Archived Truck Cranks, Won't Start

[Bernie]

2003 CTD HO, Auto.



I parked it on Friday, and expecting cold weather I plugged it in (which I rarely do). It is -10 out, and it will crank but not start.



IS the fuel gelled? If so, how do I deal with that?

 

[HBarlow]

Yes, most likely you are experiencing fuel gel.

The ideal way to solve the problem is to move the truck into a heated garage for a few hours, overnight if possible, to let everything warm and return to liquid state. Then add ordinary Power Service anti-gel treatment to the tank and run it to distribute the anti-gel throughout the fuel tank and injection system.

If that is not possible you could buy several bottles of red Power Service or equivalent treatment for recovery after gelling has occurred.

I've never had to use it so am not certain what the instructions say. As a guess I would suggest adding a sufficient quantity to your fuel tank to meet the recommended dosage then remove your fuel filter and pour a quantity of fuel treatment into the bowl and either take the filter inside a heated space to warm it or replace it with a clean and dry filter.

Can you place a heat lamp or 150 watt lamp bulb under the hood adjacent to the fuel injection pump and lines to liquify the fuel in them?

 

[AH64ID]

With the truck plugged in your block should be getting at least to about 50*f, if not warmer. That should help gelling, unless your so gelled you can't even move fuel out of the tank.



When and where did you last fill your tank? Do you live somewhere that normally gets that cold?



But as Harvey said try to warm it all up to verify. Amsoil Diesel Rescue has worked well for me in the past, not sure on other diesel treatments. But a bottle of some sort of de-gel (not anti-gel) and a little warmth should hopefully fix it.

 

[Robin]

My 97 has a 45 gallon auxiliary tank in the bed. When temp gets down to below freezing I plug in the block heater. When it gets down to 15 I plug in a magnetic heater attached to the aux tank. Then I use the fuel in the aux tank. The warm fuel is circulated through the system when the engine is running. Also when I plug in the aux tank heater I plug in another magnetic heater that is attached to the oil pan.

 

[Bernie]

Well, I am up and running.

And, it is -15 at my house.

As it turns out, the GFI outlet I plugged in to tripped when I plugged in the truck. So, for two days the truck has been sitting in sub zero temps not plugged in.

After about an hour on the block heater (plugged in to a standard outlet), I got a buddy to come over and jump it (I had cranked the batteries a little low). After a few tries it started.

I went for a 30 minute drive to get it up to temperature, and all seems fine now.

In the morning I will pick up some anti gel and rescue fuel stuff to have.

Thanks for the quick information from everybody.

 

[Bernie]

And to answer the other question, sub zero is not that abnormal for my area, but I would not call it common. We probably have a couple of weeks of it a year.

I'll be honest, I only plug my truck in when it gets to be single digits or below. I have never had a problem. I wonder if it because it driven often. Rarely does it set for a few days like it did this weekend.

So, should I be plugging it in more often? At what temp?

 

[HBarlow]

It would benefit your starter and batteries as well as your own comfort when driving it the first few miles after a cold start if you would plug it in when temps drop below 32*.

I would recommend using either winter blend diesel fuel or adding anti-gel anytime temps will drop below 15* to avoid fuel gel and being stranded.

 

[mweiman]

I would say you are doing fine by plugging it in 10 degrees or less, as long as you have good batteries I think it will start fine. I have noticed at work it seems like you don't have much trouble with gelling/not starting until you have a long cold weekend. When you run them regularly I think the block and fuel stay just that few degrees warmer to make the difference.

Matt