Hey guys . . . well after the consumption of barley based products I forgot to plug in the block heater the other night. Got to about -15 degrees. In the morning I went out and ran the grid heaters 3 or 4 times and all I got when I turned the key to start was maybe five seconds of VERY slow cranking and then the starter clicking. Checking battery voltage and both show 14+ volts. Now all I have is a clicking starter for about 10 seconds and then nothing. No clicking or anything. I can get the starter to click again 10 seconds or so later. The Wait to start light on the dash very dim and after the starter stops clicking I don't have hardly any dash lights. Batteries still show 14+ volts however. Plugged it in for a night and no difference. I tried to jump start it with my wife's car and got the same clicking. Can I rule out the batteries even if they do show sufficient voltage? Is it possible to have voltage present but not enough CCA? The fuel solenoid is not operating by itself either. Battery cables to starter and ground show no resistance. My other thought was the starter or starter contacts . . . any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

sounds to me like there isnt enough juice in those batteries. i would swap them out asap. remember that you should replace both at the same time with the same type of batery. i've tried to jump my truck off of two cars before and it didnt work. these rigs draw alot of juice!

 

You may want to check the battery connections and make sure all the grounds are good. Sometimes the ground from engine to frame gets messed up. Then a cold start would really draw the amps and burn up a bad connection.
Disregard if you had already done that.

 

clean all battery connections, put battery charger on overnight, plug it in overnight then start in the morning.... drive to the checker auto parts and disconnect the battery's before testing (test them separately)that will tell you if you have a bad battery or two

 

by the way, cycling the grid heaters more than once is a waste....it does nothing other than draw your batterys down

 

Thanks guys . . . I saw my old man cycle those grid heaters a bunch of times before starting. Didn't know it was a waste of power/time. Better tell him I guess. ha ha. I guess I'll try some new batteries.

 

Maybe on a 24 valve.
On a 12 if you don't cycle twice below zero there is no way it will start.

 

i beg to differ on this one. i had my 96 start with no grid heater hooked up at about 5 below zero. HOWEVER it didnt really like it. maybe i was just lucky...

 

check battery connections first. try jumping the starter solenoid and see if that works. If so you'll need a new one or just a new starter and all.

 

pull start it then see what ya got after it warms up. best reason not to have an auto

 

I agree. Mine, when really cold, will not hit on one cycle. If I cycle the heater a second time, it will usually start.

 

Well thanks for everyone's help. One battery tested poorly at Napa. I bought two red top optimas to replace the autozone junk in there just to be safe and installed Larry B's starter contacts. She is turning over good again. On the grid heater issue however, what is everyone's input on the number of cycles (when the block heater hasn't been plugged in)? My dad used to cycle them four or five times when 20 below and had an older Dodge that he just wired a switch to leave them on for a while. I was just wondering if cycling 3 or 4 times is overkill?

 

mine always starts with one cycle, i even have a bad relay.....i get a p0382 code about every 3rd start, one day i'll fix it..........(when it won't start)

 

I just cycle it once. My papa used to tell me to cycle them more than once but he hasn't worked on diesels in a long time, and never on grid heaters only glow plugs. I've never had issues with only one cycle but mine gets plugged iin when not parked in the garage.

 

I think it is.
Two times has always been enough for me below zero and down to minus 30.
Engine still doesn't like it, better to plug in.
Above zero F one cycle is enough.