removing safety buzzers?

[brokedown]

If it's spinning the starter but not actually coming to life, I'd look into the fuel delivery and the glow plugs. Some diesel engines don't really need glow plugs (my 5.9 doesn't even have them!), some won't start on a hot summer's day without them. Generally the plugs are controlled by a glow plug controller (may be part of the ECM) which triggers a sturdy solenoid to heat them up. If the solenoid is bad or the trigger part isn't happening, you can force them to cook bu shorting the two large terminals with a screwdriver. 15 seconds of glow should be good but they don't stay hot for long so have someone else turn the ken when it's ready. I've had to do this on more than one diesel vehicle!

if you've got a pressure leak in the fuel system, it can take a really long time to prime the system again and start running. This is probably harder to diagnose, so I'd look at the glow plugs first.

[family wagon]

Originally Posted by ChrisFL

I have a harbor freight jump box that has 2/10/50amp. The first time the battery died on me, I hooked up to 50amp and it cranked IMMEDIATELY. Now, I try 50, doesnt help. Ive had it on 2 and the light finally went green after 24 hours of charging, and it sounds the same. Gets almost there but cant quite make it.

Wouldn't hurt to test the charger -- check your battery voltage with a meter, hook up the charger in the 50 amp position, and check again. If it hasn't risen then the charger isn't working (at least in that mode).

I've been leery of the "start" position on battery chargers ever since I tried starting a little passenger car engine with one. It was a 3 liter Ford engine and the starter motor blew the rectifier diodes in the charger instantly.

I don't know how much current that little gas engine's starter motor wanted, but I've measured the starter on my 8.3L Cummins and found it's in the 250 amp neighborhood. Your starter motor might not be that hungry, but I'll wager it draws a good bit more than 50 amps. That 50 amp start charger might help a weak battery get the job done, but it's sounding as if your battery is beyond weak.