I've had a problem for awhile now and I solve it by either plugging in my truck at night or driving it at night before bed and starting it right when I wake up. I have a 2003 dodge 2500. I only really have this issue in fall and winter. If it drops below 50 degrees at night and I don't plug it in or drive it at night and first thing in morning I can't start it without it being plugged it for atleast 45 min. It starts just fine otherwise. Some people say batteries, some people say the grid heater, some people say heater on filter housing, some people say a leak. Which one is it?? It's quite annoying to wake up in morning running out to start it, drive it around block so its good rest of day. I can't afford to just buy everything at moment so if someone could please give me some ideas.

 

its not the grid heater, batteries, or heater on the filter. its your fuel system its an indication that you have one or more injectors going bad or possible lift pump issue if its the stock pump. best thing to do is to cap an injector one at a time and see if the truck starts. it sounds like you have one letting the rail pressure bleed off keeping the others from not opening

 

If its a bad injector why does it start like a dream and run fine all the rest of time? Its that first start in morning if it drops too cold? Just asking..I've gotten so many versions.. I just moved and don't have all my diesel buddies, shops and resources anymore..

 

It almost sounds like it is not spinning over fast enough when it is cold outside.
I am with you, I would think you would notice other symptoms with a bad Injector, indeed, it would almost have to be several bad ones. The only way I could see that would be that the fuel droplets are too large to combust easily. That could also be caused by low fuel rail pressure, but here again, I would think you would see that hot or cold.

One thing I do know is you don't need a good one to be plugged in to start at anywhere NEAR the temps. you describe.

I would first look at the batteries, starter, cables, and connections. Have both batteries load tested while each is COMPLETELY disconnected ( don't laugh, it happens all the time! ) then I would look further down the line. A quick and easy check to see if I am right is to use a lighter synthetic oil on your next oil change and see if it starts easier. It is better for your engine in the winter anyway.

 

I'm a manager at Autozone so I have a load tester here.. I tried that they look fine to me, they are both the same batteries from dealer.(can't believe they still work!!) I run the mobil oil and mobil filter for my oil changes. I was thinkin same thing about injectors but I'm open to any help.. just moved.. put a lot of money into truck .. so short on cash..can't really afford to give try them all

 

the reasom is that some injectors go bad fast with boxes others go slow. all it has to be is enough of a tolerance when cold to allow fuel pressure to drop. metal expands when hot shrinks when cold. put a rail pressure gauge on it and try it. you should see at least 6k on it when cranking if not then it a rail pressure issue.

 

I also doubt it is grid heater or fuel heater involved.

My truck will start at 50 without being plugged in and without waiting for the heaters (though I generally do).

Having the rail pressure and lift pump pressure looked at might be helpful.

Any codes set?

 

Nope I don't have any codes.. I figured id be having more problems if it was those.. how do I test the lift pump?

 

You need to do a compression test sounds like your engine is dusted (low compression) it seems to fit your complaints?

 

I feel stupid asking this but i've always built hot rods and wheelin trucks with gas motors. I bought a diesel for hauling my farm equipment. Is checking compression and fuel pressure the same as a gas motor??? If not, how do i check them? and can same tools be used???

 

if your not seeing blowby or exesive oil consumption i cant see why it would be low compression. check the fuel and rail pressure first. this is signs of a problem they dont always show up in a major way

 

no blowby and no oil consumption.. i dont have to add any between oil changes.
i'm not sure if you seen my previous post..but diesels are new to me, and i know they are a different beast..i grew up on gas motors.. how do i check those on my diesel, do i have to get a different pressure gauge than the gas one i have? and what numbers am i looking for? and if it is low is it my lift pump, fuel injector or something else? i was actually looking at doing the air dog..would that solve my problems??

 

u will not be able to check the rail pressure unless u have a reader that hooks up to the obd2 port because rail pressure is like 20,000 psi enough to cut your hand off. i would not check the compression either because u have no blowby. if it was me having this problem i would get a fuel pressure gauge and hook it up. without a fass pump or an airdog i think the pressure is around 23 psi. i have started my dodge when it was 0 degrees out and my grid heater was busted so 50 degress should not even come close to being a problem. i also would not worry about what kind of oil i have several buddies that pull fema trailers and so on and they almost all us 15 40 rotella and most have well over 500k miles on them some with close to a million with same motors.

 

Oh wow ok lmao.. i've got my hands on a diesel fuel pressure tester and am going to test the fuel pressure tommorow and change my fuel filter tommorow.. and ill let you guys know what pressures i'm running.. and go from there.. thank you for all the help i really appreciate it

 

Me too, and I love it. A couple cheap tests you can run before you send your injectors out for rebuilding are as follows (free first);

1. After you park for the night, or sometime during the day, disconnect your Heater Grid Relays located over by your passenger side batteries. The test is, in the morning, will the CTD start without the additional drain on the battery caused by grid heater normal operation. (you said dealer batteries, are they the originals?)
2. Test your system voltage before and during cranking. The computer requires a minimum voltage to work and it is the computer that tells the injectors to open. (I don't remember the minimum voltage, 8V sticks in my head though)
3. Fuel Pressure Tests - Two tests here, the first one is less expensive and tests the pressure of the fuel delivered to the CP3 by the Lift Pump. Mine was ~7# for the first 85,000 miles or so which is fine. Aftermarket pumps run ~17-22# or so. There isn't a test port. You might need to purchase and install a gauge (which is highly recommended anyway). The second pressure test is for Rail Pressure. This is after your CP3 (Injector Pump) and as stated before, can be 20,000psi. Yes, reaching in to a leaking line can cause the fuel to be injected straight into your finger/hand. It can kill you which really ruins your driving experience. Someone else needs to chime in here about rail pressure tests on the cheap as I have no experience here.
4. If the batterys, voltage, and fuel pressures are good, bad news is its probably the injectors. You can find the one or two bad actors and buy new ones from the dealer for an arm and a leg, or (better news) take them all out and send them to F1 for an excellant rebuild. I know, nobody wants to spend that kind of $$ on "probably", but for those that did, I haven't heard of anybody with continuing problems.

Oh, just noticed, you're in SJ. You don't need grid heaters anyway. I'm up closer to Sac and haven't had them for 2 years.
Good luck, back to morning brew...