my battery went dead last night (due to the cold weather). when I got the battery charged the glow plugs light won't come on and it still won't start.any ideas what to do?

also I bought 2 new batterys. the truck acts like the fuel is jelled up still ( i plugged it in for 12 hours or so) still nothing, it has been pretty cold here and it is outside ( not in a garage) .



thanks,
i need help

How cold is cold? Block is warm, or do you hear any "warming water noises" within the engine?

i can hear engine fluid when it's plug in,

and it's like -5 degrees

Usally when the glows won't cycle the grounds on the battery are weak or the gp relay is shot.

so it's just the battery

is there anyway to test for sure??? I just went out and bought new glow plugs because, guy at the parts store said that is what wrong with it.

Do you have any anti-gel in the tank already? -5°F tough to get started, but with block heater, it should help. I've gotten mine started with 4 dead glows and a hairdryer down the air intake before. (not pretty)

You've got to have a minimum of 100 rpm cranking to even hope and pray that this thing will start.

can i add it when the fuel is jelled???????

and how long does it take to work ( the anti- jel)

If you're using the stock GM battery connectors, they could be the problem. Check the fuse and relay on the glowplugs when the systm doesn't cycle.

Do the glow plugs cycle on now after you've powered up the truck, turned off the key, and turned it back to "on" again? You should hear the relay clicking. Check too, with volt meter on dash if it's dippin'.

how long does it take for the anti- gel to work and can I add it to the tank when the fuel is already gelled up

i do hear the clicking and yes the voltage mete on the dash does dip down to just about dead

Anti get isn't going to help the fuel that's in the line already. Up front on the thermostat housing, there is a t-handle. That's the water drain. (what year is this thing?) Depending upon the year, will depend upon if you hear the lift pump under the driver's seat on the frame rail start "purring" away. If you open that t-handle, look at the bottom of the hose (again, depends upon year, and too if your lift pump is working). Out of the hose should come fuel. If not, then, well, let us know first, then we can move on.

How's cranking rpm?

i can't seem to locate the relay and the fuse. I never got a book with this truck

it is a 93 chevy ck2500 turbo 6.5l

sorry I'm new with diesels and can't find a manual or anything

thanks I'll try again in the morning. Gotta work at 4:30am

Well, 93, I don't believe engages the lift pump during the "wait to start" period, I believe that was later models. I think the only way that your lift pump will engage is when in the start position, or when the oil pressure rises and make lift pump come on.

If you've run your battery down, your crank speed may be too low, along with thick oil in the crankcase working against you at the moment.

thanks i'll recharge the batteries and try again in the morning

hopefully will start soon, wife is tired of me driving her car to work

If the battery is showing that much draw, you might have pinched a glow lead, or the grounds from the gp relay to the block are bad. The relay and fuse for the GP's are on the firewall where the fuse block is.

The voltage meter should not go down to almost dead but stay above its red marking, at about 10 volts when glowing, a bit lower while cranking. If it goes lower, there's probably not enough power for glowing and/or for the starter.

New batteries are usually not fully charged. I hope the recharging will help --- it it does not, you might have gotten bad batteries, or something draws too much power. Or the batteries are too small or they haven't good contact at the poles. Are the battery cables/clamps sitting tightly to the battery poles?