Hello All,
I have a 1994 6.5l Turbo with 105k miles. The engine has a performance air filter and aftermarket exhaust, so basically it is stock. The other night it took a lot of cranking to start, then my accelerator was unresponsive when I would try to leave a stop light until I pressed it half way or so then it would go.

The next day I charged my batteries up thinking thats why it had a hard time starting. They were low and took a good slow charge. That afternoon I drove all over town with no problems at all.

The following day it sat in thae garage without starting all day, the next morning it would crank and crank and crank but did not start until almost an hour later. So needless to say I don't trust my truck not to leave me stranded at this point.

Any ideas?

maybe need to replace batteries if they are getting low. Check them first. When you say it won't start, are you saying that the cranking is slow. There might be an issue with the starter drawing too much current. Have that looked at as well. Also, have the alternator looked at as well to see if it is operating up to snuff.

The other thing to have looked at will be the glow plugs. then look at the lift pump and pmd on the injection pump. Make sure these aren't keeping you from firing right up. there could be many things causing this issue, but you should have all these checked out. This should be the end of your worries with the failure to start and keeping it running to keep you going.

Thanks NCMIC. The alternator and batteries are new within 6 months. When they have a good charge it will crank at full speed but will not fire. I think they were low only as a result of the hard starting.

My glow plugs could be old, but when all else is working it fires right up. It acts like it is getting no fuel, or not enough. It kinda sounds like a flooded gasser, it cranks away and every once in a while sounds like it is gonna fire up but it doesn't and a slight trail of white smoke trickles out of the exhaust pipe.

I was thinking maybe the PMD because of the hesitation in the pedal(only happened on that one night), would that be a symptom of a bad PMD? Is there a way to test a PMD to see if it is bad or do you just have to replace it and hope for the best?

I love this truck, just haven't learned all that I need to know about it yet, I have only had her for a year.

Could be the lift pump too. I sent you PM reply with your phone # and I will come by and see if we can figure out whats going on with your truck.

Sounds like a failing PMD to me...

Thanks Everyone,
SXS I replied with my number, look forward to meeting you. Anyone have a favorite PMD and cooler combo? I am looking at one, and talking to the guy that makes them, but I haven't heard any feedback from his customers. I have purchased other items from him that I am happy with. I would list his business name but I figure that may be taboo.

You can mention a site/vendor as long as it's information you are after, links that come off as blatent advertising or promotional in nature or posting comparisons of prices are not allowed,. You could say I got a great deal at vendor X on widgets, or anybody ever done business with this vendor Z, or anybody seen something like this product/upgrade, where is a good place to get a _______

Cool thanks for the lesson Turbine Doc. In that case the PMD and cooler I am looking at is from SSdiesel Supply, I have done a little business with him and he has treated me well, I just want to make sure that if I end up having to buy a PMD and cooler that I get a good set up for my money. Has anyone installed his PMD/cooler combo?

SS Diesel is a newcomer to the dieselplace 6.5 scene here since last fall IIRC is when I recall members 1st making mention of them, several members report good service, I've not used their PMD isolator but have used similar, many hold he opinion is remote mount anywhere outside engine bay with airflow across the heat sink, I use Heath Diesels on mine addded benefit there is 7yr warranty, which I've seen no other vendor offer. Look in the sigs for idea of what other vendors members use. Kennedy Diesel is another quality source of 6.5 aftermarket goodies.

Thanks Turbine Doc!!

My truck did the same thing today, cranked for a long time then finally fired up. Could this be a fuel filter problem? Only seems to be an issue in the morning after it sits all night.

Test the glows for Ohms. They should read .8-1.4 ohms.
Does the liftpump work when you cycle the glows?

I think the lift pump is running there is a sound when the key is on that sounds like a pump. I will test the glow plugs, if the glow plugs were bad wouldn't it load up on fuel and spit a black cloud when it actually started or am I way off base? Mine does spit out some white smoke when it finally starts.

bad glows=lots of white smoke and hard starting.

White smoke after start sounds like fuel burning off after cranking for so long to get started. Even when it's not starting its still pulsing in fuel while you're cranking. Check your glow plug relay at the back of the engine near the fuel filter towards the driver side, when mine went bad the terminal melted right off starting these things without glow plugs is a bear.

Glow plugs being bad is starting to sound more and more plausible. When it does start it runs rough like it is not firing in all cylinders for a while then it smooths out in a short amount of time (a few seconds). Also it seems much more likely to start once it has been started and run for a while like going to work then leaving at lunch time etc, but has a hard time if it sits all night (maybe becuase it is cooling down all the way?)

Definately glow plugs.

Man I hope so....beats the hell outta some of the other possibilities. I guess I will find out tonight! I have no idea if they have ever been changed, I have only owned her for about the last 3000 miles, and I don't know what kind of maintenance has been done by the previous owner. I have changed the oil and the air filter, I know I should change the fuel filter too. Any other maintenance items I should take care of while I am changing glow plugs to ensure a long life and easy starts?

Oh yeah I guess I should mention that the truck has 105k miles and I assume that very little maintenance was done by the previous owner.

By the way thanks to everyone that has been educating me here, this forum is a God send to a diesel Newbie like myself.

Sounds like the PMD/FSD is on its way out. It may be cheaper to try the filter first as it something that should be replaced regularly. I'm on my third PMD/FSD. The second one was attached to a cooler and lasted no longer than the one buried in the V of the engine.
I understand the PMD/FSD is a voltage amplifier that takes the small voltages that are sent from the accelerator pedal, increases the signal strength and passes it on to the injection pump.
The second time mine failed it dam near resulted in the death my entire family, including the two dogs. When it shuts down the engine you don't have powersteering or power brakes. Had my wife been driving she would not likely have had the strength to steer us off into the weeds. I also had ~ 5000 lbs pushing me down the hill toward the ferry dock, with no ferry in it. Not that it would have had made much of a difference.
When it cooled off the engine would start and run fine. When it heated up it would shut down the engine again. I ended up tying a rag around the FSD cooler and stopping every 20 minutes to soak it with water. Using this technique I was able to get to the next town where I was able to get another one for ~450cdn.
I should have written to GM about this.

I'm glad no one got hurt Gliderider, must have been a scary ride.

Mine seems to be the opposite though the warmer it is the better it starts/runs.
I let it sit most of the day today, however I plugged it in (it's not cold here about 55 degrees) but with that extra warmth of being plugged in it fired first try so I think that maybe it is just the glow plugs, I will know for sure when I get them swapped out.

walmart has a $18 dvom that works well.

Well I checked my codes last night and it came up all clear so that means my Glow plug controller is okay right? I ordered a set of instant heat glow plugs hopefully that takes care of the problem. I also cleaned and polished all my battery connections they were a little corroded. Is there a better way to connect the two positive cables on the passenger side battery? Seems like it corrodes up pretty easy, any way even just doing that seemed to help when I fired up this morning, but I am pretty sure you are all right about the glow plugs, runs a little rough for the first 10-15 seconds or so after it starts like it isn't firing on all 8.

Go to Battery Warehouse they have a improved battery connector for that double positive, I have used it for several years and it is like $4 o$5 bucks and they will put it on for you in that price. Also if you buy batteries from them they will rotate them free. It's good idea to rotate the batteries at least once a year as in dual battries one will carry more of the load and will die a premature death, by rotating you get longer life out of the pair.