Newby with Questions about Cold starting Problems

[Hickey]

Hello all,
I am new here, but visit whenever I have issues with my 2002 7.3L F250. Which in 8 years and 260,000 has only been a few times.
I do all the maintenance myself and keep it all up to date.

Last week I started having problems starting the truck when it is cold. Even when it is in the garage. It cranks over just fine, but is chugging out grey smoke.
I can smell the un burnt diesel when cranking the motor.
If I crank it long enough it will fire and run.

To me it seems like I am having a problem with the Glow Plugs not heating. The indicator in the cab comes on and goes off after about 30 seconds which is normal.

Batteries are the original that came with the truck. But they seem OK. I tested them and only drop to about 11.8 while cranking the motor.

I can tear apart a old Chevy 350 small block no problem. But modern engines I have issue with. I am not good with all of the electronics....

Any help you all could provide would be great!

Thanks

[woodnthings8]

Check you glow plug relay. The light on the dash is controlled by the pcm. The relay could be bad and you would have no way of knowing. To check it get a meter or a cicuit tester. There are two 5/16" posts o. The gpr. One should have a cover and one is uncovered. The one not covered is usually closest to the middle of the engine, but not always. The covered one should have 12v all the time and the uncovered one will have 12v for up to 2 minutes. Now if the engine oil temp is warm the pcm will still give the wts light, but the relay will not come on, so make sure the truck is somewhat cold. If you get 12v on both sides you may have worn out glow plugs, which at the mileage you listed is not suprising if they are bad. Changing them is no big deal, pull the valve covers and swap them out. They can get a build up on them that makes them hard to remove, so be careful pulling the old ones.

[klhansen]

Check the Hard/No Start link in my signature for more info on GP system checking.

I agree that with your mileage, your glow plugs may be burning out, but the GPR can go at about any time. I had one last only 4 months.

In the unlikely event that you find the GP system working correctly, you may have to check the HP oil pressure while cranking. You may have developed leaks that won't let the HP oil build up to the correct pressure to start.

[Hickey]

Thank you guys....