My 89. 1500, 6.2 pickup is having trouble starting if the block heater is not plugged in. starts fine if it is plugged in and runs fine after that. today it was 14 degrees C. 60F and it still had problems until i plugged it in. I even recently replaced the glowplugs, bateries, and the glow plug relay(controler). any ideas on what's going on?

 

Have you tested whether the glow plugs are actually getting power?

 

I had an 89 6.2 and it was the biggest pain in the.... piece of..of any vehicle Ive ever owned. Does it turn over at all? click? or what?

 

I'd say you have a problem with glow plug curcuit. check out www.ssdieselsupply.com or www.kennedydiesel.com. for parts.

 

If it wont start at 60deg, I'd say something in the fuel system is worn out. I had a 6.9 Ford (same Stanadyne DB2 pump) that would start within 5seconds unplugged at +20deg. Smoked a little, but not bad. It should not need glow plugs at 60deg; that's like our Cummins needing the intake heater at 60deg.

So, I would start by testing the lift pump output and pressure. Not sure what they are supposed to be. Check for leaks and places air can get in- old hose, cracked lines, etc. Then pull the injectors and get them checked out. It may be pump time. I'm not sure which one got it and which ones didnt, but I have been told some had a neoprene cam plate and it would wear out. Is it low on power (relatively)?

Hope this gets you pointed in the right direction.

Daniel

 

Once it starts it works fine.. mileage is good power is alright... does that make a difference to your thought that it has something to do with the fuel system? I have checked to see if the glow plugs are getting power i checked one glow plug lead on each side and they both got 12 volts.

 

dpuckett, trust me, the 6.2/6.5 definately needs the Glow Plugs to work, even at 60. I lived in Florida and my low mileage 86 would not start in the summer when I killed all 8.

Marc, make sure the controller isn't the issue. They have a habit of dying and leaving the glow plug power on, killing all 8 glow plugs. Mine pulled that stunt twice, and the only way to keep from killing the plugs was to get to the side of the road immediately and get her shut off, then disconnect the power to the controller.

Verify the condition of your glow plugs, thats step #1.

 

Yep, we have an '82 6.2 and when we lived in Florida it didn't matter if it was a 95* August day or a 10* winter morning it needs the glow plugs. Unfortunately IDI engines are hard starters compaired to our Direct injected engines. But, IDI engines get better economy and are more responsive/quicker to rev...

As stated the glow plug controller likes to hang and keep the power on to them which obviously fries them. Personally we have set ours up on toggle to rid ourselves of that pesky controller

 

OK,
I've recently replaced all 8 of the glow plugs and the controler. I checked yesterday the resistance on each one and they all read 1.2 ohms is that proper? some web sites i checked say .8 to 1 is normal? but i have tried to physically feel around the glow plug insertion area after having them cycle on for a bit to see if the surrounding area was hot and i didnt feel anything noticable. should i be able to feel heat?

 

I would have to go back and read a service manual, but if I remember back, I thought mine showed a direct open ( infinite resistance ) when they were burnt out.

Does your glow plug light appear to cycle normally? Man, from what you are describing, I have doubts it is in the plugs.

 

1.2 ohm is good for glow plug anything above 1.6 usually means they are not any good. The best way I found to check glowplugs is with a test light. Hook the crimp to a 12V source and touch glowplug with tip of test light if it is good will light up if not bad. Glow plugs have to be in block. Work on these engines all day in the Army and usually when they don't fire. We check the glowplugs first and if they ohm out then change controller or PCB box.

 

I checked the resistance again and I don't know what i did differently but i found three plugs on one side to have infinite resistance. all the other plugs including one plug on the bad side were fine. I pulled the three plugs that were bad and yep sure enough they showed excessive wear damage on the tips.

Any ideas on what could have caused this? why all on one side? why was one plug on that side spared?


Should I be worried about glowplug bits in the cylinder?

 

forget the glow plugs...60 degrees is warm...ur having a fuel or fuel pressure problem...either ur fuel is slighlty drainign back...or u have poor pressure somwhere...maybe an air leak in a line..or leaky injector or two...the reason it starts well after a plug in is that it is easy to get spontaneous combustion "inspite" of the fuel problem somewhere

 

how do i check and or correct a fuel draining back problem

 

mr T, I can tell you he is probably not a fuel problem, just like the other guys have said the engine needs the glow plugs to start. My dad's 89 6.2 needed the glow plugs hit for just a few seconds to start yesterday without excessive cranking, oh and it hit 80* here yesterday. The only time it needs to be plugged in was on the nights it would get below 10*.

Do you still get power to the glow plugs when you crank the truck or does the power stop flowing?
My dad's truck is setup with a standerd Ford sol. with a push button switch, it work so much better then the glowplug relay and timer.