12ht COLD START PROBLEM (1 Viewer)

[1High61]

Hi there I have an 87 hj 61 and over last 2 years I have had cold weather starting problems. I live in Canada and when the temp goes below
-15 or colder the truck will not start. When you turn the key the starter will crank but the lights on the dash will not light its like there is some kind of malfunction in the curcuits or wiriing and as it warms up to above -15 the system will start to function again and the heater lights and dash lights come on.
when I had the truck for its first winter back in 2004/2005 it would start at -24 which is really cold. I have poked around a bit but if anyone has some pointers that would be great. When its -15 outside you don't feel like taking things apart.
Thanks

 

[Dieseler]

Are you allowing the glow plugs to heat up,my 61 will start instantly down to -5C below that or after long cold durations of not being started I let the glow plugs heat up the glow light should come on at the temps you are experiencing

 

[Stone]

How are your batteries? Is it possible that as the temperature gets extremely cold...your batteries aren't able to supply enough current? Maybe use battery warming blankets in conjunction with engine block heaters, synthetic oil, etc...?

 

[IironSika]

12H-T doesn´t have glow plugs, just one (or two?) intake glow. And when it (they) comes on in low temperatures, it takes a lot of amps. My guess is that your batteries are going bad or not fully charged.

 

[Stone]

12H-T`s have a glow screen on the intake manifold just like the 13B-T`s.

 

[Dieseler]

I stand corrected all I know about my 61 is It does have a orange glow light on the dash that I assumed was glow plugs,it only comes on in extreme cold weather.

 

[Stone]

Hey Dieseler, if you ever want to override the way the glow screen comes on in your 61, there was a mod suggested a while ago where you install a normally closed push button switch inline with the wire that leads from the glow controller and the water temp sensor. Pushing the button makes the controller think it's very cold outside and forces it to go through the full cycle...and leaving it alone allows it to work normally.

I wish I remember who first suggested it, but I did this with my BJ74 and it worked really well...especially when the temps get around the level where the engine was having more trouble starting. Cheers.

 

[1High61]

Hey guys thanks for your intrest in my problem. when its cold the engine will crank hard and fast no indiciations of battery issues at all and you can crank and crank but the lights on the dash are dead no lights for anything at all you can do is crank it over you get a quick flicker somtimes from the turbo lights. The whole heater system is inactive. I doubt it is a problem with the batterys due to the fact that I have two battery chargers under the hood one for each battery, I know it sounds silly but I figured why not. I plug it in when its cold if want to start the truck, I also have an oil heater on the same plug. I am lead to believe that it is some type of sensor problem or a curcuit board or wire that hates cold weather. It sucks because when the temp dips below -15ish
I have to think twice about leaving the truck over night some place. Its a hard problem to trouble shoot because you need the cold weather to cause the problem and then its not fun poking around at sub zero temps. My best guess is some is stopping the main dash/heater system power from coming on when i turn the ignition key to crank.
Thanks
Scott

 

[Dieseler]

Thanks Stone I will try it.
1High61 I would run a tester on the sensor on the manifold glow screen since it determins when it is cold enough to activate,not sure what the temp setting would be before it activates,try looking at a wiring schematics and do a trace back.

 

[Greg_B]

I wish I remember who first suggested it, but I did this with my BJ74 and it worked really well...especially when the temps get around the level where the engine was having more trouble starting. Cheers.

Stickboy I think. Yup, here is a thread: https://forum.ih8mud.com/diesel-tech-24-volts-systems/105195-glow-screen.html

 

[Radd Cruisers]

This sounds a lot more like a problem relating to the ignition system powering up and not just a glow screen issue.

The glow screen not lighting at cold temps is only a result of another issue, and I don't think it's the first place you should be looking - as evidenced by the dash lights not coming on with the bulb-check (KOEO).

~John

 

[1High61]

Thanks

I guess I should check out the ignition cylinder wires, its a strange problem. I will have to wait to see if we get another day cold enough, might be next year.
Thanks for all your help guys

 

[Hikeshi]

Hey,

I live in Ottawa and have an 88 HJ61. The only time I have gotten the symptoms you describe is from either poor batteries (looks good until minus 12 to 15), a faulty battery cable with corrosion, or loose connections, especially the positive to negative connection from one battery to the other (have had the positive battery post on the passenger side melt from a loose connection). The corrosion can be limiting conductivity to a trickle, then when it gets cold, too little, too late.

My batteries were looking like they were taking the charge and seemed okay until they cooled into the lower minus range when things get sluggish. I would get a pair of Costco batteries and see what happens, return them if it doesn't seem to help, they don't seem to care.

Cheers,

H.

 

[1High61]

Hey Hikeshi
I will have a good look at my terminals and see if there is a problem there. I doubt we will see another -15 day though. I have never melted a cable they are still stock.

 

[Chang-kuao-lo]

I get kind of the same thing out of the BJ74 on the odd time I start it up. It rarely gets cold enough here to have the intake heater come on. But it starts right up and the dash lights run dim and the ammeter runs at almost bottom, but after about 3 mins of fast idle, the lights et al come up to normal. And I know for a fact that the batts are crap and won't hold a charge for long. It's possible you have one or both batts that are cooked. Charge them overnight while disconnected from the truck and load test them. A decent batt should survive 2 or 3 load tests in a row without totally discharging.

 

[Stone]

Thanks for reminding me, Greg...how could I forget Mike/Stickboy?