Hello, picked up a 2003 at a deal! guy said it randomly wont start. runs great, zero oil usage all the check boxes on a standard inspection show good. nothing strange except 2 things- Randomly it wont start cold and it rolls coal everywhere. Truck has good (Not great) power, but rolls coal like no other. Previous owner was old, no chips or any kiddo BS added to this rig. As for the cold no start- We all know a CTD will rattle to life without the grid's at 50F so this thing isn't fueling when cold, I can crank 2 new battery's dead and it just wont fuel the injectors. One thing I have noticed, if the grid "wait to start" doesn't light up, it fires up like its on the showroom floor- and it always fires up once warm. super strange why would the wait to start grid's cause it to not start, new battery's, its not like the Grid's are eating up so much power it cant fire the injectors. If i plug it in at night, the wait to start wont show, and it fires right up. Please help before i get mad enough to P pump this thing!
Thanks, joe

 

Hey, Joe, I loved my '03 when I had it. You don't mention how many miles it has or what codes (if any) you pulled. My guess, from experience, is you are having issues with your injectors. Before you get too far, check your oil level to see if it is up too high indicating a leaky injector washing fuel down the cylinder walls into the oil pan. Highly diluted oil (with diesel) is not good for the engine.

Next thing I would do (high oil level or not) is send the injectors off to be tested and possibly rebuilt. I had mine done at F1 and was very happy with the results. F1 is now called Flux Diesel Injection.

Time for bed. Good luck.

 

185k oil seems fine, just the no start when cold when cranked with the key- If i coast start by on a hill it fires right up, engine doesn't even rotate twice it instantly fires up- im pretty confident that the computer isn't firing the injectors for whatever reason

 

There are lots of threads here where the OP states something on the order of ‘won’t start when cold’, coupled with ‘if I plug in the block heater overnight, it will start in the morning’. I suggest you search for and read those posts. Sometimes it’s the battery, most times it’s the sticks, rarely if ever it’s the brain.

Good luck.