Engine/Transmission (1994 - 1998) Truck takes way to long to start???

[edgeman]

I have a 95 and i dosnt seem to wasnt to start very good in the cold. What i mean by this is that i will crank and crank, it will fire then crack fire then crank. I pluged the thing in and that didnt seem to help any. I very recently put new Batteries in it thinking that was the problem because it wouldnt crank fast enough or long enough. I have an oil change to put in it today so i can get rid of the straight 30weight in. could the that thick of an oil make all the diffrence or is there somthing else wrong. My dads 96 fired up at -15 with out being pluged in just fine. When i was reading a diffrent post about starting problems i noticed that someone asked if there was a fuel smell while cranking and if there was white smoke. Mine is doing both while cranking.

 

[JFaughn]

Need some more specific info , like replacing batteries on a guess , need testing to know and buy only what your need .
What RPMs at crank , what temp ,
A multi weight oil is a good thing , but at least a 10w , I prefer a 15 -40w .
Load testing the atl , batteries and starter , then checking cleaning all battery connections .
You need to see if the grid heaters are working , the easiest way is to watch the volts gauge , it should go down from about 12. 5 to 10 volts with the wait to start lite .

 

[Joe G.]

It may be as simple as the idle is too low. Try giving it some pedal and see what happens. As John says, we need a little bit more info. If you have some sort of fueling problem it will be worse when it's cold. Email me at -- email address removed -- if you would like a copy of my 12 valve fuel supply write up.

 

[Skydiver]

This about the 4th problem like this posted in the last week. I think the cold weather is a factor.



My guess again is brittle cracked fuel lines picking up air.

 

[edgeman]

as far as the batteries go they needed to be replaced anyways they were weak and were only 500cold cranking amps. The grid heater works and is not idled to low. I never did think about a hair line crack in the fuel lines. I did just today put in 15-40w. Another thing that i thought was maybe the Fuel cylenoid wasnt making good contact. The only thing that i can say is that all the truck does when starting it is spits and sputters while you are cranking it unitl the truck finnaly but barely starts. And if you dont keep your foot on the throttle it will simply die.

 

[Joe G.]

What RPM is your idle? It should be at least 800 with the AC on.

 

[edgeman]

Idle is 875 with out AC never checked With it on.

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

Have you ever checked if your grid heaters are working?

Edit: I see JFaughn already asked that LOL

 

[Fordiesel69]

Try giving it a little pedal. It could also be the plunger is stiff on the FSS. Mine is whe it gets in the single digits, due to the coating of antiseize I plastered all over it. My boot is missing and I was too cheap to repalce it.

 

[edgeman]

yes my grid heater is working that is one of the first things that i checked. i do give some pedal but if i give it to much it seems to make it worse.

 

[highmilage94]

Never overlook the fact that timing could have slipped... ... Happens to almost everyone w/ a 12-valve. .

 

[tgordon]

Try just pulling up the FSS before even cranking. I started doing that on mine all the time (because it doesn't seem to like the idea of doing it on its own and don't wan't to buy a new one yet) it has started down to -12 and that is a really slow crank with the battaries not heated but it did start, I have to give it that much

 

[Joe G.]

tgordon,



Have you checked the fuel solenoid relay and the blue wire on your battery? It is seldom the fuel solenoid unless the starter stuck and burned it up.

 

[tgordon]

Every time I check for power at the relay I have full voltage from teh battery, and if I connect the relay directly to the battery it will click. I did not think to check for continuity through the relay to make sure it was giving a good connection while I had the tester So for right now I am in the just deal with it stage till I can get ahold of a tester and check that out, or maybe I should just break down and get a new relay.



I might try to bypass the ignition an drun a wire directly to the relay "ignition hot" and see what happens under the hood.

 

[Joe G.]

Another thing to do is check to see what the condition of the blue wire on the positive post of the battery is. If it's loose or corroded or broken then you can fix that. Just for a test swap the relay for the one next to it. If that makes it work then your need a new relay. The small relay won't last as a replacement for the big one but it will survive a few tests and operation until you can get a new big one.

 

[LandShark]

Have the fuel return lines been replaced? They are the most common reason for hard starts on the 12v. Cold weather may just be masking the problem.

 

[RedRamer]

To eliminate all the electrical and mechanical possibilities with the selenoid, wire the fuel selenoid in the "up" position "open". Feel in there and lift the plunger and wire it in the up position. Try starting and if it still sputers, you got fuel problem in line, lifter pump, soemthing.

If it starts you got selenoid problems.

The boot wears out on these selenoids and after a while the linkage gets crudded up especially at the ball joint and I had mine give me trouble on the highway one winter after a stop at the restaurant as the linkage froze up and would not go up far enough to open the fuel valve.

Good luck

 

[edgeman]

From what i have been figureing out it sounds like a fuel broblem. Just i have to find it.