How come I have to blip the throttle to get my 3b to run when cold? (1 Viewer)

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Did you ask him?

Hehe. I did. He literally said, "I have no idea what I did to fix it." But, he charged the batteries, took off one of the glow plugs, flipped it around, grounded it with a little wire, and observed that the glow system was working, then put it back together. It started immediately. I didn't believe him, so I said, "I'll bet you a six pack that if you leave it overnight, it won't start the next day." Sure enough, it did. So I paid my bill and brought over a six pack, and that was the end of that.
 
But, he charged the batteries

When a diesel can crank the engine fast, its builds higher temperatures in the combustion chambers. That white smoke was from combustion that was too cool. Even in a warm climate like Australia, when its 20c at 9am, it takes longer to start with only a slight drop in cranking power from a battery.
 
I also wanted to upload a video that I recorded in April, during which I noticed that the truck was turning over awful slow. I wrote it off as "cold temperatures" being hard on the battery and never mentioned it. But, now I realize that the batteries were failing (I replaced them in summer), and I can also see from how short the glow light was on that the glow plugs or timer were also not working 100%.

The only reason the truck started easily in summer was because it was so warm. I suspect that toward the end of summer, the odd plug or two that were still working finally failed, which is why the cold start issues developed full-swing.

 
If that was a cold start, there is something wrong with the glow timer. It should have been on longer than that. And the engine was definitely cranking too slow.
 
That’s a good idea/observation @roscoFJ73.

So, we have agreement that the batteries in that video must be failing, given how slow the turnover was. At the time, I thought to myself, “hmm, this doesn’t sound that off? My 12 volt VW sounds like this.” Little did I know that a 24V starting system spins the 24V starter twice as fast!

And, further, that the light was only on for a second suggests that the timer was not happy, maybe because of old glow plugs with HUGE resistance.
 
And, further, that the light was only on for a second suggests that the timer was not happy

Im judging it by the glow time on my 12v 1HZ 6 cyl engine. Even a cold start in summer has the glowlight on as long as yours. In our winter at 7c the light is on for 3-4 seconds.

Im still running 1995 glow plugs with 280k klms
 
Im judging it by the glow time on my 12v 1HZ 6 cyl engine. Even a cold start in summer has the glowlight on as long as yours. In our winter at 7c the light is on for 3-4 seconds.

Im still running 1995 glow plugs with 280k klms

Good to know.

When you say "as long as yours" I am guessing that you referring to this video:



and not the video immediately above in post #104
 
That was ok, must have been the other video where the glow light was on for too shorter time. Your 75 appears to be doing what its should do now IMO.
 
I glow way longer than that with my manual glow. It was the having to cycle a few times on the key that lead me to dislike the super glow and go manual.

Also as for crank speeds I also found oil plays a large part. If I have 15w40 in (which is the oil I use all summer) and I try to start in 0 C or colder, even up to -10 C the oil is too thick and it cranks slowly.
When I was using my cruiser in -10 C and colder for winter use I ran 0W40 Rotella Synth. It made it crank properly.

But I would consider a 5W30 also for cooler temps. Oil makes a difference.
 
I glow way longer than that with my manual glow. It was the having to cycle a few times on the key that lead me to dislike the super glow and go manual.

Also as for crank speeds I also found oil plays a large part. If I have 15w40 in (which is the oil I use all summer) and I try to start in 0 C or colder, even up to -10 C the oil is too thick and it cranks slowly.
When I was using my cruiser in -10 C and colder for winter use I ran 0W40 Rotella Synth. It made it crank properly.

But I would consider a 5W30 also for cooler temps. Oil makes a difference.

I hear ya. If multiple glows is required down the track or any component of the original starting system falters (e.g. timer or relay), I'll go manual with a wilson switch setup. The truck is mint, but I don't care what anyone says. A truck that is hard to start is a huge turnoff. I'd rather have a more reliable wilson switch than play cat and mouse with an original timer setup.

As for the oil, I think I am also running 15w40. That was what was running in the 3B when I started it in the above video, when it was -7°C=17°F.

I think we can say that this problem is resolved. Thanks to everyone for your knowledge sharing.
 
But, wait! There is more.

Mind you, it's -5°C 23° F here. 5 days go by, and I go out to start the truck, and the batteries are totally flat. They were brand new from August 2018. I'm going to charge them up and test for a parasitic draw.

Anyone want to bet on the source?
 
I went out to the garage today to check on the charging system. I noticed that both batteries are in fact fully charged. I also noticed that together I have 24 V and each battery reads 12.87 V. So, the reason for the starter being slow to turn has to be something else. Any ideas? It seems funny that this has happened all of a sudden, given that last week, the starter worked normally, as did the starting system.
 
The figure you need is the voltage when its cranking. Even a dying battery can hold a 12v float. You can buy a battery load tester cheap that will simulate a load being placed on the battery.
 
The figure you need is the voltage when its cranking. Even a dying battery can hold a 12v float. You can buy a battery load tester cheap that will simulate a load being placed on the battery.


I should get one of these. I have not yet. I bought a G7200 24V battery charger. The battery array quickly rose to near 100% charged, and has been charging the last portion to 100% for the last hour or so. More to report as to whether discharged batteries was why the starter was not its normal, peppy and happy self :)

If the batteries discharged, then it's time to chase parasitic draw. Yay!
 
The figure you need is the voltage when its cranking. Even a dying battery can hold a 12v float. You can buy a battery load tester cheap that will simulate a load being placed on the battery.

It's worth measuring power at the starter too. We have a 12v HZJ75 on the farm that was having trouble starting from time to time. Battery voltage when cranking was okay but it was dropping over 2 volts across the starter motor solenoid contacts and about a volt through the battery leads. A new starter motor and some cleaned leads and it cranks like never before.

From memory it was getting as little as 6.4 volts at the starter motor.
 
It's worth measuring power at the starter too. We have a 12v HZJ75 on the farm that was having trouble starting from time to time. Battery voltage when cranking was okay but it was dropping over 2 volts across the starter motor solenoid contacts and about a volt through the battery leads. A new starter motor and some cleaned leads and it cranks like never before.

From memory it was getting as little as 6.4 volts at the starter motor.

I can now confirm that my truck starts like a champ once the batteries were charged, and that I am getting 24v to the starter motor. I am migrating this electrical issue to a new thread: Parasitic draw on 24V 3B
 
The truck draws 25.42V when not running from positive terminal to glow plug head. When running, it draws 32-34V. Harder to start today. Temps cooler.

Still sound like a ground issue?

I can now confirm that my BJ75 was overcharging the batteries because there was some kind of aftermarket piggyback wiring harness with a Hella changeover relay between the voltage regulator and the alternator. Someone installed this in previous ownership, but removed the accessories attached to it, and did not remove the harness or relay. This created problems with overcharing the batteries, it appears. With this harness in place, the truck would charge at 33-34v. I removed the piggyback harness, and the voltage is now 27.5-38v when running.

This piggyback harness is probably why my batteries were getting fried, as I documented in this thread: My BJ75 is destroying low side batteries - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/my-bj75-is-destroying-low-side-batteries.1114358/

This is probably also the culprit of my parking light bulbs going out, too, as I documented in this thread: Front parking lights are not working -- why? - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/front-parking-lights-are-not-working-why.1049288/#post-11564374

This may have shortened the life of my glow plugs as well. It may also explain why I had a few popped fuses inside, and why stuff plugged into the cigarette lighter never worked reliably.

That is to say, all of the electrical issues I ever have had with this truck appear to be resolved now. I am still annoyed that I need to buy two new batteries..
 

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