying them with 24v through the resistor bank, or 12v front the front battery?

 

[jawalter]

The last time I checked my glow plugs was about 2 months ago. At that time, 7 of the 8 were good. I will check them again today.

I'm supplying the AC Delco 60G glow plugs from the resistor bank. I had my resistor bank off a couple of weeks ago to fix the loose rivet nuts that are in the firewall. I took the 2 parallel power resistors off and cleaned their eletrical connections. I checked the resistance of the resistor bank assembly prior to mountng it back on the firewall. It had very low resistance (a couple of ohms maybe).

 

[doghead]

If you had one bad glow plug, that's all it takes to cause the rest to go bad, when using the original 24 volts through the resistors.

The cucv cannot maintain glow plug operation, with a bad gp.(they all will burn out, if you continue to start it with one bad, with the original 24v supply) If you are not going to use the nato slave port to jump start your truck ever, you can eliminate this domino effect by changing the gp supply to 12v.(then, when one gp goes out, it won't effect the others)

 

[mangus580]

What are you doing with the throttle when you try to start? Are you following the directions on the back of the visor?

 

[Braunchitis]

I have a manual glow plug setup too.

Here's what I do:
1. Turn key to "On"
2. Hold down switch until "Wait" light goes off, hold for 3-4 more seconds.
3. Crank starter while feathering throttle for no more than 5 seconds
4. If motor doesn't start, hold switch down again for 3-4 seconds more and try cranking again

 

[firedog 27]

For less than $40 go to NAPA and get a block heater. Just knock out a freeze plug and install the unit. A plus is you will always have instant heat . The instructions say to put the heater in the drivers side front, however that is where the moter mount is so we used the center plug.

 

[Dodgeman1941]

We have a manual button on ours and I hold it until the seat belt light goes off. That's generally enough unless it is really cold {0}.

 

[LTWVARNG]

We have a manual button on ours and I hold it until the seat belt light goes off. That's generally enough unless it is really cold {0}.

Mines set up the same way. Except my key needs to be in the off position.

 

[joeypushjr1]

i can cur.. i give my throttle a pump (full) pump and that helps. plus since i installed a block heater last winter i dont need to pump it . only after work if i dont have anywhere to plug it in at work. lol

 

[4bogginchevys]

The back of my visor says:

if temp is above 32F depress accelerator 1/2 way and hold.....follow glow plug light indicator........crank for up to 15 seconds
if temp is below 32F depress accelerator to floor and hold.....follow glow plug light indicator....crank for up to 15 seconds

if engine does not start wait 10-15 seconds between cranking cycles regardless of temperature

this is not a perfect word for word of the back of my visor....there's a long way between the truck and the computer, and until this minute it didn't occur to me to write it down(lol)....all important info is there though! hope it helps

 

[kassim503]

That is what my visor states too. On mine I manually glow until about 1-2 seconds before the seatbelt warning turns off, give it 1/8th throttle on warmer days, and 1/4 or greater when its chilly. Sometimes ill get a bunch of thumps or a grumble and stall, and ill glow for 1-2 seconds more, and hold a high idle for the first few seconds and slowly back her off regardless of conditions.

 

[mangus580]

Thanks 4bogginchevys... using those instructions I have started my 1009 down to 5° on the first attempt. Before I noticed them I had a hard time with it when it was colder out. It makes a BIG difference.

 

[doghead]

First, it's read the TMs, now it's read the Visor! What's next?

 

[msoumas]

45 degrees shouldn't be nearly cold enough to give starting trouble. I had a lot of trouble with cold starts last winter but it turned out it was being exacerbated by a failing injection pump letting air in the fuel system.

 

[CUCV85]

Exactly

If you had one bad glow plug, that's all it takes to cause the rest to go bad, when using the original 24 volts through the resistors.

The cucv cannot maintain glow plug operation, with a bad gp.(they all will burn out, if you continue to start it with one bad, with the original 24v supply) If you are not going to use the nato slave port to jump start your truck ever, you can eliminate this domino effect by changing the gp supply to 12v.(then, when one gp goes out, it won't effect the others)

Exactly, DH tells it as it is,
I have no intentions of jumping someone -
or being jumped with a Military Slave Cable.
I carry 2 jumper cables, ingenious I know.
This Resistors bypass works perfect.

 

[jawalter]

I found my problem this past weekend. My problem was the glow plug relay. Even though I would hear a click when I energized the coil with the my manual toggle switch, the glow plugs weren't getting voltage. The contacts inside of the old sealed relay are probably bad. Sometimes the relay completed the glow plug circuit when energized and sometimes it didn't. So when I thought I had heated my glow plugs for 20 seconds, they were actually still cold! I replaced my old relay with a Napa ST-85. It is the same size and shape as the original and works great. No more starting problems! So, don't assume your glow plug relay is good just because you hear a click.

Jeff

Original Message:
I had some trouble starting my M1009 yesterday and was wondering how long you should crank the engine. The outside air temperature was ~45F. I have a manual glow plug system installed using AC Delco 60G glow plugs. My glow plug relay is controlled by a momentary toggle switch. My glow plugs are good.

Here is what I was doing to try to start my cold engine:
1. Turn the ignition key to "ON" position.
2. Activate glow plugs for 20 seconds using the momentary toggle switch. (I can hear the glow plug relay click closed when I close the momentary toggle switch.)
3. Release the momentary toggle switch after 20 seconds.
4. Turn the ignition key to the "START" position to crank the engine for about 4 seconds.
5. If the engine doesn't start after 4 seconds of cranking, turn the key to the "OFF" position. Wait 1 minute and go back to step #1.

Is 4 seconds is enough cranking time to start a cold diesel engine? I haven't had a problem using the above method over the last 2 months (September & October). However, it is now November and the outside air temperature is now getting colder. I have never owned a diesel prior o my M1009, and I don't want to crank the engine longer than 4 seconds for fear of draining the batteries or damaging the starter. Any cold starting tips would be appreciated.

 

[STEEL RIDER]

I've got a burnt out relay card on my 84 Blazer. I read that you have a manual control on, Could you share with me the conversion proceedure. I'm shooting ether into it now and would like to get it converted soon.

 

[jawalter]

View attachment Manual Glow Plug Control Wiring Diagram.pdfI attached a wiring diagram to show you how to do it. This method preserves the original wiring just in case you want to put it back to the way it was originally. However, I think you will be happy with the manual control of your glow plugs. I'm using AC Delco 60G glow plugs that are self limiting.

Step #1:
Disconnect the light blue wire from the glow plug relay. The glow plug relay is mounted to the firewall in the engine compartment. The light blue wire that you will be disconnecting comes fom the glow plug module under the dashboard. Normally, the glow plug module controls the relay by providing a ground on this wire when it wants the glow plug relay to close its contacts. After disconnecting this wire, insulate the ring terminal on the wire with some electrical tape.

Step #2:
You will need to mount a momentary toggle switch somewhere on your instrument panel inside the cab.

Step #3;
You will run 2 new wires (16AWG stranded) from the switch you just installed. One wire will connect the the glow plug relay where you disconnected the light blue wire. The other wire from the switch will need to be a ground. So, run it to the negative terminal block mounted to the firewall in the engine compartment. Let me know if you need more detailed instructions.


Good Luck!

 

[rfischba1]

How do you know when injector pump is failing, I have 1008 thats hard to start even in warm temps, one its warmed starts easy?