1995 Chevy 6.5 turbo diesel hard starting in cold

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The Bear

New member
So, I let my girl friend use my truck the other day while I was out of town and I should have known better!!! It was cold here in Mn over Wednesday night; I think it got down to single digits she says. Anyways, when she got home from work she forgot to plug the truck in overnight and when she went to go start it in the morning she said it was starting very hard. She claims that she never got it started but the first time she tried it almost wanted to start. After that sure enough she kept trying and cranked until she "grinded the battery out". Then she realizes that she never plugged it in, so she does so immediately.

So when I got home late last night I took a quick look. When I turn the ignition to the on position I have power, all lights and radio work, but then when I go to start the truck there is nothing. So the next thing I did was check to see if she had it plugged in right and she did. So then I put a charger on the battery and that did nothing, however it’s a small charger.

That’s about all I had time for last night. I'm new to the diesels so any input on what to do next or possibilities would be greatly appreciated!!!!!! Could she have drained the battery so low that it needs to be replaced?

Thanks,
Cole
 
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dab102999

New member
Charge the bat's and make sure they hold it...check the big fuses in the fuse panal under the hood...call ssdieselsupply.com and order 8 hot to go glow plugs and a new relay....has to be close to -20 for me to think about plugging mine in now.
 
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dab102999

New member
Ohms tester will work to check if they work...could have fried them...but those hot glow plugs put off way more heat for a lot longer...When you say you don't have an indicator light are you talking the "wait to start" on the dash...if that isn't flashing I would say check fuses first and then the relay block on the fire wall under the hood....Drivers side, looks sort of like and old ford starter relay...and yea she could have fried the starter but I would think you would at least hear some clicking going on...

Is this a stick or auto??? even a diesel can be pull started but will be a lot harder in the cold.
 
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cemmer

New member
On my 94 you can here the glow plug relay kick in and out, and there should be a light on the dash. I would start checking fuses and if you have power to the starter, if she just cranked and cranked it she could have fried the starter or the solenoid. I've had the batteries so dead they will only light up the dash lights but not have enough to make the solenoid click, the reason being it has 2 of them. The batteries also could have froze I had one freeze and i warmed it up in warm water, charged it up and it worked fine. Good luck
 
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