Cold natured startup?

[Roberto]

New to diesels so know nothing. My 83 BJ42 is having a hard time starting in the mornings here in North Carolina. I have to pour warm/ hot water on the glow plugs to get it to crank. I have the glow plug light which comes on for about 5 seconds when I turn the ignition on and then it goes off but still will not start. I have a small black push button on the dash that when pushed in makes a click on a solenoid or relay in engine bay? I have been reading about the wilson switch and I am wondering if that is what this is? If so how do I operate it? Do I push it in once or hold it in for awhile. It makes the click noise when I push it even when I dont have the key in the ignition? Any special equipment needed to take the glow plugs out to get numbers off them to replace? I went and picked my rig up this weekend in Florida and it would not start until I poured hot water on it. I tried pouring water on it this morning and it would not start so after three pots of water I gave up and went in the house. I went back out 5 minutes later after reading anything I could on the site and turned the ignition on pushed that black button in for a couple times and then turned the ignition and it started to fire which took a few tries but it finally fired up. So click it once or hold it in if it is a wilson switch type setup? Its been a long weekend for me and this project. I was reading my owners manual and checking things out and told my dad that there was a kill engine switch on the engine next to the injector pump I guess, so I pulled it when the engine was running to show him not realizing that I should have not done it. Then it wouldnt start again so went back in the manual to find out why it wont start. After reading we bleed all the air out of the system and it started again. Wont do that again!!!

[bkfj40]

maybe you need to get out the multimeter and see if you are getting power to the glow plugs....follow the black button's wires and see where they go

then maybe replace the glow plugs...


bk

[crushers]

grab a tester (light or multi-meter) and get someone to hold the button on... if it is a wilson switch then hold for 20 seconds and see if it starts up. if so then very the time accordingly. if it started nicely then go shorter, if it started rough go longer...
if youa re getting power to the plugs and it still doesn't start (even roughly) then pull the plugs and test them...
get yourself a factory engine manual...
cheers

[Roberto]

thank you fellas, I am going to try it in the morning with the button. It will probably be around 25 degrees again so I will give it a shot. Thanks!

[Roberto]

Thank you fellas again! I got up this morning and held that black button in on my dash for 15 seconds, turned the key and it started right up! Tommorow I will hold for 10 seconds and see how she does.

Thanks
Roberto

[STIFFLER]

I have a 83 bj42 aswell. And i don't see any type of switch for my glow plugs.. Its is really rough starting in the cold. the glow plug light only stays on for 5 seconds and then goes off, no matter what the temp outside is. Something wrong with my timer? I am still a rookie to the 3B engine.

[canucksafari]

Originally Posted by STIFFLER

I have a 83 bj42 aswell. And i don't see any type of switch for my glow plugs.. Its is really rough starting in the cold. the glow plug light only stays on for 5 seconds and then goes off, no matter what the temp outside is. Something wrong with my timer? I am still a rookie to the 3B engine.

That is the way mine works - it is just the relay doing its job right. Your issues are probably with the glow plugs. Do as Crushers says to test them. John