hard starting in cold (seriously!)

[jaynes]

Hello all, again.



Since my recent advancement of my pump, I've noticed that my engine is starting to act, well, alittle more like a diesel. It's alittle more touchy in cold weather, to say. With that in mind, it's been getting increasinly colder here, with ups and downs. I've complained about this every year, and I'm gonna start again. My intake heaters don't cycle long enough. The colder it gets, the harder it gets to start. It's ok for now, but when it gets down into the single digits, it's gonna get rough. This morning it was 22. They cycled for about 5 seconds. My engine turned over about 8-9 times before it fired. This may not seem very much, but when I'm used to just looking at my ignition and having my truck start without even hardly turning over, this seems like a lot. What can I do about this? Come 5 degrees, I'm gonna have to work about 15 minutes into my schedule to start my truck. My block heater doesn't work, by the way. Is this a... well I dont know. What could cause this? It's been acting like this for the past 2 years. I changed the intake air sensor temp sensor last year, also. Thermistor? Is that what it's called?



thanks!,

Jaynes

 

[cerberusiam]

Do you have a PCM behind the battery or is your truck completely without one? I think the timing on grid heaters is controlled from there but not sure. That doesn't account for the long cranking problem though. At 20 degrees I can fire mine without waiting for the grid heaters to cycle and it will pop right away. Smokes like a bugger but it starts. Five seconds sounds a lot short on cycle time as mine will run 15 to 20 before it shuts off. The one thing I have noticed when swapping pumps is the rebuilt starts a lot better than high mileage one. I ran a pump that was not correct for the CPL and it exhibited starting problems also. Ran great once it was started but getting it there was a pain. Maybe the pump is worn enough it is not generating enough advance and pressure to cold start? Does shutting the key off and cycling the heaters again make a difference in how it starts? Both the 90 and 92 I have/had would start easily down to zero degrees and the heaters always cycled 15 to 20 seconds.

 

[farmall]

My first suggestion to you is get the block heater replaced. Takes about $50 to buy the heater and 30 minutes to drain the coolant down some, unscrew the connector, loosen the old one and take it out, put the new one in, tighten it up, and screw the connector plug back on. IMO this is cheap, when you start thinking about what you might damage by excessive cranking all the time in cold weather. "starter, battery, alternator to charge the low battery back up all the time, plus labor".



If you don't want to replace it, then you can always cycle the heater by turning the key on and off several times. I always do it atleast twice on mine when it is real cold, even when they stay on for 15 or 20 secs.



Bill

 

[Philip]

Check the location of your temp sensor on that year model truck. One of our members ( JDurham ) had his sensor installed from the factory into a water passage instead of the air box. This caused his to not work correctly. He had also had it into his local dealer three times for warrenty work. They never found or corrected this problem.



I'll see if I can find the thread for this problem.

 

[JLEONARD]

My engine turned over about 8-9 times before it fired.

Mine will start faster than that at 0 degrees even if I don't wait for the grid heater to cycle, or use the block heater... ... so I say something else is wrong... not the grid heater or temp sensor.

Maybe air getting in the fuel lines, perhaps draining back???? KSB not working?

Jay

 

[Philip]

I couldn't find the thread on JD's heater problem. I hope he jumps in on this one.



5 seconds is not enough time for a 20 degree morning. Mine holds the heaters on for about 15 seconds or so. Mine will start to 20 below without a block heater pluged in.

 

[Greenleaf]

I have little troubles starting the 12v busses. None of my 12 valvers have a grid heater. Sometimes I will have to lean on the go peddle a bit to keep them running. When it's real cold, and I don't plug them in, I have to crank them a bit.



My heaters on the Dodge act like the energizer bunny. They keep going... and going... and going...

Even when the engine is running, you'd think they're never going to stop cycling. If I plug it in, the heaters won't come on.



Scott

 

[bgilbert]

Jaynes, what size battery (group, cold cranking amps) do you have and how old is it? My old truck has the early grid heaters, that is they won't cycle until temps hit 15F or below, and I don't have any problems starting down to zero give or take. Below that I plug it in. My battery is a Deka group 31 1260 CCa. Then again, this may not have much to do with it, you may have as others described air in fuel lines or some other condition causing hard starts. I'd check all fuel lines even back to the tank for any leaks, as they can let air enter the system. Bill

 

[skobylenski]

Block heater

Before you go dumping $35-$50 into the heater itself, save yourself the trouble. First check out the cord running to it. I had the same problem last winter, and this past summer I fiddled around with the cord, and lo-and-behold, it was very green with corrosion. I replaced that, and it worked like a dream. I don't remember the part # or price, but it was MUCH less than the $35 for a heater core. Also, it saves you from having to bother with coolant all over the place when you pull the core out of the side of the engine.



Just my $. 02



Good luck!

Scott