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Old 04-04-2007, 06:39 PM   #1
Dean A Van Peursem
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2003 F250 7.3 L Diesel Hard starting cold

Now that we have left warm AZ and are back in the much colder NW my TV decided it doesn't like to start when it is below 32 degrees. The instrument cluster filament indicator lites up and stays on for a period of time before it goes out as normal. Then when I try to start the TV it won't even fire, much less start. After three tries with a few minutes wait between each try, it usually starts.

Just curious what others have experienced or found in this area. The power train is still in Warranty. 57,000 miles.
 
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Old 04-04-2007, 08:41 PM   #2
JH Sechelt
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Take it in for service.
I'm sure the glow plug relay or what ever is not working.
It will need to be hooked up to a computer to be figured out.
Our neighbour had the same problem

J&D
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Old 04-05-2007, 02:03 AM   #3
chieflawdawg
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My mechanic found that the starter selenoid needed replacement when mine did the same. Have someone check that before buying new glow plugs. A lot cheaper and it worked great on mine. Mechanic said that someimes the terminals on the selenoid switch can get "burnt" and not get the full power needed to start a cold 7.3. Just my .02.
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Old 04-05-2007, 03:53 AM   #4
Mudchief
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I have run diesels for years and usually when the engine fires a little but won't start it is because some of the glow plugs are bad. If it does not fire at all it is usually the module that controls the glow plugs.
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Old 04-05-2007, 03:54 AM   #5
ols1932
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It sounds like the glow plug relay to me. Had the identical problem. Not only had to replace the glow plug relay but also three glow plugs.

Orv
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Old 04-06-2007, 05:56 AM   #6
GregN
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When it gets cold in my neck of the woods, I have the same problem sometimes. It could be all of the above mentioned problems. I have found that if it is cold outside I let the wait to start light go out and wait for about 10 more seconds then fire the truck up. You may have the cold weather package, find the plug and plug it in on cold nights. Gets the engine warm and no problems starting unless you have an outlying problem.
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Old 04-06-2007, 06:23 AM   #7
Dean A Van Peursem
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I tried to get it serviced yesterday at a Ford dealer. They were booked up until next Wednesday and we have to leave here today. I asked them to point out the glow plug relay so that I could possible consider changing it myself. They said there were two and showed me their locations. Looked like a bigger task than I wanted to take on while on the road. I was very surprised when they told me there were two of them. My immediate reaction was, both wouldn't fail at the same time. So.... I'll just wait to get this fixed until we get back home and I can take it into the local dealer. It has warmed up a bit here and is even warmer at home so I don't expect many starting problems until I can get it diagnosed at a dealer. Thanks for all the help and suggestions. It is much appreciated.
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Old 04-06-2007, 12:30 PM   #8
Wrenchtraveller
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7.3s are good cold weather starters and you must have a problem. I had a 95 and a 2000 and they both started fine at freezing temps. I had block heaters but only used them when it went down to
about 25 F. I was in Northern Alberta on a job with the 2000 and it was 40 below zero and in that country all the parking lots have plug ins and I plugged mine in. My PSD started up fine in the morning and kept the cab warm with it's heater. A guy in a new Dodge left his Cummins idling outside my Motel room all night and I am glad he left for work before I did because I wanted to kill him. I worked with a couple other guys driving Dodges and they froze on the way into work so I hope that jerk did too.
Aside from glow plugs, there is also an element in the bottom of the water separator filter housing that pre warms the fuel. If this is not working, you can also have trouble starting in cool weather.
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Old 04-06-2007, 12:50 PM   #9
ols1932
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Quote:
quote:Originally posted by Dean A Van Peursem

I tried to get it serviced yesterday at a Ford dealer. They were booked up until next Wednesday and we have to leave here today. I asked them to point out the glow plug relay so that I could possible consider changing it myself. They said there were two and showed me their locations. Looked like a bigger task than I wanted to take on while on the road. I was very surprised when they told me there were two of them. My immediate reaction was, both wouldn't fail at the same time. So.... I'll just wait to get this fixed until we get back home and I can take it into the local dealer. It has warmed up a bit here and is even warmer at home so I don't expect many starting problems until I can get it diagnosed at a dealer. Thanks for all the help and suggestions. It is much appreciated.
One thing you could do is plug it in at night. I did this for about six months until I was able to get to a dealer I trusted. Actually, if you plug in the block heater 15-20 minutes before you want to start it, it will start easily.

ORv
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Old 04-06-2007, 02:39 PM   #10
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Don, back when I was flying a corporate jet, we went all over Canada. Spent some time in High Level, way up in northern Alberta (almost to NW Terr)...it was so cold...in January, the guys started their diesels in the fall and shut them off in the spring. Wierdest thing I ever saw, and, nobody had garages!
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Old 04-06-2007, 04:01 PM   #11
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You can check the glow plugs with a multimeter. If the plug is bad it will read open or dead short. If it is good it will have a resistance reading. I forget the resistance but if you check them all you should get a reading on some of the plugs. This should give you an approximate resistance for the good ones.
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Old 04-06-2007, 04:09 PM   #12
Wrenchtraveller
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Bert I worked in the OSB plant in High Level for one 12 hour shift. What a town. The mosquitos were so bad at the campground I was staying at, it was torture to hook up my camper. It took a couple of stiff drinks to kill the pain. I like Northern Alberta and that is where the oil money is. I am heading back up there in a week.
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Old 04-06-2007, 05:11 PM   #13
tbhd2
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You could also try putting an anti gelling agent into the fuel tank. If you were in the south they don't use blended fuel and it will gel when it gets cold. Until you get that fuel purged out you may have problems starting. An inexpensive try.
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Old 04-07-2007, 05:45 AM   #14
lwcdg
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I would say the problem maybe the same as I had, and already described by wrenchtraveller. It's the wiring under the water separator. This is hard to diagnosis because every seems to work fine when warm and starts hard when cold. Have this checked! wiring harness for this is 68.00 labor 200.00 in my area.
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Old 04-07-2007, 10:54 AM   #15
scattershot
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I had the same problem with my 2000 F-250SD. It was the glow plug relay. Be aware that there are two parts that will work, one is about half the price of the other. Check www.dieselstop.com for info.

Good luck!
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Old 04-07-2007, 11:04 PM   #16
HamRad
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We had a 1999 7.3 PSD and never had that problem. Of course we live in a climate where the 32 degree marker is scraped off since it is seldom used. But we did travel in some cold weather. Stayed a few nights in 25 degree weather. Never had the trouble with the rig even in that kind of temperature.

We still have a 7.3 PSD but it is a 2002 model now. Just got back from a trip into southern AZ and NM where it was routinely below freezing every night. No problems. But you have me worried so please let us know exactly what the problem is so then when the problem happens to me I'll have an idea as to how to fix it. Thanks. And good luck.

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