Bus Won't Start - Cold Snap

[BigTiny321]

Before all this freezing weather, I started my rig last week with no issues. After a week of freezing Temps, now it won't start. '04 BB All American, 8.3L Cummins. It has an outlet plug in front of the bus, next to door, & I assumed that's for a tank heater, so I connected an extension cord to it. There's a cover where I think an engine heater connection should be, but I don't think my specific rig has an engine heater.

I've had a big battery charger connected to the batteries, & after being connected overnight, the charger signaled that the batteries are full, & all my marker/head/taillights come on bright.

Anyone else had this issue in Winter? Suggestions?

[Timeline]

If there is a block heater the engine should be very warm in around 3 or 4 hours.

[TJones]

Diesels generally do not like starting in the cold. Usually they will have a frost plug heater in the side of the engine block. The plug in for mine is in the engine compartment.

To check if your engine heater is working plug it in for a couple hours and then put your hand on the engine block and see if it feels warm. If it's really cold out it may need to be plugged in overnight before it would get the engine warm enough to start.

The 8.3 will also have a grid heater in the intake this cycles on with the "wait to start" light. If there is something wrong with the grid heater the bus could be difficult to start.

Batteries are a good thing to check. If the batteries are old they may not produce enough current to crank the engine fast enough to start it. Even if old batteries will charge to full voltage their capacity could be limited.

If it got very cold your fuel could have clouded or gelled which would cause problems starting / running.

Whatever you do don't use starting fluid. It can explode when the grid heater kicks on and can be really hard on or destroy an engine if not used correctly.


Ted

[Booyah45828]

Won't crank or won't start?

The plug could be for a block heater, you'd have to follow the wiring and see where it leads. I'm not aware of any tank heater that would be 120v powered, only a block heater.

The factory would install the block heater plug down low on the RF corner behind a black cover, in front of the door. Often times the cover will be broken and missing. I'm not sure if they would install the hole/cover if they didn't install the engine heater. We've always had the engine heater installed. Occasionally those connectors would corrode, and it'd be easier/cheaper to install a cord elsewhere(like behind the bumper) then it would be to reinstall a new connector into the original location.

Depending where you're at, a lot of places have unusually cold weather, so your fuel might be gelled up. That's especially true if you're in the south, and if you have summer fuel in the tank yet.

If it's cranking but not starting, I'd wait until it thawed out this weekend(most of the country is) and than add a few bottles of the white power service to treat the tank. Follow the instructions on the bottle for how much you should use, but don't be stingy with it.

If this needs to move now, you can use the red bottles in the tank. Remove and install a new filter(s) filled with fresh fuel or kerosene, then try starting it again. If you're starting this up because you think it needs to as some sort of prevention measure, then don't, as it's actually worse for the bus then it is helpful. Putting your batteries on some sort of maintainer is really the only thing you need to do for short term storage like that. That, and making sure the coolant freezepoint and additive level is correct, draining the air tanks, etc.

But you don't need to start and idle the bus periodically. It's actually harmful to do so without driving it up to highway speeds.

[BigTiny321]

Originally Posted by TJones

Diesels generally do not like starting in the cold. Usually they will have a frost plug heater in the side of the engine block. The plug in for mine is in the engine compartment.

To check if your engine heater is working plug it in for a couple hours and then put your hand on the engine block and see if it feels warm. If it's really cold out it may need to be plugged in overnight before it would get the engine warm enough to start.

The 8.3 will also have a grid heater in the intake this cycles on with the "wait to start" light. If there is something wrong with the grid heater the bus could be difficult to start.

Batteries are a good thing to check. If the batteries are old they may not produce enough current to crank the engine fast enough to start it. Even if old batteries will charge to full voltage their capacity could be limited.

If it got very cold your fuel could have clouded or gelled which would cause problems starting / running.

Whatever you do don't use starting fluid. It can explode when the grid heater kicks on and can be really hard on or destroy an engine if not used correctly.


Ted

Thanks for the reply. I had a bus service tech come out, & he determined that I have a bad starter. $800 for service call, $400 to rebuild starter, then another $800 to re-install. Due to me being 7' tall, me doing install isn't an option, so I have to shed a tear, the whip out my credit card.��

[sportyrick]

If you would fill in your personal information then we would know what section of the country to avoid for service calls. Glad it's back up and running.

[BigTiny321]

I'm in Grayson GA. About 30mi North of Atlanta

[sportyrick]

please fill out your personal information so we all know. Click on your name, go to "about me" tab and add information.

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by BigTiny321

I had a bus service tech come out, & he determined that I have a bad starter. $800 for service call, $400 to rebuild starter, then another $800 to re-install.

Yikes. My new starter cost me $900 (installed) plus $300 for a tow.

[Dbacks2k4]

I made a new video today. Maybe these tips will help you going forward.

--Kevin

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCzne_pYuWE

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by Dbacks2k4

I made a new video today. Maybe these tips will help you going forward.

Ah, I use that same diesel fuel supplement stuff, nice to see my completely random choices vindicated by others. Also nice to see that Diesel 911 is a different product since I saw a post here the other day about how it's not for normal every-fill usage and I thought maybe they were talking about the regular supplement stuff. I've never had any trouble starting my DT466e in colder weather, but then I don't think I've ever tried in temperatures below 30°F.

[Unpluggedone]

Too bad I didn’t see this sooner, I live in Atlanta and could have saved you the diagnostic fee. How long are you here?

[Marceps]

Originally Posted by BigTiny321

Due to me being 7' tall, me doing install isn't an option...

Tell this to Mark Eaton.

[BigTiny321]

Originally Posted by Unpluggedone

Too bad I didn’t see this sooner, I live in Atlanta and could have saved you the diagnostic fee. How long are you here?

I live here(Grayson)!