I have an 04 CTD and it starts no matter how cold it is. My wife has a 96 Phord Powerstroke that got new glow plugs two years ago and we got one good winter out of them. I am now plugging it in if I think it might dip to 40. Anyone have a real fix for these things? It has been a battle for as long as we've had it and I've busted my butt trying to get it right. HELP!

 

I used to let the Plugs cycle twice b4 i started and after that it started right up. I dont know if you have tried that yet but it worked for me.I very rarely pluged it in.

 

Park it in garage heated to 90°

 

in-cab ether button

 

Go to http://www.thedieselstop.com and search on glow plugs and glow plug controllers. Getting the correct brand of glow plug and correcting/replacing the controller will make a big difference.

Your wife might appreciate a big heated shop to park her Ford.

 

Park it in garage heated to 90° now thats funny !
I do not meen to offend anyone but I sure am glad I didnt get a PSD.

 

10-4 on the heated garage but it is out of the question. I've done all the glow plug and controller things in the past. Truth is it is a lousy setup. From the factory the glow plug relay (controller) was a POS and they had a TSB for another one which was slightly less of a POS. The contacts on the controllers can't take the current and burn up/corrode. I was hoping someone adapted a grid (air) heater setup.. I can cycle the start 6 times and if it 35 or lower I might start it after the tenth try if it was not plugged in. It is really a sorry part of engineering on these things. I would not purchase another one except for the fact that Ford makes a full size van-w-diesel and Dodge doesn't. I suppose Chevy might but I couldn't bring myself to but another Chevrolet.

 

That's brutal. I feel your pain. There is nothing more frustrating than a truck that won't start when you need it.

My dodge fires up no problem at -20 F. (excpet for the h=giant mushroom cloud of smoke ) looks like someone dropped a nuke.

A few years ago when the new style super duties first came out we tried starting the new F450 (was about six months old at the time with 20,000 miles) on a bitterly cold day. Not a chance woultn't even think about it. o we fired up the 6 year old Dodge sitting next to it and tried tow starting the pig and it still wouldn't start!

 

Old Fords had controller problems- the controller would get stuck on and burn out the plugs. Alot of people had a manual button put in the cab so that they could control the plugs just as long as they wanted.

 

Hows the batteries? I drive our church bus, 95, with the powerstroke and it don't like the cold eiter. I found that when the battery was low on charge, it just didn't seem to spin the engine quick enough. Now when I jump the bus with my truck, she fires right up. Just a thought.

 

Trade it in for a CDT. Sorry, I had too. We have a brush truck that is hard to start sometimes, but it doesn't get near that cold down here.

 

I had a similar problem one freezing cold winter in Alaska. It wasn't my glow plugs...it was the battery terminals. I cleaned them up and the thing started up like it had brand new batteries.

 

Back when I was looking to get my first diesel pickup and thought I might get a psd I researched alot on the diesel stop.I think there is a cheaper better glow plug relay available at napa most of those guys replace with.The glow plug harness under the valve covers melt and cause trouble and I think there are some better glow plugs than the factory ones those guys use also.One thing I remeber for sure is You better have super good as new batteries on there or it wont start. If your batteries are old at all replace them with the biggest that will fit.Even if it cranks the truck pretty good it still might not be enough.The crank sender is also a know problem on them as well,they carry a spare in the glove compartment so they can change them in parking lots.There is tons of info on them over there and the guys help alot.The glow plug trouble ,and expensive electronic trouble is why I decided against the ford.Im glad I did,It would be nice if they had a 3500 van with the cummins,I bet they would have sold a million of them for motor home platforms.

 

No "Full size van with a diesel??"

http://www.dodge.com/sprinter/


Good luck with your powerstroke--tough starters, eh?

 

This probably won't be of much help, but you could start it like we did the old Detroits. Stick the hair dryer in the intake for a couple of minutes, starts right up. Does the same as the grids on the Dodge/Cummins.

I had a hole in the air intake stack for that purpose, run the hair dryer in it for a few and off it would go, no matter how cold it was. The engine don't care where it gets the heat, from the coolant, the oil or the air, just so the temperature is higher in the combustion chamber to start.