I have an 01 F250 7.3 PSD.  Last year I never needed to plug it in unless it was sub 20F all night.  It would still start after warming the plugs.  This year however, on 30F nights I can't even get it to fire until I plug it in a couple hours.  Now perhaps I got some summer fuel left over on my last fill up, but I added this as I do every winter:



Any other tips?  Other than plugging it in all night or on a timer?(Which I'll do anyway)

i use stanadyne everyother fill up. I dont plug mine in untill it gets below 0. Cycle the glow plugs a couple times and put a winter front on it, or a piece of carboard or somthing. I let it run for about 10 minutes or so before i take off for work too or i freeze untill im almost to work.

Check your glow plugs.
Sounds like they are weak/few not working.

Can I check them or is that an instant service call?  Maybe I will take it in.

glow plug info

My truck starts whenever but I like having the heater plugged in even when it's 40 out.  That way the engine is already part way warmed up.

The block heater is your friend as you know, along with the fuel treatment.

These can be helpful too.

Also some cardboard in front of the radiator can help it warm up and stay warm.

Sell the Powerchoke and buy a Cummins.  And move to Texas.  I took my intake (grid) heater out.  Don't need it down here.

I have a Dodge 2004 W/ Cummins and havent had any real issues with it starting in the cold. The only Issue I had was when it was -10 it was hard to start even after cycling the plugs a few times but she started and once warmed up ran fine. After that any time it drops belod about 10-15deg out I will plug it in.

Fords relay for the glow plugs likes to cause problems so it is another to check/replace.
Put 5/40 in for winter if the engine does not leak very much.
Have good set of the biggest cold cranking amp batteries you can have.
Plug in at 30f it will save your engine a lot of stress.
They have a heater that goes on the bottom of the fuel filter that is handy.
Get a timer so your block heater comes on at least a couple of hrs before you start.
Battery heater are good to put on also.

Glo plugs are for pussies. You need an ether start set up like the real diesels have!

What kind of timer?  I've thought of that.

We have a couple called Heavy duty outdoor timer by Intermatic handles up to 15 amps. Any hardware store should have some. There are ones that handle more amps.

Well I picked up new glow plugs for $13 a pop.  Hope they do the trick.  A relay shouldn't be too hard to deal with either.

Normally I use the timer, however my schedule has been so fucktastic it's hard to set a timer for when I need it, since it varies so greatly.

Christmas light timer, for lack of a better name.  But a heavy duty one that can handle 1000 watt draw.

Available at Lowe's for about $15 or so.

As someone said, check you GP relays.  If bad, don't replace with OEM, get aftermarket, heavier duty and will last a lot longer plus be cheaper.  Any of the diesel boards should have the info (Powerstroke, TDG, PSN etc.).

Good luck.

Merlin

Good to see you already know about powerservice - its a good additive if only for the gel protection.

Synthetic is a good idea for the cold IMO. I'm running 5W-40 synthetic which is advertised to have a pour point of -40F, so it should be GTG for the winter while I'm up here in ND.

+1 for plugging it in. I can tell an immediate difference with my truck after starting plugged in/not. She'll smoke for a while if left cold for a night, but no smoke at all if plugged in. I have an Edge J/A monitor which I have set up to keep an eye on the engine load, and the engine does have to work a lot harder if started cold.

Most diesels will last a long time (good to hear you have a 7.3 and not a 6.0, BTW) but I think the little things help a ton. Oh, and listen to folks that have been living up in the cold for a while, that's often the best advice you can get... as opposed to some CA transplant like myself

Do you have a fuel filter heater?

And yes, plug it in and use synthetics.