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Starter/Starting Problems (LONG STORY!)

K

Koots

Don't Mind Me
Messages
245
Reaction score
6
Location
Goose Bay, Labrador
So about a month ago my truck decided to keep stalling out til i drained the batteries. Tried to go back the next day and fried the fusible links...fast forward 2 weeks later and i finally got the truck into my shop.

Replaced the fusible links, decided to change my injectors and return lines at the same time with new Stanadyne units and replaced the mechanical lift pump (with another one). After all that was done i still couldn't get the thing to start and i ended up frying my starter up.

Finally got another starter (GR 28MT version) and it just can't seem to spin the motor well enough, even with a brand new 1/0 cable from the battery to starter, new fusible links, 1/0 cables all around (still has stock sized battery grounds though) and checked and rechecked all connections, pulled the starter a few times to make sure everything was tight and working as it should. Seemed to be fine. It's a remaned SR577X Bosch unit, just for reference sake :D

When i'm cranking it does it considerably slow and i can see that it's causing my dome lights to dim very hard while it's cycling. It seems to be spinning unevenly too, like there is a slight lope to it.

Bottom line: I hate this thing right now LOL I do love it but i never expected to have this much trouble with it. I guess that's what i get for bragging that the truck sat for 5 years and besides replacing the glow plugs, i didn't have to do anything to the motor LOL.
 
That's what i was afraid of...

Sad thing is that i had to wait a couple of days for it to come in and pay over $300 for this starter and i didn't even get one good spin out of my engine...:p
 
I forgot to mention too that i ended up dumping the new mechanical lift pump due to it being useless. I was told the cam lobe wears down on them and you don't get a full stroke out of a new pump. I ended up throwing a universal carter pump in there and it made bleeding air out of the lines easier, but still no luck on starting.
 
I'm gonna pester the parts guys at GM today. I called them up last week and they said that there are no more starters for 6.2L's available...my guess is the guy i was speaking to is a complete idiot and never cross referenced anything else. I hate people...SO much lol
 
How old are your batteries? Doesn' hurt to get them tested, kinda sounds like to me they aren't keeping enough amperage to crank that engine. And if it's not a gear reduction starter you put on i'd think you should take it back for one that is gear reduction.
 
I forgot to mention it is a GR starter and both batteries are less than a 6 months old and both load tested wonderfully. I am gonna pull the batteries out of my 2500HD just to be absolutely certain that this is not my issue.
 
Corroded battery cables?
What was the reason you had starting trouble in the first place?

Do you have fuel at the injector lines? Sounds like the IP may have quit or is getting air. Voltage on pink pump wire?
Does the engine spin at 100 RPM or more - that is all you need for it to start and move on from batteries and starter.
 
WarWagon said:
Corroded battery cables?
What was the reason you had starting trouble in the first place?

Do you have fuel at the injector lines? Sounds like the IP may have quit or is getting air. Voltage on pink pump wire?
Does the engine spin at 100 RPM or more - that is all you need for it to start and move on from batteries and starter.
Click to expand...

Cables are all good or have been replaced with welding cable in the last few months, so i know it's not an issue there but i will fiddle with it all again tomorrow.

The reason it had trouble starting was the truck was working great and then just started acting up while i was in the store. I came out and it was idling higher than usual and sounded strange. I'm assuming i have an air leak somewhere because it would act up when i went into cold advance.

I managed to get it to my shop, replaced injectors an return lines (was gonna do that anyway but figured now was a good time), replaced fuel pump (ended up replacing that one with an electric afterwards). I've got fuel at my injectors and there is fuel misting out of the glow plug holes. Still some air in there i'm assuming....but both starters just don't want to spin the engine very well at all. It's like i've got a bent rod or something or ruined the block because it spins with a lope to it and when it does lope my dome lights brighten. Probably just a bum starter, but i always think of the worst things first LOL :p
 
the loping can be a couple of different things. it might just be low compression on one cylinder. check you injectors/glows to make sure everything is clean and tight. a little carbon does wonderful things.:rolleyes5: in you first post you said you had changed all of your battery cable but still had the stock battery grounds. which ground, the frame/body ground or the main cable to the engine? and there are lots of places that still carry a 6.2 DD(direct drive) starter. they're listed as a 27mt. it's a ongoing debate which works better.
 
I hastily wrote the first post and failed to mention that the battery grounds are still the same ones i got the truck with, which seems to be 2 gauge cable. They are the cable that run from the negative battery terminal to the engine block (to the alternator bracket on the pass. side and to the PS bracket on drivers side) This never prevented the truck from cranking like a monster before all of this. During the entire winter, where i had my own troubles with starting that got fixed, i had the stock + cable to starter too and was able to spin the motor over well.

Whichever route i take, starter wise, i'm gonna have to order from out of the province anyway. I'm lucky enough that one of the local garages has a 6.2L diesel wrecker, so they have the occasional 6.2/6.5 part on hand. Otherwise, when i need a part. I have to wait a few days for it to come in.
 
Found out an hour or so ago that my 2 bosses and coworker tried starting my truck without me there...by using starting fluid. Which corresponds to around the same time my problems may have started. I specifically told them i don't want to see a bottle of that stuff anywhere near my truck, yet they go behind my back and do it...they thought they knew better than me.

I'm gonna go grab a diesel compression tester and maybe a leak down tester and see if they are buying me a new engine or not LOL
 
:eek: starter fluid is a dangerous item. I admit I've had to use it before when the glowplug system failed in mid winter. after a few uses I ended up doing a head gasket. It split the firering on one cylinder. do the compression test and see what you get.
 
I pulled all the glows this morning and all seemed well. The injectors were spraying a nice fine mist (6.5L TD injectors) all my glows were in good shape, all tested out to be good. I never heard any bad noises while cranking her, but the cranking was just at an adequate speed with all the glows pulled out...so in with the new starter i just bought from GM ($440! FFS)

If this doesn't work, i'm gonna seriously contemplate giving up on it LOL
 
just a number said:
:eek: starter fluid is a dangerous item. I admit I've had to use it before when the glowplug system failed in mid winter. after a few uses I ended up doing a head gasket. It split the firering on one cylinder. do the compression test and see what you get.
Click to expand...

Only time i ever used starting fluid on this truck was when i changed my fuel filter and my batteries were slowly draining trying to start the truck...so i gave it a quick few sprays of ether and she fired up. Only because i had no way to charge my batteries and i was too far away to get a boost from anyone (buried deep within the shop).

I still regret even using it that time. My stomach goes into knots thinking of the damage it may have done. But a week after that i took it on a 3000km road trip and it worked great.
 
if the inj have been spraying and the rpm is to slow to start it, it may be flooded. my 94 plow truck had that happen, from PO, I had to disable the glows and have my wife help me (it takes 2 people to do it right) and give it very light mists of ether while cranking and it sputtered faster and fired. Belched a big black cloud of smoke and has started easily since then.
 
Well, the new starter i put in spun the engine better, but my batteries would drain within just a few seconds...even after a full charge...so a set of new batteries and away she went.

Finally glad to have her back on the road. It's been over a month since she stalled on me, spent 2 weeks in a parking lot getting blasted with snow too. Poor thing LOL
 
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