# Ford Diesel, glow pugs, and ether



## michiganfarmer (Oct 15, 2005)

I know the rule of thumb is, "NEVER EVER DO IT!" . Ive been wrenching for a long time. I normally am very careful about not doing things like this. I try to avoid being an ignorant ******* backyard mechanic. I try to stay professional. 

Ill get to the point. I did it. 97 f250, 7.3L power stroke with glow plugs. The batteries got drained because lights were left on. I started the car, hooked the car battery to the truck battery with jumper cables and let the car run for few minutes. The truck engine would turn over but wouldnt start. I really wanted to get to the woods to work on maple tubing, so I let the car run, left the cable hooked up, and took the tractor to the woods. A couple hours later I sent one of the kids to the house to get the truck. they called on the cell phone and said the truck wouldn't start. I was instantly mad. ...AND, because the kid took the tractor to go get the truck, I had to walk to the house. 1/2 mile. I got up there, and the engine would turn over but wouldn't fire. I was pretty mad. I grabbed a can of ether, and said to myself, "screw it. Im gonna see what happens". I turned the key on, waited for the "wait to start" light to go out, sprayed one quick shot of ether into the air filter, and turned the ignition to "start". The engine rolled over about 4 times and fired right up. 

I know there are other issues here.... battery age, and condition.... possible bad starter, dirty battery connections, and maybe a couple other things....

My questions are, has anyone here had any experience with using ether in an engine that has glow plugs, and what do you think about the way I did it?


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## agmantoo (May 23, 2003)

I never shoot starter fluid and then hit the starter. Instead, without the glow plugs on if it has glow plugs, I hit the starter and get the engine turning and then give a small shot of starter fluid. 

Weak batteries are a true problem with diesels. The heat from compression created by turning the engine fast is needed to fire the engine. Weak batteries are hard on starters also. As the voltage drops the amperage to the starter will increase. High amperage will cause starter motor failure.


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## ErinP (Aug 23, 2007)

Well I will say my DH uses ether on pickup/trucks with glowplugs and is usually muttering something along the lines of "you should never do ths but..." followed by the firing of the motor. He turns the key, lets the wts light go out, sprays his ether and then turns it over

I think the gp relay is shot on our 97psd because he's had to dot the ether trick a couple of times this winter. The glowplugs themselves tested good back in aug...
I wish it'd throw a code and give us a for-sure, though


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## Darren (May 10, 2002)

Instead of ether, use silicone spray. I've used it when batteries were down and the engine needed to rev faster to start. Never damaged a glow plug.


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## ace admirer (Oct 5, 2005)

i try not to do ignorant yankee things. Hair dryer in intake snout, good batteries and a top off charge just before the crank, cycle what heat plugs you might have several times before crank.


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## agmantoo (May 23, 2003)

Some additional input on starter fluid and glow plugs
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_LWm4g35Jw[/ame]


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## rancher1913 (Dec 5, 2008)

my 2000 ford f350 has cold weather starting problems too. took it in to the dealer for new glow plugs and 2 thousand dollars later they told me it did not need glow plugs just new batteries---still won't start when it gets below 50 degrees out so I've been doing the either deal now for about 5 years. once it gets started it will start fine on its own all the rest of the day.


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## greg273 (Aug 5, 2003)

You did what you had to do. One quick shot isn't likely to break anything. Check that ground connection. My advice would be to clean it even if it looks good! Diesels gotta have that kick of a fast starter.


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## michiganfarmer (Oct 15, 2005)

I appreciate all the replies. Thank you all.


It normally starts very well...even in single digit temps. Im thinking the glow pug relay is bad again.


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

As I read the opeening complaint, I thought it sounded like either bad glow plugs or the relay.
I never had any trouble with my 1997 F350, but my 1987 F350 had a problem like this. 

Suddenly, it wouldn't start right away and the battery ran down quick. Replaced that. Then it would crank a long time, but start. Not to long after that, the excessive cranking caused the starter to fail. So, I took it to a dealer and found 6 glow plugs were shot. Got them replaced and all was well, for a couple weeks. Back to hard starting. Took it in and 5 glow plugs were shot, 3 that were new. They didn't charge me for the 3. A couple weeks later, back to hard starting and back to the dealer. They replaced 5 or 6 glow plugs. No charge. But, they said that they talked with Ford engineers and thought I needed a new wiring harness. It would cost $250 parts and $250 labor and tthey weren't sure that would fix the problem.

