your thoughts please

[basics]

new battery, new glow plugs, cranks but dosnt fire unless i jump start it.

whats ya thoughts on keeping it on charge over night while the battery is still conected to the ute, good or bad?

it did this last winter, and only if its cold out, if its average cold, no problem and fires strait away. summer time no issue at all.

any idea? 1996 single cab hilux 2.4D

[tomsoffroad]

Is it glowing long enough? On our kz surf the light goes out the the glowplugs keep glowing for about 15 sec longer. Ours wont start if its cranked as soon as the light goes out.

[Smurf]

Is it glowing long enough? On our kz surf the light goes out the the glowplugs keep glowing for about 15 sec longer. Ours wont start if its cranked as soon as the light goes out.

My Prado is the same, need to listen for the relay click instead of watching the light

[skid]

If u glow it 2-3 times instead of the once does it then fire up no worries coz if this is the case then the above comments are worth looking into

[basics]

arh ill pay more attention, its 2 am normaly so im still half asleep.

i should mention after she cranks a few times on the 2nd round the battery sounds like its tired? maybe just a cheap shitty battery?

im gona listen for the click and also glow it a few more times, hopefuly this helps.

cheers for the replies guys

[Petemcc]

check the lead to the starter for broken strands at the starter end. Also check alternator is charging ok, should be about 14 volts

[trucked]

Another guy had issues with his starter, similar to this he also had a hilux. Does yours go mint when its hot? turns out there was a hidden fault in the starter that only showed up when it was cold enough

[basics]

Another guy had issues with his starter, similar to this he also had a hilux. Does yours go mint when its hot? turns out there was a hidden fault in the starter that only showed up when it was cold enough

runs like a dream, ( well, like a 96 rattly hilux) when its hot. and only when its frosty out and sat all night will it play up.

14V, cheers, il check when i find a reader, should be one hidden at work somewhere

[trucked]

http://www.offroadexpress.co.nz/Forums/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=40943

Have a look through this thread, should give you ideas as well.

[snotgoblin]

I had glow plug issues... Changed all the plugs still hard to start. Turned out the voltages I had at the glow plugs were unusually low which meant it too ages to for then to get up to temp.. Was on an old 1B diesel with manual glow.

A mate's hilux is as described above wait for the relay click rather than the light...

[Colinl]

whats ya thoughts on keeping it on charge over night while the battery is still conected to the ute, good or bad?

Usually not a problem. Check charger output voltage. Should be Max 15.1V (This is battery recovery voltage) otherwise 14.8 is the upper limit you want to be charging overnight at.

Worthwhile investing in a smart charger (CTEK etc) that regulates current and voltage for you.

Get a multimeter and take the glow plug voltages vs battery voltages when under load & see if you are getting a drop in voltage, this could help pin point a bad earth if there is one.

[basics]

had a mate look it over with a multimeter, seems the rail wasnt getting anything, checked out the relay, and seems thats a bit faulty.

65 bucks for a 2nd hand one, 130 for a new one

relay would be an easy fix, hopefully thats all it is. otherwise i guess in the loom theres a shitty wire

[basics]

whats ya thoughts on keeping it on charge over night while the battery is still conected to the ute, good or bad?

Usually not a problem. Check charger output voltage. Should be Max 15.1V (This is battery recovery voltage) otherwise 14.8 is the upper limit you want to be charging overnight at.

Worthwhile investing in a smart charger (CTEK etc) that regulates current and voltage for you.

Get a multimeter and take the glow plug voltages vs battery voltages when under load & see if you are getting a drop in voltage, this could help pin point a bad earth if there is one.

had the ute plugged in over night, the battery was 14.4v this morning and still didnt fire up until i jumped it with the other car, aslo glowed it 3 or 4 times, and waited until i hered the click. heres hoping the relay is the issue

[tweake]

really common problem with them is people don't put the glow plug rail to wire connection back together properly and blow the glow fuse.

[Petemcc]

Yea check the relay has 12v on the battery side to see that fuse isn't blown

[bombaybasher]

My father in law had the exact same issue a couple of weeks ago on a 2LT new battery new glow plugs recod starter, the mechanic was stumped, hard to start like a flat battery once warm it was mint, I did a bit of back yard diagnosis and it turned out to be the lift pump , wasn't delivering diesel on cold start for some reason making it turn over real slow, did a little hack job with a facet to test it and hey presto it turns over nice and fast and starts up no probs, this was on a 1996 hilux , I don't know why this caused flat battery symptoms

[basics]

i guess this morning wasnt cold enough, she started on her own.

chucked the new relay in this evening, so heres hoping thats solved the proplem

[basics]

problem is still bugging me

yesterday i had the multi meter out, was getting power to the relay for very short bursts after i turn the key on.

im guessing the timer is not allowing long enough for the glow plugs to work?

this morning ive gone backwards and now im not hearing any click at the relay.

what dose the timer look like and where will i find it?

any suggestions on where to look?

fuses are new,relay is new, glow plugs are new, contects are clean

[Big]

Sounds like a bad earth problem.. I'd check all the earth straps make sure clean and dry with metal contacts, also check the battery terminals.. As you say it goes when jumped.. so lead me to believe that when you connect second battery up it makes good connection and away she goes..

[basics]

found the problem, the earth for the relay had lost its bolt under the air intake.

thanks for all the help and ideas