I borrowed my son’s truck and drove it to his work when I was done. He went out 20 minutes later and started it and moved it forward and then back into another spot. Turned it off and went back to work. He went out about 2 hours later and it won’t do anything. No crank, no click no nothing. I went to help and put it in neutral, put a jump car on and tried to start it at the starter. It will crank when I jump the solenoid but won’t start. I plugged in the computer and it says communication error. I checked the fuses, relays and most of the wires. So I am asking if anyone has come across this problem? Please help
A dsl needs ALOT of juice to start… If the batterys ( you have two) are dead, then your single battery jump start car may not be enoph to fire it up. Also depending where you are located, by jumping right to the starter you are not allowing the glow plugs time to heat and this can make the truck difficult to start. I would eather A) Check your batterys conection B) Get two known good batterys and throw them in. Or C0 get TWO jump start cars, one to each battery and try it again.
Good luck
Glow plugs take over 100 amps to power them before you even get the starter to doing anything… Attempting to jump start this girl , is a lost cause if the batteries are very weak… Jumper cables cannot supply the current required. Jumper cables will have serious voltage drop issues when you putt the load to them. By the time the glow plugs light off… there will be little capacity left over. A DVOM (Digital Volt Ohm Meter is the best tool to use here if you have one, I will assume one is not available unless you say otherwise)
A few things to check… One, make sure the battery terminals are tight (try to twist them on the battery posts, if they turn, they’re loose)…, 2, do the interior lamps illuminate with the drivers door open?? If yes, turn the ignition to accessorry or on (Not crank… keep in mind going to ignition on will initiate the glow plugs) Does the Odometer indicate mileage, still blank (dark) or dashes??? If the interior lamps are dark, go dark when the ignition is on, or the cluster (odometer is blank) Connect jumper cables and repeat the process… (Do not crank) Leave the truck to sit a few minutes before the key is cycled… (1500-1700 cold cranking amps need time to build even just a little charge when jumping)
After jumping for a few minutes, do the interior lamps illuminate, does the odometer illuminate??? If they do when the vehicle is being jumped, the batteries are dead and will need recharged… Depending on how dead may take several hours (with a charger). If attempting to jump the truck, leave the cables connected for 15-30 minutes, ensure the jumper clamps are tight. (I had to jumpstart a dead 2006 E350 diesel, it took 45 minutes to get enough power to get her to light off)… (The batteries were history, but getting her home was the priority) If the batteries are worn out, recharging may not be enough to get this thing to go (She is an 2004, if they’re original theres probably is not much life left if any)…
Lets us know the results of the above tests… There are many additional tests to perform if the batteries test ok.
Trying to start a Diesel with a dead battery in place is an exercise in futility… Diesel truck owners should also own a basic battery load tester so these events can be predicted and avoided…You will burn up a very expensive starter if you keep trying to jump-start it…