3bt not starting (1 Viewer)

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Jul 14, 2018
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Location
Kansas city
I've been in Colorado for about 2 months and had some trouble starting it on cold mornings, after letting it warm up on the block heater for a couple hours, the batteries are not holding a charge when they get cold, so I've been jump starting it with my school bus and that worked fine for a few weeks until the other day when it started right up and was running fine and I stepped away to unhook the jumper cables and block heater and turn the bus off. When I got back out to the truck it had stalled and now I can't get it to start again, usually once it's started and run for a couple minutes I don't have to jump it again it will just start up. I dove into it a little yesterday, let it sit on the block heater for 5 hours and charged both batteries with the bus. It with crank over and I can hear it having compression but there is a hissing sound and there's no combustion.
 
And a clarification of the engine type and make would be nice. Is it a 13BT toyota or a 3B with a turbo or a Cummins 3BT? We don't get a lot of the Cummins inquiries here
 
Please confirm...
24v?
Stock engine or swapped?
Has EDIC?
Any smoke or fumes when running last?
 
I've used my 3B-t (also home made turbo) in the winter lots.

I find if the battery is strong ( or being boosted) the next item is being able to crank, either a block heater on to warm the engine, or have really thin oil. Like 0w40 synthetic.

But the biggest item to get it running is glow plugs.

I could not get my cruiser running on the glow timer (super glow). It just would not start. As it would not glow long enough.

I swapped in 10.5 volt plugs, see FAQ part numbers.

And put in an over ride switch (wilson set up).

I can hold the glow for 20 seconds. And crank it over, once it starts to sputter I push the glow again and hold for 20 more seconds. I then let it idle. If it gets rough I re-glow.

I left in the resister in the glow system. SO I am still on the same glow plugs I installed in 2003. They have about 70,000 kms on them.
 
... good morning guys ,do you see smoke ? what type of ?

if glow is running it could be diesel filter maybe "closed" by very cold diesel (paraffin) , dirty / water into the diesel that has frozen

i think that if you did not touch the diesel part you can be almost sure that there is no air into it ....but like gerg said prime it , it cost only a minute....


if there is diesel at the injectors you would see a unburnt diesel smoke ... i normally feel the smell of it
 
Does the 3B have low oil level or pressure cut off like the 2H? I would give it some starting fluid.
 
Okay, so I've replaced one battery that was totally dead and it will crank without a jump now. I tried to prime the injection pump and nothing is really happening, there's no resistance so I'm suspicious of an air leak somewhere in the fuel system. When it cranks there's no smoke which adds to the thought that it's not getting fuel. When it was running I noticed some low oil pressure readings and now when it cranks it takes quite a while to build pressure, but it does have some. I'm going to crack the bleeder screw on the fuel filter and see if I can get fuel, then if it's still not starting check the glow plugs
 
... good morning guys ,do you see smoke ? what type of ?

if glow is running it could be diesel filter maybe "closed" by very cold diesel (paraffin) , dirty / water into the diesel that has frozen

i think that if you did not touch the diesel part you can be almost sure that there is no air into it ....but like gerg said prime it , it cost only a minute....


if there is diesel at the injectors you would see a unburnt diesel smoke ... i normally feel the smell of it


This seems likely, we've had temperatures in the single digits for over a week. There definitely seems to be a lack of fuel since there's no smoke and the primer has no resistance when pumping
 
...hhum.. i would change filter and prime it untill diesel doesn't blow out from the bleed screw (on the filter housing).
 
if primer has no resitance : you have a cracked line or your fuel is finish...

but remember you have to prime many time before feel resistance because resitance occours only when diesel reach the primer

maybe the suction into the tank is dirty
 
I thought starting fluid is bad for engines with glow plugs?

Modern starting fluids contain only about 20% ether, the other 80% is a mixture of lubricants which slow down the combustion.It can be used like CRC to free up rusted bits.
I use to have a can of 60% ether but they dont seem to make it any more.
I have never had a problem using it to start or run an engine for few minutes. Most of the negative things you hear about starting fluid comes from the days when they would use 100% ether.
 
You may want to add a fuel additive that will remove water... If any got in the lines, it can freeze and plug, or even crack, the lines..
 
You may want to add a fuel additive that will remove water... If any got in the lines, it can freeze and plug, or even crack, the lines..

good advice ! some time during the winter that is very cold here i like mixing 1 liter of gasoline with 1 liter of 2stroke oil to add into the tank full of diesel . this mix act like antifreeze and lubricate the injection pump
 
Modern starting fluids contain only about 20% ether, the other 80% is a mixture of lubricants which slow down the combustion.It can be used like CRC to free up rusted bits.
I use to have a can of 60% ether but they dont seem to make it any more.
I have never had a problem using it to start or run an engine for few minutes. Most of the negative things you hear about starting fluid comes from the days when they would use 100% ether.

I thought starting fluid is bad for engines with glow plugs?

I would only spray when cranking myself.

But one other concern is making sure it has glow plugs, not a glow screen in the intake. I was nearby once when ether was spraying into an intake with a glow screen, the entire intake exploded.

SO a 13B-t has an intake screen, if you use ether you disconnect the screen.
 

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