Beating a dead horse

Alright guys, i know it says Im a newbie, but i had to make a new email and account since my old email was tied to my previous place of employment.... fftopic. Anyways i have been all over the internet reading about cold start issues with our trucks. I just picked up my new to me 7.3 over the summer and it ran amazing... now with cold weather coming around i went to fire her up for work this afternoon, 56 degrees out. after cycling the plugs i tried to fire and nothing.. i cycled 4 times back to back and tried, got it to pop and run then it died. So i cycled 2 more times got it to pop and gave it fuel till it worked thru it and idled. well now sitting here at work tonight (6pm to 6am) im wondering if its going to start when i get outta work... ughh.. anyways i know that i need to check the relay and rule that the cause or not then if the relay is good i need to take the connector out of the valve cover and test the 4 wires on each side 2 in the front and 2 in the rear. yada yada yada... my question im asking is if my relay was bad (witch is what im really hoping) would my wait to start light still act normal? staying off for 10ish seconds then shutting off? Or if my relay was actually bad the wait to start light would be screwy as well and i better just prepare to do glow plugs. ? thanks in advance guys....(and gals)
Travis:toast:

When my GPR failed, my Wait to start light operated properly. Jump the terminals and see if it fires normally.


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WTS light is pcm controlled. Not tied to the really at all.
Mine used to stick open now and again. We'll see if it's gets cold enough to affect it here in el paso. Lol
Also how old is your oil? That can make a difference also.
https://youtu.be/F9wxR1yToAs

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Wait to start light has nothing to do with proper function of the gpr. It only tells you that the pcm has commanded the flow plugs on. Also, if it is cold outside, cycling the key is really only a placebo because the plugs stay on long after the light goes out unless the engine is already at operating temp. Sometimes about 2 minutes after the truck has started. If you have an in cab battery volt meter from a cts or whatever just watch when the voltage rises above 12 koeo or above 13 koer. That's when they shut off. If you're worried about it starting, just cycle the key on, go jam a wrench or screw driver between the top posts for 30 seconds or so, then start it. If it still hates you, test the plugs. Easiest way to do that is to pull the valve cover harnesses, and stick a test light connected to the battery +, then on to the glow plug harness pins. If the light turns on, the corresponding plug and wiring is probably good. The proper pins are the fat ones on the out sides on the connectors. Super duty is the front 2 and rear 2 of each of the 2 connectors (1 per valve cover). For the obs, it the front pin and rear pin of each of the 4 connectors.

Good point on the oil Jasper. It'll run way better on warm up if you go 5w 40 or 0w40 syn.

Nobody else caught onto the fact that 56 degrees isnt cold and you should be able to turn the starter and bust the truck off unless your injectors are shti or the motor is getting loose?

Gps are nice and all but good injectors and compression and they start even near freezing without sitting thete staring at the gp light.

Just my .02 driving these pos for 16 years.

oil was just changed yesterday with t6 and hotshots oil attitive. Okay so it might have been like 52 degrees outside.. i know it was less then 60, ever since its been 60 or above the truck has started like a dream every time... im going to cross jump the relay this morning when i go to leave work and see what i get... Motor seems to run real well when its warm, no serious blow by or anything of that nature, i did think about the injectors since the truck has 214k on it and i have no previous record of service from other owners. I was hoping adding that hot shots would clear it up some as well... maybe i just need to drive more and let it do its work.. i just changed the oil yesterday.

:thumbup:

TyCorr said:

Nobody else caught onto the fact that 56 degrees isnt cold and you should be able to turn the starter and bust the truck off unless your injectors are shti or the motor is getting loose?

Gps are nice and all but good injectors and compression and they start even near freezing without sitting thete staring at the gp light.

Just my .02 driving these pos for 16 years.

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TyCorr said:

Just my .02 driving these pos for 16 years.

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hold your tongue! but the rest of your post is spot on..

Patoka said:

oil was just changed yesterday with t6 and hotshots oil attitive. Okay so it might have been like 52 degrees outside.. i know it was less then 60, ever since its been 60 or above the truck has started like a dream every time... im going to cross jump the relay this morning when i go to leave work and see what i get... Motor seems to run real well when its warm, no serious blow by or anything of that nature, i did think about the injectors since the truck has 214k on it and i have no previous record of service from other owners. I was hoping adding that hot shots would clear it up some as well... maybe i just need to drive more and let it do its work.. i just changed the oil yesterday.

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check voltages at alternator when idling and at batteries, check voltage at battery before you even try to start it... how fast is it turning over while cranking? how much white smoke is comming out the tail pipe? what's fuel pressure?









rotella oil is junk in a 7.3.. even if full synthetic.. those who say otherwise never tried anything else.. i recommend chevron delo 15-40 year around.. it has started in -27° Minnesota winters better then rotella syn 5-40...


live life full throttle

Well I got to my truck this morning after work around 6am, it was like 41 degrees out.. I popped the hood turned the key to the start and watched the wts light turn on.. went up front and took a pair of plyers and jumped the relay.. as soon as the jumped the two i heard everything warming up and power being taken from other things, left the plyers on there for about 10-12 seconds then ran to the key and cranked her up... walla she fired up within the first 2 rotations.. still smoked like a crazy cat lady but I'm sure that's because the plugs were no longer staying warm as they should... so that just means replace the relay correct?

Wow, sounds like the relay to me. That being said, your compression could still be low. I can start my truck under 60 degrees ambient without waiting for glow plugs to warm up and with no white smoke. That's with weak azz batteries too. Now when its below 40 then i cant just turn her right over like that. Oil is too viscous (for weak batteries) so motor doesnt turn over real fast. Need some thermal boosting from the gp system at that point. I've got the Delo in now so I can see how she does this winter relative to the Rotella I was running last winter. Just need to get the new batteries in her.

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Patoka said:

Well I got to my truck this morning after work around 6am, it was like 41 degrees out.. I popped the hood turned the key to the start and watched the wts light turn on.. went up front and took a pair of plyers and jumped the relay.. as soon as the jumped the two i heard everything warming up and power being taken from other things, left the plyers on there for about 10-12 seconds then ran to the key and cranked her up... walla she fired up within the first 2 rotations.. still smoked like a crazy cat lady but I'm sure that's because the plugs were no longer staying warm as they should... so that just means replace the relay correct?

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id say you found the culprit

live life full throttle

if there is no voltage going across the relay, its replacement time.

Its that time of year again that misbehaving trucks start coming out of the woodwork.

mandkole said:

if there is no voltage going across the relay, its replacement time.

Its that time of year again that misbehaving trucks start coming out of the woodwork.

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yuppers.. soon to have cold start videos popping up everywhere saying my truck starts like chit..

live life full throttle

Thank you guys, I do a lot of research but I always like having a second opinion I just bought the relay, I'll tell of my findings

tossed the relay in, turned the key wts stayed on for 7 seconds and i cranked. fired up within 2 turns...still got some white smoke but im sure not all of my injectors are good

How many miles on the engine? Anything past 200k, it is a definite possibility, depending on previous maintenance.
Some injectors can go 300k+, some are done at 180k.

psduser1 said:

How many miles on the engine? Anything past 200k, it is a definite possibility, depending on previous maintenance.
Some injectors can go 300k+, some are done at 180k.

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my stockers that where in whitey got replaced under 100k miles

live life full throttle

Sounds like worn poppet valves if it is smoking like that. Especially if it runs smooth when up to temperature (less viscous oil). The worn poppet can significantly retard the timing (especially at low oil temps) enough to cause this.

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