I offered to split the bill with them. Since the dealership marks up parts and labor, a split would be a break even for them. They did offer to give me half my money back if the parts and labor didn't fix the problem. I figured if they had me spend $500 for something that didn't help, I'd want all my money back. So, I just told them I wasn't going to invest in something that couldn't be identified as a part to the problem and since they have to warrenty the glow plugs, I'd just stop in every couple weeks for a free replacement. 

They wanted to sell me a new truck. I got the glow plugs replaced, put a "for sale" sign in it and bought a new truck from another Ford dealer. The guy that bought my truck drove it locally for 10 years, mostly trouble free.

So, don't ignore the glow plugs or relay, it is hard on your starter and batteries.


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## michiganfarmer (Oct 15, 2005)

IM considering just using either from now on. It works really well


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## Rob30 (Nov 2, 2004)

You could just by a dodge, no glow plugs, less heavy oil to turn in the cold, 2 fewer cylinders to turn, and better on fuel. 
I have thought about going to a synthetic oil 0w40 for easier starting in winter. However my 5.9 only takes 9 liters to change th oil. I forget what the fords take, but I know it is much more. An alternative would be an oil warmer, and battery warmers.


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## Redtractor (Jan 16, 2012)

Do you have a block warmer of some sort on your truck? Do you plug it in? It has been down to 5 f a couple times this week and with it plugged in over night my jeep starts up real nice. 

A battery warmer my be a good idea as well.


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## michiganfarmer (Oct 15, 2005)

thank you everyone for all the replies. I will consider all of them
...and yes I have a block heater


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## michiganfarmer (Oct 15, 2005)

I put the new glow plug relay in. It starts great now


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## Adrescher7 (Nov 23, 2011)

michiganfarmer said:


> I put the new glow plug relay in. It starts great now


Ive got a '92 f350 with a 7.3. After reading this, its kinda amazing how similar my situation is. When buying this truck a month ago. It had been standing still for 2 months or so. Out of desperation to get it home we used ether and she fired up and rolled on home. However, now im in the same situation where i need to plug the block warmer and a battery jumper into it every time i want to start it. Even on a 45 degree day. Seeing how this is verry inconvientent, whats your best advice on all of this as the first thing to replace/test? It seems like a lot of ideas were tossed around on this thread. I mean is it best to just carry a can of ether for now? or what should i replace first?


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## spot (Aug 12, 2011)

Using Either on a diesel with glow plug or a preheater is bad news. When the either hits the hot glow plugs or preheater it explodes and can stretch the head bolts or ruin a valve. If you disconnect the plug or preheater then a small amount can be used but not advised. The small diesel engines are not built to handle the explosion of either it will stretch the head bolts and the head gasket will fail . You can use either on your engine but not on mine . A proper tuned diesel will start just fine in all weather .First you need good injector that pop with a clean spray then glow plugs or preheater that work and last when cold and engine heater proper size


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## Beeman (Dec 29, 2002)

Read the other thread on glow plug diagnosis, it's not hard. Do you plug this truck in?, if not you really should They put those block heaters on for a good reason. It makes it much easier on the whole engine and starting system especially over the course of the truck's lifetime. 2 batteries are pretty expensive and don't even think about the price of an engine. 
Get a thermoc cube and an extension cord. This way it only powers up the heater when it's cold enough out.


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## cmcon=7 (Mar 7, 2010)

I had POS 6.9 ford, after 2 sets of plugs,manual glow control and all of the other tricks, it still required ether for cold stars, after the replaced injection pump failed, I sold the truck as is, I will never own a ford again.


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## Sawmill Jim (Dec 5, 2008)

cmcon=7 said:


> I had POS 6.9 ford, after 2 sets of plugs,manual glow control and all of the other tricks, it still required ether for cold stars, after the replaced injection pump failed, I sold the truck as is, I will never own a ford again.


You need to be mad at International not Ford :hobbyhors


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