Hello, I picked up a 97 TD about six months ago..I dont really use it much but lately it does not start unless I use ether...Im assuming a glow plug issue...I live in NY, Im not sure if the temp has anything to do with it now. If theres a way to check this out let me know. thanks.

 

Using ether with an engine with glow plugs is a bad idea. Try cycling the glow plugs by letting the "wait to start" light go out, then turning the ignition switch to off and then back to run again. That will add more heat to the cylinders before you start. You might need to do that a couple of times. If that doesn't work, and you must still use ether, go easy with it. Too much at once can cause rings to crack, then it will need it all the time when you start cold. In the winter it will be almost impossible to start if it has been sitting for any length of time. The best way to give it an ether shot is with one person cranking the engine, and another giving very short, i.e. less than a second, shots of ether through the air intake. Another method is to douse a rag with ether then hold that over the intake as the other cranks the engine. If you are a solo operation, a gentle squirt, then run around and crank before it all evaporates. The major drawback with this method is you DO NOT want your glow plugs to activate when you turn the key, so wait for them to go out before the ether dose.
As for testing the glow plug system, the dealer can do that by hooking up to the diagnostic port, or any GM certified shop for that matter since the engine is the same as what went into the pickup and Suburbans from that time.

 

Thanks for the reply, now there is something else that has reered its ugly head...these are my symptoms...
1.Start the truck, Idols very rough press the pedal NO response from the engine eventually it responds but no power and wants to stall...
2.Replaced fuel pump next to filter but did not solve..anyideas??

Is there a TPS in this vehicle? 97 turbo diesel
thnks

 

Honestly, I cant answer that about the tps. That is deeper into those engines than I ever got, and I dont remember from my military days of driving them what all they had and where it was at. Hopefully one of the H1 owners can help you from there. It seems to me that those have mechanical injection with a bosch radial injection pump. If that is the case and it it electrinically controlled, you would find wires going to the injection pump, but no cable. That would mean there is a tps in there somewhere. Anything more than that from me would over work my poor little brain. The only other suggestion I could make is make sure your fuel filters are clean.

 

I just checked the service manual for my 1998 Turbodiesel and it says that it does have a TPS on it...

 

Silly question.... for me...

When it does start/idle/rev/accelerate what color is the smoke?

Blue?
Black?
White?
Blue-White?

I havelimited experience with diesels that small, but smoke color can help.

 

Won't start without ether, real rough running, white smoke at startup?
Does the wait light come on and click off after about 30 seconds?
Once you get it started, does it smooth out after about 5-10 minutes and run fine?

Depending on the answers to these questions, sounds like it could be a glowplugcontroller issue to me.
Without knowing all the facts and seeing the problem first hand, I'm not sure why you would suspect the TPS is your issue; I would expect shifting problems, not "won't start" problems if that was the case. If you glowplugs aren't heating the cylinder enough for compression to ignite the fuel, then I wouldn't expect pressing the throttle to help the situation any, bad TPS or not.

 

I just picked a code reader, nothing fancy but it read that the glow plug circuit A is not working...that could be easily repaired..To those that are asking about smoke, there is a little white smoke that comes out but not alot...and it idles rough right from the start. I did also notice that the rubber plug on the bottom of the front fuel tank is leaking..what Im goin to do is disconnect the lift pump from the tank side and put a hose into a bucket of fuel then try to start it, and see what happens this way I can eliminate in the problems coming from the back, maybe i have a crack in the line orim losing pressure somewhere.

 

Looks like you answered your own question here... that would definitely cause the hard-starting problems you describe.

 

Can someone tell me if that circuit A means the controler or the glow plugs themselves are bad???