Powerstroke - glow plugs - no start

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Its about 4F today and was -4F this morning. Just went out to start my pickup and it turns over and tries to catch but then dies.

I do not see a glow plug coil icon on the dash display when I first turn on the key, nor anything close to it that goes off after a short period.

Ford owners manual says wait for the glow plug coil light to go off and then start the truck.

Is my glow plug coil icon light broken? Are the glow plugs working? How long to wait after turning the key to on assuming the light is broken?

Says block heater only needed below -10F.

I buy fuel locally so it should be winterized.
 
They should stay on for about two minutes if they are working. Turn key on and check voltage. It should drop. When I find myself in cold situations, I run the glow plugs twice.
 
My tdi only runs the light for about 10 seconds per cycle, so I cycle a few times to get them cooking.
 
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Your '15 PowerStroke glow plug light will only illuminate for a couple seconds, if you don't know where to look you'll miss it. If your truck won't start my money is on a fuel issue. It was -8 F here this morning and my '15 popped right off.
 
Could still be fuel related, I had to dump a bottle of Diesel 911 in the GMC yesterday at 6F. It started today (with some difficulty after being plugged in for a couple hours).
 
Originally Posted By: roadrunner1
Your '15 PowerStroke glow plug light will only illuminate for a couple seconds, if you don't know where to look you'll miss it. If your truck won't start my money is on a fuel issue. It was -8 F here this morning and my '15 popped right off.


OK, where do I look? Several idiot lights under tach and more under the speedometer.

From the owners manual I know what to look for.

Looked at the owners manual and do not see any fuse labeled "glow plugs" in either fuse panel.
 
Can you feel the engine near the plugs to see if they feel warm? Do you notice the dome light dimming when the plugs run then brightening when they're done? Hear a relay click?

My benz has a glow plug light and I thought that was standard for anything diesel powered. I also had rough cold starts at 60 degrees without working plugs. IOW you should have been having problems before today. Maybe you just blew its fuse. Have a fuse in that position?
 
Do you know where the relay(s) is/are? You should be able to hear the click. You should also be able to see the battery voltage drop pretty substantially. Have you checked any of this?

Does Ford allow you to give throttle when cranking?
 
Originally Posted By: eljefino
Can you feel the engine near the plugs to see if they feel warm? Do you notice the dome light dimming when the plugs run then brightening when they're done? Hear a relay click?

My benz has a glow plug light and I thought that was standard for anything diesel powered. I also had rough cold starts at 60 degrees without working plugs. IOW you should have been having problems before today. Maybe you just blew its fuse. Have a fuse in that position?


No fuse is listed for "glow plugs"
 
The glow plug light is under the tachometer on the right of all the other lights. You shouldn't even have to wait for it to go off as its not like older gen diesel engines. You should be under warranty just contact your dealer and have it towed in.
Its been cold here for over a week, my '15 had sat since before Christmas and started yesterday morning at -6F without issue, and again today at -8F with no block heater.

My money is still on a fuel issue, if you can't get with dealer to tow is there somewhere you can get it inside to get the lower fuel filter warmed? You could try a lead light and hang it at lower fuel filter to warm it up.
 
I really dont know if the 6.7 has an intake heater or not (tried to Google it). But if it does, this will cause cold start issues. I'm actually thinking fuel as well.
 
Originally Posted By: Michael_P
I really dont know if the 6.7 has an intake heater or not (tried to Google it). But if it does, this will cause cold start issues. I'm actually thinking fuel as well.


The owners manual says glow plugs. My old 1999 Cummins had an intake plate heater.
 
Originally Posted By: Donald
Originally Posted By: eljefino
Can you feel the engine near the plugs to see if they feel warm? Do you notice the dome light dimming when the plugs run then brightening when they're done? Hear a relay click?

My benz has a glow plug light and I thought that was standard for anything diesel powered. I also had rough cold starts at 60 degrees without working plugs. IOW you should have been having problems before today. Maybe you just blew its fuse. Have a fuse in that position?


No fuse is listed for "glow plugs"


There won't necessarily be a fuse in a fuse box. If it's like my diesels, there's a strip fuse at the relay that feeds the glow plugs. I'd suspect you may have one of these for each bank.
 
I have No experience with the newest offerings...

But the older 7.3's had a temp switch that looked at coolant temp
to determine if the glow plugs were needed, and for how long.

Very common failure item.

The newest trucks are all direct injection - I didn't think they even used glow plugs
 
The best advice is to plug in for 30-45 minutes.

Next best, cycle glow plugs 1 time by turning the ignition to the on position for 1 minute, then turn off ignition. Wait 10 seconds, turn the ignition to the on position for 15 to 20 seconds then crank it. Should start. If it tries to start but stalls, start the procedure over from the beginning. There is also a heater inside your fuel bowl, and this procedure will also liquify gelled fuel in the bowl.

Ignore the light on the dash in really cold weather. The glow plugs will cycle up to 2 minutes even though the light goes out. The ecm or injection control module tells the glow plug relay how long it wants it on for. They even stay on for a little while after the motor starts.
 
Post your question in the Ford Powerstroke forum?
There are a lot more Powerstroke owners there.
They can help you better and the good forums usually have an FAQ of all the issues that has been solved or work arounds.
 
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I say fuel as well. The 6.7 starts better than any other Ford offering, ever.
My 16 fired off at our local 15 degrees 2 days ago like it was 80 outside.
If (and that's a big if) you have a block heater, plug up for a couple hours. They are not standard on the truck unless it is destined for Canada or Alaska, only an option. They start so well in the lower 48, it isn't needed.
 
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