Diesel question

[itbrokeagain]

So another question. Where is the glow plug relay?

[blustroker]

Top passenger side of the engine right next to the fuel filter bowl.

[blustroker]

Also, 2 small wires and 2 large on the relay. Obviously 2 large are power in/out. On the small wires, one gets 12v with ignition power, the other gets grounded by the pcm to turn it off/on. Power runs through fuse #22 under hood. This fuse is also for the fuel heater in the bowl. If it turns out your relay is bad, you can upgrade to a heavier duty relay cheap. You can get one at any local Western plow dealer. Part# 56131k-1. Should be around $15. Ford relay is $60. FYI.. I went through 2 ford relays in 4yrs. Still using the same western relay for the last 6. Looks the same as the ford also.

[donaldcon]

Started my 6.slow at 6am. Hasnt been started since Saturday. Not plugged in either One glow plug cycle. about 6 cranks, and fire. it would start 2 months ago at 40 degrees, with 3 year old batteries. Just replaced them last month and no issues yet.

[blazerbrad]

I went back and read the original post again....so the truck started at -5 degrees with only being plugged in for 2 hours. Seems like the only concern was that it took some extra cranking before it fired. To be honest it really doesn't sound like anything too serious.

A good point about not being able to plug it in at work and would be a concern if the truck wouldn't start if below 30 or 40 degrees, but again at -5 I'm not sure I would be too worried about it.

Just another thought and I'm not sure how a '95 7.3 is setup, but assuming it has some sort of cold start function that increases the idle and advances the timing? The timing advance solenoid helps cold starting and is controlled by a temperature sender, which is separate from the one controlling the engine temp gauge. Years ago when my stopped working it made cold starting more difficult.

[underpowered]

extra crank time that cold is not bad IMO. my 00 7.3 powerstroke will start without being plugged in down to about 0, once it goes negative it starts to get harder to start. as for glow plugs, you don't have to cycle them, the light goes off just to say it should start, but they will continue to stay on up to 2 minutes, even once the light goes off they are still actually on so just leave the key on for a bit longer and try to start instead of cycling it again.

[itbrokeagain]

I will look under my visor. I do not push the throttle. I think I need to check my gp relay. It's been too cold and I haven't been home the past few days

[fordman00]

Never heard of giving it throttle. But if you Google how to check your glow plug relay it's fairly simple takes 5 min. I can't remember off the top of my head.

[blustroker]

Extra crank time is common when it's that cold if not plugged in. But the fact it was plugged in and still had to go through extra cranking says something is not working. Another thought being that our injectors are oil fired, could be bleeding oil past worn injector o-rings. Taking longer to build enough oil pressure to fire the injectors. Just a thought.

[blazerbrad]

On my '90 Chevy the user's manual states to hold the throttle down 1/2 way when starting in the cold.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the truck started at -5 degrees so obviously the batteries were not completely drained. It sounds like the truck was cranked enough to start noticing a decrease in battery performance, which really doesn't take very long on an engine like this at those temps.

[fordman00]

I'm going to check my manual next time I take the truck out.I'm curious now,lol.

[itbrokeagain]

On my '90 Chevy the user's manual states to hold the throttle down 1/2 way when starting in the cold.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the truck started at -5 degrees so obviously the batteries were not completely drained. It sounds like the truck was cranked enough to start noticing a decrease in battery performance, which really doesn't take very long on an engine like this at those temps.

The truck started but by the time it did the truck was cranking noticeably slower. I know the injectors work off of oil pressure and at -5 15w40 is most likely almost solid. I will check the glow plug system but kind of going off of what a few have said 2 hrs is not enough to warm up the engine. I put the truck on a 2 hr timer because when researching how long it needed to be plugged in most people said that after 2 hrs all you are doing is wasting energy.

[fordman00]

I just normally plug it in all night. Without a timer.never noticed a big jump in electric Bill. But I don't drive my truck everyday

[donaldcon]

I very seldom have a plug my diesel in I usually just started up let it warm up out there for a little while I didn't drive the way it sits for 2 or 3 weeks at a time

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