Car hard to start in the morning (Socal - so cold should not be a factor)

bryancald · #1 10-04-2010, 08:22 AM

Hi,

I'm new to diesels and am not sure where to start.
I should note that this is a non-turbo motor.

One day leaving work, the glow plug light didn't illuminate.
It was a little hesitant to start, but not as much as now.
The next day it was back to normal. It stayed this way until as few weeks ago.

This symptom started all of the sudden. It used to start instantly.
One morning it took a couple of minutes to start and has been the same ever since.
Once it's been driven, it will start instantly - even if I screw up and forget to wait for the glow-plug cycle. Otherwise the engine runs perfect, good power, smooth idle.

Should I start at the glow plugs? Is there a way to test them?

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

Bryan

ngoma · #2 10-04-2010, 10:23 AM

Can you clarify if the GP light is not lighting during the incidents when it is hard to start? As in: Can you make a correlation between No GP light = hard start; GP light = easy start? That would tell us the GPs were OK but the GP relay or control circuitry was intermittent.

bryancald · #3 10-04-2010, 10:44 AM

GP light didn't light the one time. It has acted normal ever since.
GP lights for approx. ten seconds, still hard to start.

Thought of two other things:
Recently repaired leaky cell in battery (starter still cranks hard)
Seems to be easier to start if I turn the ignition off to restart GP cycle 3-4 times.

Jason · #4 10-04-2010, 12:50 PM

Assuning its turning over fast enough... I would say a coulpe glow plugs have gone bad. You just need a multi meter to test them, just test for resistance. If they are open they are burnt out. Also note I have had one that wasn't open but the resistance was super high, making the other glow plugs not glow at full temp because it was sucking all the power fromt the circuit. Watch out for readings that differ greatly from all the others. Even in warm weather, if the engine is cold it still needs a short glow period to start easily.

Jason

ngoma · #5 10-04-2010, 05:38 PM

Now I am really curious. How do you repair a leaky battery cell?

bryancald · #6 10-04-2010, 07:25 PM

The outside cell was leaking through the side of the case. I applied epoxy to stop the leak, let it cure, and then re-filled the cell with distilled H2o. It's held for several months. A new battery is in the works though.

bryancald · #7 10-04-2010, 07:31 PM

UPDATE: Tested the bus bar connecting GP's, showed 12V-14V from 1-6.
Heard the relay click off after 7-10 seconds.
Pulled second GP from front of engine, showed .8-1.0 ohms.
Hooked GP to battery and grounded GP base. Seemed to light up slowly.
I'm thinking the relay isn't allowing the GP's long enough to get really hot.
GP eventually (after 20 seconds or so) got up to 230 degrees.
I measured with an IR temp gun.
Should it heat up faster?

Thanks,
Bryan

bryancald · #8 10-05-2010, 04:18 AM

Well, it wouldn't start this morning. Battery died before it showed any signs of life.
I even cycled the gp's 3 times before I attempted to crank it over.

Jason · #9 10-05-2010, 10:08 AM

The plug should be orange at the tip within a couple seconds. Either the batt is bad or you have the really old slow type glow plugs, but I can't immagine they would still work if they were that old. You should check all the glow plugs though.

Jason

bryancald · #10 10-05-2010, 10:35 AM

Is it possible to replace all six without removing the injection pump on the D24?
I've seen mixed answers.

Bryan