M1009 starting trouble

[southpolie]

Hi All,

New member here and new owner of M1009. Bought the truck two days ago and drove home about 40 miles with no difficulties. Stopped twice and restarted without trouble.

Tried to start yesterday morning. Turns over but won't start. Tried about 10 times, 10-15 seconds of cranking followed by a minute wait for starter to cool. Accelerator depressed half, full, or not at all. Suspecting fuel problem since little or no exhaust.

This morning pulled the pink solenoid wire and had a friend crank it while I bled the fuel filter. Lots of fuel right away. Still wont start. I can hear the solenoid click when I pull the pink wire with ignition on.

I bought a new fuel filter but have not replaced it yet. If I get fuel flow from the bleed while cranking, does that mean the filter if ok? Or is that pre-filtered fuel?

I am in Santa Barbara so temps are running in the 70s now. The truck is parked in my driveway with the front slightly inclined.

Looking for advice on what to try next. Saw some posts referencing WD40. Can that be sprayed in to air cleaner as a starting aid? Or on to glow plugs?

Jerry

 

[beanman1]

use the wd 40 and see its 80 degrees here but still will not start with out the glow plugs sounds to me like your glow plugs are bad or contoller card maybe inop

 

[burbn10]

Get a test light or multimeter and check for power at the glow plugs with the ignition on. If you have no power at the plugs, it is probably the controller. Check your fuses as always too. You can jumper out the glow plugs to a push button or toggle switch and a relay if need be. Otherwise I heard you can use a glow plug controller from a 7.3 Ford Powerstroke. If you do have power to the plugs, you can check them with a multimeter for continuity.

 

[justinwregier]

Welcome to the forum,

I have been through a starting gauntlet with my M1009 before but each truck seems to have its own maze off issues so hopefully somebody on here can point you in the right direction. I definitely have received awesome advice from this site!

A starting fluid/ether you can get a napa or auto zone could be sprayed into the air cleaner to basically turn over the engine (cheating)... but the amount should be small and it is not recommended for repeated use. A spray of "one thousand one" and a turn of the ignition should be sufficient.

New gp relay, gp card and glow plugs are a good gift for any newly gained CUCVs and can be had a reasonable prices. Glow Plugs are a good investment by themselves in these CUCVs and if your truck turns over from the ether and runs normal, troubleshooting the ignition process is good direction to begin.

Also external temperatures can influence better starting in these CUCVs but there still needs to be some "fuel" in the combustion chamber for the compression to ignite it. An incline could delay starting for fuel delivery reasons but more than three ignition sequences of cycling the key/wait lights seems excessive. Fuel filter, fuel pump, pin hole in the fuel lines, injectors... culprits perhaps? If your truck idles on its own the fuel system may not be tip top but probably isnt the sole problem your having with starting. Just may cause poor mpg.

My M1009 had failures in a fashion similar to your description... odd starting and not starting occured alot until it just wouldnt turn over. Since replacing the starter, both batteries, glow plugs and gp relay I have started my M1009 in single digit temperatures this winter with typically only two full "cranking" attempts at most. Poor glow plugs can lead to strain on the starter which could also be a possibility.

I hate to say go get some ether but... I did it and it checked some troubleshooting boxes.

Check out the TMs and download the PDFs for reference offline also

Good luck

 

[burbn10]

Also check the fuseable link on the firewall over by the brake booster. Look to see if it is burnt if you are getting no power to the plugs.

 

[doghead]

Also check the fuseable link on the firewall over by the brake booster. Look to see if it is burnt if you are getting no power to the plugs.

The GP supply wire has a fuseable link between the Positive terminal board and the Resistors on the firewall(passenger side).

Not near the brake booster.

Please look at the TM(-20) for schematics.

 

[simoncrk]

get a test light or multimeter and check for power at the glow plugs with the ignition on. If you have no power at the plugs, it is probably the controller. Check your fuses as always too. You can jumper out the glow plugs to a push button or toggle switch and a relay if need be. Otherwise i heard you can use a glow plug controller from a 7.3 ford powerstroke. If you do have power to the plugs, you can check them with a multimeter for continuity.

dito....

 

[burbn10]

The GP supply wire has a fuseable link between the Positive terminal board and the Resistors on the firewall(passenger side).

Not near the brake booster.

Please look at the TM(-20) for schematics.

Mine is directly over the driver's side engine valve cover.... There is a little diamond shaped junction lug it is hooked to and it goes to the glow plug pot. Mine was upgraded to the solid state controller by the military before I got it. Forgot about the old resistor system. So I guess it depends on which system he has.

 

[southpolie]

Thanks for all the quick replies and great advice. This project sure kept me busy over the weekend.....

I checked all 4 glowplugs on the driver's side and none have continuity to ground, so it was a good call on the glowplugs. The frontmost plug is stuck/presumed swollen. Is there a special tool to extract? Or any advice on extraction? I hope I don't have to pull the injector but will do if necessary.

The second plug from the front came out easily. It was a 13g which I gather does not have much respect here! I am tempted to go with a 12v conversion and possibly manual control using self limiting plugs. But first step is extracting the current plugs, so any additional words of wisdom are welcome!

Man I can't wait to hear that motor purr again...

Jerry

 

[burbn10]

Thanks for all the quick replies and great advice. This project sure kept me busy over the weekend.....

I checked all 4 glowplugs on the driver's side and none have continuity to ground, so it was a good call on the glowplugs. The frontmost plug is stuck/presumed swollen. Is there a special tool to extract? Or any advice on extraction? I hope I don't have to pull the injector but will do if necessary.

The second plug from the front came out easily. It was a 13g which I gather does not have much respect here! I am tempted to go with a 12v conversion and possibly manual control using self limiting plugs. But first step is extracting the current plugs, so any additional words of wisdom are welcome!

Man I can't wait to hear that motor purr again...

Jerry

They are 12v already through the resistor bank on the firewall. I can get you pictures of the way the military updated mine to a solid state controller if you would like. It is a really simple setup from the looks of it. Still have automatic controls like the factory system, but without the need for the resistor bank. You can use a controller from an early Ford 7.3 Powerstroke. If you are some place where it gets cold, that 24v starter system is awesome. There is no benefit by going to 12v other than if you want to eliminate an alternator and second battery...

As far as the plugs go, yes there is a glow plug extracting tool. I've never used one, but I know they exist. My plugs came out easily, so I don't have too much advice other than the tool exists. Good luck!