Is there any way to somehow hook up the hand warmers on the rear bumper to the intake? Sorry this tread got the best of me I heard from a guy at work that hooked them to a lighted switch on the dash via a seperate relay. When cold he cranked them on manually for 10 secs and shut them down

 

Well the batteries are almost new and it cranks real fast. I remember spending much $ on the batts. I suppos eI will check the controller again but it will be the third change out. I'd love a sprinter and plan on one for my company but the wife would never go for it. In addition I hear they are underpowerred-w-the 5 cyl mercedes engine. After driving my Cummins 04 I really can't stand the 96 PSD. The glow plugs are a major PIA to get out of a van. Even the fuel filter takes a few times to get the system on. Are 12 hand dryers available? I could easily rig something like this up-w-the glow plug circuit and a timer so it leaves the hand warmers on for several secconds after the BS glow plugs fail to do their job.

 

"In addition I hear they are underpowerred-w-the 5 cyl mercedes engine. "

Gotta drive one. Not a road rocket, but then, it's a full-size van.

Good luck with your truck(s) & Happy New Year!

 

ok,i looked some of the stuff i found in my research,the napa glow plug relay is 20.00 and its part number is gpr109

Here is a way to check some of the glow plug system
jump the 2 large terminals on the gpr for 20 seconds then unjump and try to start,if it starts the gpr is is bad.

the fuel heater is fuse #22 in the box under the hood.check that I would think that would cause harder starting as well.The fuel heater is known for shorting and going bad,I think if it shorted and blowing the fuse it will cause it not to start.

I know they also say that if the oil is low or needing changed that hi pressure oil that fires the injectors make it hard to start and can run rough to.

another thing is dont use the wait to start light on the ford you look at the volt meter ,wait to start until the gpr releases and the volts jump back up.I know its alot longer than the light stays on.

This is all stuff I printed out when I was considering the ford so I have never done any of it.My dad did have a non psd 7.3 and the gpr stayed engaged way longer than the light stayed on so i know thats the case.Hope that helps some

 

here another one I found ,while you are cranking the tach should read 200 rpms if not its weak batteries,which it shouldnt be since you have new ones.The other thing if it doesnt register 200 its a problem with the crank position sensor.It can still run if its going bad. new glow plugs are 8-10 dollars each at the international big truck dealer if you have to replace them.

Here is how to tell if the glow plugs are burnt up if you have the truck apart
set you meter to 200 ohms ,ground the blacl lead and touch the red lead to the top of the glow plug with it unhooked,it should read .5 good . Thats about all the info I can find in my notes that may help you get that van sorted out.I bet that van is murder to work on with that big v8 in that tunnel.good luck

 

found one last thing,It looks like those fuel heaters go out on every single one of the psds.So if you have never changed it it probably needs it.They say you need a crows fooT wrench and about 20 minutes.The part numbers are
F5TZ9J294A-INTERNAL FUEL HEATER -44.99
F4TZ9J294A-EXTERNAL HEATER THERMOSTAT-38.99

 

Check the amperage draw - should be about 200A when key first turned on, if even one or two bad will be hard to start, only use German made glow plugs like from International or Ford, aftermarket glow plugs are junk and will not last nearly as long. Also could be a problem with high pressure oil reservoir draining back overnight, and then having to prime up injection system, this will take time and truck will not start no matter how warm it is outside until the pressure builds up. Remove the fuel filter cover, and the bracket that holds this cover is bolted to the high pressure oil reservoir, on the driver's side there is a small plug on top, remove this plug after truck sits overnight and look inside - if the oil is to the top it's ok, if it's down a ways top it off and then try to start it up and see if this helps

 

"It looks like those fuel heaters go out on every single one of the psds.So if you have never changed it it probably needs it.They say you need a crows fooT wrench and about 20 minutes."

You also need about 10 swear words, some band-aids, and 3 hands.

 

I bet its a real nightmare on the van then.Im interested to see how it turns out.

 

I have always thought that the engineers get together at the local bar after work with a conversation like this "Wait till you see the design on the new widget bearing we worked up today, love to see those backyard hillbillies change that one out. Tomorrow we have to design the $428.52 special tool to remove it and the special greese to get it back in... "

Ya know, thay have them little horns on their head for something

 

As stated in most of the replies CHECK THE BATTERIES AND CONECTIONS! A friend of mine had problems with his and wired a spring-loaded toggle switch into the glow plug system so he can control the lenght of time they operate. Works great. A little shot of WD-40 in the intake will help also

 

What about the MAP sensor?