Many thanx to cool cannuck & jlhansen. My 03 goes into warranty never land next month, your posts on testing the starting system will be priceless when I go on my own. Until I came to your posts the little "secrets" about the glow plugs and starting system drove me nuts. I just got to know a pretty decent Ford Teck who lives in town. Still, I have spent many years doing 99% of my own repairs. With the info you share I will be able to continue the fun!
Thanks again!!
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03 F350 CC LWB, 3.73's, 6 Speed, Stock 7.3,
custom rear bumper w/ hitch, Reese 5th wheel, a work truck!
Quick Question.
I don't understand where people get it from, but I live in wisconsin and many people around me seem to think that running your block heater damages your engine or something. where does that come from?
It only helps, wether it's 30 F or -30 F.
Quick Question.
I don't understand where people get it from, but I live in wisconsin and many people around me seem to think that running your block heater damages your engine or something. where does that come from?
It only helps, wether it's 30 F or -30 F.
I'm with you. I can't see where it hurts the engine at all. 1000 watts versus what burning the fuel in the engine puts out is really insignificant. Heck, I even leave mine plugged in after starting while I do stuff like scrape the ice off windows. I even tried to drive off with it plugged in the other day.
My brother did that with his old 6.5 chevy. We had to put a new plug on th truck. Now he has an 04 four door dually. he has gone from a truck that would not start unless plugged in, to a truck he doesn't have to plug in. Im still wary of his new truck though, he had a huge puddle of anti-freeze under it the other day, and he took it in to get looked at. they pressurized the system for 2 days and sdidn't find anything.
Years ago, in the cities in Saskatchewan, many of the parking lots had plugin for each slot, so folks could plug their car in during the day while they work.
I dunno if its still like that.
My father had a trick, he had installed a small electric room heater, under the dash of his car, and then plugged it in also, in addition to the block heater. He had a separate circuit out to the car to carry the load.
Then when he got up to go to work, the car would start easily and the windshield was melted and clear.
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1999 Ford F250 Supercab 2WD Powerstroke, Line - X, Fumoto Oil Drain valve, 6637 air filter system, and more to come..
well my brother seems to think he read somewhere that on the newer trucks
(his 04 Powerstroke) you're not supposed to plug them in until it's colder than -20 F
I am having an issue with my 01 F250. I have never had any issues in the past with it cranking in cold weather down to -18 until today.
The truck cranks fine in the morning after it has been on the block heater. The last few days we have had high temps in the teens and after sitting in the parking lot all day, it has been really difficult to start. I had to cycle it 6-10 times to get it to crank. Today, it failed to start. It sounds like the batteries are fine and that it is not getting fuel.
The last two tanks of diesel were purchased at the local Shell station rather than at my usual Marathon station. I do run the White bottle DFS in the wintertime.
I'm not sure bout that. I know my brothers old chevy was the same way. we found out that the glow plug tower, which cycles the glow plugs was bad.
Check the batteries and glow plugs. Maybe ask around to find out about what runs the glow plugs. It is called a glow plug tower on my brothers chevy, it might be called something else on a ford.
what weight oil are you running? could also be your gpr going out, or bad gp;s
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Its a work in progress: 2001 Ford F-250 7.3 Powerstroke 60,000 miles. Have big dreams for this truck. LT305/75R16 mickey thompson mtx, Sirius satelite radio, Muffler Delete with 6 inch tip at a 45 out the back. KC Slim Lite Off Road lights. Bumper Guard. 2 10" subs with Alpine deck. Garmin GPS. DP Tuner- No start, 1200 rpm hi idle, 60hp Tow, 80hp econ, 100 hp performance, 120 hp Race, 140 hp aggressive. Isspro white dial chrome bezel blue pointer Pyro, Boost, and Trans temp in 3 pod a pilar mount
Thanks for the informative post cool_canuck. As far as batteries go, is there a recommended type of battery that works best for cold temperatures? is it worth paying extra for deep cycle batteries perhaps?
Thanks
Interstate batteries are the best. They will run you 50 dollars more (each). I will not put anything else in my vehicles.
My friend swears by his Optimas. They are pricey also.
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