2001 F-250 w/7.3L diesel suffering from "global warming"

[SueJean]

Hey Guys!

I've been putting this off, putting this off, and waiting for "global warming" to kick in and hopefully solve this problem. Sadly, we're dead on the ground sitting here in an RV park facing another expensive service call for another jump start.

I've been over every Ford/Diesel/truck forum topic on engine block heaters, glow plugs, cold starts, etc. and I don't know where to start.

I've been told that we have an engine block heater, but maybe no cord. I've been told I should have a cord and it's under the oil filter, but I can't find it (dirty or otherwise). I did find some neat pictures of a 6.0 diesel, but I'm not sure how applicable it is to my truck.

I need to fix this problem once and for all as it looks like "global warming" isn't going my way. I'd appreciate it if anyone has been down this road before and would be willing to give me some advice here.

Thanks for hearing me out!

SueJean

 

[ncrebel8]

If the plug has never been used on your truck, It should be tied up behind the front bumper on the drivers side or between the radiator and grill on the drivers side somewhere. If it has been used before someone may have moved it to make it easier to get to. You can trace it. It will be an orange cord that is plugged in on top of the oil filter housing, The cord changes to black cord as it runs along the engine block and frame towards the front of the vehicle. Or atleast that is how they where on all the 7.3 Fords we have had. Hope this helps!

 

[pmmjarrett]

If that's a Texas truck there's a good chance it may not even have a block heater much less the cord.

If your's does have the cold weather package.... On the 7.3 in the Superduty the heater should be in the oil filter housing portion of the oil cooler just above the oil filter. You need to get under the truck to see this. Look at the housing, if you see a heavy duty electrical cord you can trace it to see where they hid the block heater cord which should be on the left side of the radiator behind the bumper. The plug might be hard to spot as it has a black plastic cap on it.


Block heater fitting no cord.

Block heater fitting with cord.

You should not have to plug in a diesel until you are in temps that are below 20*F. Even then it should still start at temps just below 0 even not plugged in.

Cold start problems on the 7.3 could also be bad injectors where the poppet valve or seat inside the injector has worn enough to hit the bottom of the solenoid or even a lack/loss of oil pressure due to the lube oil pump wearing a groove on the timing cover and not picking up a prime or losing it's prime.

To check for the oil problem....

Watch the oil pressure guage when cranking and if the oil pressure reading comes up on the gauge you are OK... or if it does start before the oil pressure comes up while cranking it should come up immediatly after starting, if it stalls before oil pressure came up you have a lube pump problem.

 

[branson4020]

By far the most common cause of hard cold-weather starting on the 7.3 is a bad glow-coil relay.

 

[dewwood]

I'm not a Ford man but if your needing a jump start and then the truck will start you may have bad or weak batteries. They have to be in good shape in cold weather to start your diesel.

 

[SueJean]

Thanks Y'all!

I appreciate all your responses. Our first concern of the day was to get the truck started so that we could take the next step (whatever that would be). That took most of the day and where the truck was sitting, it was literally over a hump of ground that prevented me from wriggling my way underneath to take a serious look for this heater thingie.

Once we got it started with the help of a kind stranger, we made the first decision to go and buy two new batteries as it appears "global warming" isn't going to help us. We had this starting problem last winter when we stayed in the San Antonio area and it got cold, but it's never been near 0 degrees anywhere we've been. We went and bought two new batteries and while having them installed, we found that our old batteries had been installed in early 2009. It seems we've gotten about two years of heavy use out of them as we've been on the road a lot in the last two years.

The man also checked our alternator readings and we're sitting at the top of the range. He said we were putting out 59 amps at idle speed and that 60 at idle was the very best. I don't know about the oil pressure stuff, but will take a look. I'm not sure that this is a "Texas" truck. The original paperwork/owner appeared to be from OK.

Our glow plugs seem to be working correctly, and we probably put a lot of extra wear on our batteries simply because when we first got the truck, we didn't know about waiting for that little "WAIT TO START" light to go off and wore the batteries down unnecessarily. We had a lot less starting problems after we learned that lesson from the guy that gave us a $120 jump start.

