I've recently been working on converting a GMC 88 vandura 3500 with a 6.2L engine to run on veggie oil.

We got the kit installed, we were using coolant to warm the oil and were test driving the conversion. We are using a manual switch for the fuel line with a power switch that starts up a fuel pump and a glow plug that warms the oil, it also goes through a filter that is heated by copper tubing.

So we are driving it for about 20 miles to heat up the 20 gallon tank of grease and then when we got off the highway we start running on straight oil. The timing seems a little off but it doesn't stall when we stop at a stop sign and then we drive it for a few more minutes and are heading up a hill when the engine just stops, nothing dramatic happened it just kind of stalled and I realized it wasn't running anymore. We pull over and attempt to start it, nothing happens.

This is where the mystery lies, we had just put in a used starter as the previous starter got burnt out by bad cabling, it was arcing and had melted the connection to the solenoid, the new starter wasn't running as well as the previous one, it had a hard time cranking and then would speed up, and it started to smoke after a friend cranked it too long trying to start the van with lots of air in it. But it started after that.

So basically the question is what went wrong. We are hoping that we just fried the starter and it was coincidence that it froze when running on veggie oil. I don't think that the engine seized up because there is no sound whatsoever coming from the starter, it's doing nothing when we turn the ignition key. We tested and fixed the cable and its delivering 12 volts.

Other than potentially ****ing the engine with not properly heated veggie oil, I'm just curiuous if anybody nows if there is a electrical shutdown that would prevent it from turning over, such as a fuse-link cable that goes to the starter. We just want to get it up and running and I figured I would see if people want to offer their theories or advice on the electrical system.

thanks

i have been running a 6.5 on svo for several months now. I can't say why you are having this problem since i am not a mechanic; but it does not seem likely that running such a small amount of svo caused engine damage so soon, even if it was not hot enough when you switched over. Air in the line could have caused it to stall when you switched over, then some other problem is keeping it from starting perhaps. What kind of kit did you install?
Paul

It sounds like a fuel problem for your engine. Did you have a diesel fuel filter before the injection pump? Did your fuel pump fail?

Get a good rebuilt starter since your used one must be bad. And make sure you have the proper tooth contact with the fly wheel when you install the starter. Too tight or too loose is bad for both.