I have a cold weather starting issue, when it is -20*C or colder and the truck has not been pluged in it runs very rough when started. It seems as if the engine isnt firing on all cylinders, when the cold weather idle ramps up and kicks out 3 cylinders it more than usually stalls. This sympton clears up after driving a kilometer or so and has no ill effect when warm out. I would like to get this solved as the dealer just says cannot duplicate problem as it is too warm, the bad news is I run out of warranty soon and there is no cold weather in forcast. I hope someone has some insight on this.
Thanks

BTW never had a check engine light.
125000 KM

 

Fuel gelling? Do run an additive to prevent it?

 

I've never had a problem with jelling before same temp. same fuel, this also happened to me last year at same temp.

 

You say it sounds as if it isn't running on all cylinders?
That might be because its NOT. You probably have that feature activated along with High Idle for cold starts.

I think this is normal. I also have read that it is suggested that you plug in under 40*F. Most of us don't, just saying.

 

This happens before the cold weather idle feature kicks in. The cold idle feture takes about 30 seconds before it works and this conditiopn happens right after start up.

 

Mine does the same thing, but once it gets to 190F or so on the highway it clears up and runs fine .... I personally think I have a bad injector or something to that effect

 

You should know that you're getting #1 fuel oil this time of year, and you should be using an additive such as Stanadyne's or others that add lubricity. But as to your problem...make sure you're getting current to the heater grid in the intake plenum. In past years before I knew where to get an additive in WH, I parked it.

 

That's very true about checking the intake heaters. There are 2 grids, powered by 2 relays, and on preheat, they should both come on. I have seen several trucks lately where one relay fails, and only one of the grids comes on before startup. The engine will start, but won't run well until it gets some heat. You may have other problems, but this is a good place to start.

I usually put an amp clamp around both power leads at the preheater. They EACH draw 95 -120 amps, so you want to see around 200 amps total when you turn the key on. Without an amp clamp, you can turn the key on (cold engine) and check both positive terminals at the preheater with a test light.