Thanks for the pictures PMMJARRETT! I'm a big fan of pictures though that ucky green stuff makes me a little less inclined to be crawling under our truck. I'm going to have to work on my courage to get this job done.

Again, I really appreciate that people are willing to share their experiences. You guys have made my day!

Blessings,

SueJean (and DannyLee)

 

[Jimmy]

I have the same truck, had it since it was new and I am in "hot" Florida, the black heater cord is behind the bumper on the drivers side toward the middle kinda behind the fog light, but it is hard to see, it is "balled" up and the plug terminals have a black plastic cover on them. Good luck.

 

[wdk450]

Jim & Kim (That's my Son and Daughter-in-Law's name, too!):
Maybe you need a couple of battery warmers like these: http://www.amazon.com/Kats-22200-Watt-Battery-Thermal/dp/B000I8XD9E

 

[lwmcguir]

Are you changing your fuel filter regularly? Very important on a diesel engine. There is a diesel fuel heater under the engine fuel filter that can go bad. Usually it blows the 30 amp fuse and it wont crank however I have had one that just wouldn't start. Also drain off the water from the fuel filter just to be sure you don't have a problem there. The light should indicate that but maybe your light isn't working. The 7.3 series doesn't have near the computer diagnostics that the later Fords do.

 

[Bob&Patty]

If the new batteries have fixed the problem....thats good. 1 thing about batteries....they do not like extreme cold or heat. I tested my batteries last month in Montana at -2*. They worked ...but somewhat slowly.

 

[SueJean]

We've seen a lot of extreme temps over the last two years. We've traveled as far north as the Canadian border in Montana and saw some cold weather in Colorado.

Then we spent a good part of this past summer in the Houston area where the heat got pretty intense at times. And then, there's everywhere else in between with the up's and down's through the Rockies and the Appalachians that our poor truck has had to contend with. It's not surprising that we've worn out our batteries.

The good news is that we don't "hafta" stay in this cold place and all it takes to find a little more warmth is a few hours driving. The "RV life" is the life for me"!

I do like those battery warmers, Jim & Kim and our truck is sorely in need of some tender loving care (read: maintenance). It seems to always come in line behind our rig in needs and there's only so much you can do each month.

Overall, our truck has been a real workhorse and we're very happy with it. We've only had it two years, but in those two we've put on nearly 40K miles and many of those with our Big Horn in tow. We feel that it's been a good investment at the $10K we paid for it.

You can put me down as a "FORD woman"!

Blessings,

SueJean

 

[traveler44]

I had to change the batteries today on the 2000 F350. I guess they didn't have enough voltage left in them to open the relays. I also found out that the battery on the right, or passenger side, is the primary battery for starting the truck. It took me a couple of days jumping the other one to find this out. It would crank but wouldn't fire until my neighbor tried jumping the right battery and it started right away. A little knowledge sure makes life easier. Tom M.

 

[lwmcguir]

I had to change the batteries today on the 2000 F350. I guess they didn't have enough voltage left in them to open the relays. I also found out that the battery on the right, or passenger side, is the primary battery for starting the truck. It took me a couple of days jumping the other one to find this out. It would crank but wouldn't fire until my neighbor tried jumping the right battery and it started right away. A little knowledge sure makes life easier. Tom M.

Sounds like you might benefit from changing the long positive cable. About 140 or so dollars but when they get bad it creates starting issues.

 

[traveler44]

Thanks! I'll keep that in mind. Right now the truck is starting real easy. For the couple of days when it would crank but not start I thought it might have been the cam pos. sensor or glow plug relay or gelled fuel but it didn't show codes and the fuel shot through the filter housing and out the back when I cranked. New batterys and it's 100% again. Tom M.

 

[lwmcguir]

Thanks! I'll keep that in mind. Right now the truck is starting real easy. For the couple of days when it would crank but not start I thought it might have been the cam pos. sensor or glow plug relay or gelled fuel but it didn't show codes and the fuel shot through the filter housing and out the back when I cranked. New battery's and it's 100% again. Tom M.

The trucks will start well with one good battery when it is warm. It is amazing what the new cable and a starter in good condition as well as the batteries will do for starting. the cable is good for about 7 years in our experience then it usually is corroded enough to benefit from changing it out.