Not Starting as Before...

[flagmanruss]

Prior to the dead batteries... the truck kicked & fired off on the first touch of the key. Since then, it has not. The engine is turning over... batteries are not fallng down. Yesterday I tried with the IAT fooler off & xzt off. Today, I went to start it. I didn't see a wait to start light. Air was 45 degrees or so. It fired like one cylinder but did not catch. Repeated. On the 4th try it started & ran. It blew a cloud of grey smoke I saw in the mirror. I stepped on it slightly & it blew more of same before it cleared up. I'm clueless... but the first thing popping into my head is "Why isn't the grid heater running?" Is it fused somewhere? Could I have popped the fuse when the battery went dead? Is it on a relay? Could that be stuck? Could that be the noise I'm hearing when trying to start?... sounds like it's center dash. Give me some direction here.

[Mopar1973Man]

Ok...No block heater. Then keep the IAT fooler OFF. Turn the key to ON and see if the Wait To Start pops on and watch the battery voltage it should fall. If the voltage doesn't fall and the Wait To Start is quick to shut off it might be a IAT sensor issue. Double check the 2 black wires on the driver side positive cable to be sure they have power down to the relays (solenoids). There is 2 fusible links before the relays so if there is no power there then the fusible links or the ring terminal is bad.This all can checked with a test light. Might check for error codes if any...If you had a ScanGauge II or a live data tool it would be really simple to diagnose... Just look to see what the IAT sensor is reporting at startup. It should match the ECT sensor.

[flagmanruss]

Now that we're talking about it... right after the several day trickle recharge... the wait-to-start light came on & stayed on & drew current. The I went & had the batteries tested at Sears. I just went outside, flashlight in hand, and the 2 black wires are on the drivers side positive terminal. The flashlight is not good enough to tell if the connections were properly cleaned. I'm inclined to think not... when I clean a post I brush the top too. Considering the fuel pump problem traced back to a bad battery connection last year... As a first step, I think I should go through the connections & clean them all. See what that brings. (My suspicion beingthey moved just enough to lose good connection.) If that doesn't bring results, I'll proceed to trace the power on those black leads. I'm suspecting there's a timer on the grid heaters... that might be the noise I'm hearing. But there's no power going through. (Scratching head). While the sales person was talkingto me, there was a youngish female in mechanics clothes listening in. I better clean those terminals before I jump to any conclusions.

[Mopar1973Man]

Yes there is a timer on the grid heater. The timer is based on how cold the IAT temp sensor gets. Getting down to about 20*F above should be a good 10-15 seconds pre-heat.Might be a good idea and clean it all up again and re-check...

[flagmanruss]

As I posted in the Dead Battery thread:Yesterday, I decided P*ss on it... I had already lost my clock & radio stations (nothing to lose) so I disconnected both batteries Negs, Positives Then reconnected Positives then Negatives after cleaning up the battery terminals & wire ends throughly... Today the wait to start worked normally, & truck lit off instantly, first click of the key. Now, that's what I'm talking about!

[dripley]

Way to go Russ. Keep her running.

[Mopar1973Man]

Way to go Russ...Not to make light of your victory but I want to toss in a learning curve. This is the point where people say "Yeah I pulled the battery cables off and hooked it back up and it must of re-booted the computer because it now works". But actually it was a poor connection and you just resolved this issue with a good terminal cleaning. Now you want my secret? Now using a oiling can coat the battery terminals with engine oil and leave wet. They will never oxidize or corrode again as long as you never wash the oil off. If you do just reply...

[flagmanruss]

I did not say the computer re-booted & I don't think that was it. I think this was a stupid low tech problem. Well, last year you'll recall the dead lift pump that wasn't really dead... though I ended up putting in an AD anyway... turned out to be a bad battery ground on the passengers side. I was amazed... to find the positive comes off the drivers side but the ground is off the passengers side. I added anti-corrosion felt washers because I had them but I was impressed that these batteries really don't collect corrosion link previous lead acid batteries I'm familiar with. Still, lead terminals DO oxidize. Oiling or greasing to keep air out seems like a good idea.

[Mopar1973Man]

Oil seems to do awesome... But grease is just plan messy. When you oil a terminal the oil will run and thin out. So the next time you rub the post with jacket sleeve less likely to pick up oil as you would thick grease. Not to mention the oil seems to retard acid pooling too...

[98whitelightnin]

Mine didnt start right away for the first time this morning. It fired and emediatly stopped, like it had air in the lines. Well when it did this the fass started doing its 25 second run and about 5 seconds into it I hit the key again and it fired right up as usual. Went to town and it cranked fine as always before, when I got home I crawel under the truck and all the fuel hoses were bone dry. Pump is dry, filter housing is dry too. I reached around the back of the head to the overflow and it was dry but kinda nasty were oil has been. I cant smell diesl at all and have no codes. It always started up great but recently has had a little stumble when I first crank it like its getting a little air. I have parked nose high and nose downhill both with no change.