Hard, smoky starting

[OffGridiot]

Hey all
It’s been a while. A testament to how well these machines usually run.
My 2012 BX25 with 1470 hours on it has just recently started having some problems with the first start of the day. Now that we’re getting colder (but not freezing) nights, I’ve been holding the glow plugs on for longer periods before attempting to start but it doesn’t seem to help. When it fires, it’s really rough and smoky for a couple seconds. I’ve noticed that sometimes, it’ll abruptly smooth out along with clearing off the smoke for a second or so, then sputter again with accommodating smoke for another second or two, followed by abruptly smoothing out for good.
My inclination was to suspect glow plugs. I have an infrared thermometer with which I tested the temp in all 3 plugs to see if there was a discrepancy but they all seem really close. I suppose the current supplying them could be lacking but I’m not sure how to rest for that.
The other suspicion is injectors but again, I’m not sure how I’d test for that. I’m retired now, and don’t have a lot of extra $ to throw at parts I may not need. Any ideas?
Thanks in advance!

 

[Russell King]

Since you are in a cold climate I assume that the fuel is winter blend and flowing well but that could be the problem?

What color smoke is it belching out?

 

[TheOldHokie]

Hey all
It’s been a while. A testament to how well these machines usually run.
My 2012 BX25 with 1470 hours on it has just recently started having some problems with the first start of the day. Now that we’re getting colder (but not freezing) nights, I’ve been holding the glow plugs on for longer periods before attempting to start but it doesn’t seem to help. When it fires, it’s really rough and smoky for a couple seconds. I’ve noticed that sometimes, it’ll abruptly smooth out along with clearing off the smoke for a second or so, then sputter again with accommodating smoke for another second or two, followed by abruptly smoothing out for good.
My inclination was to suspect glow plugs. I have an infrared thermometer with which I tested the temp in all 3 plugs to see if there was a discrepancy but they all seem really close. I suppose the current supplying them could be lacking but I’m not sure how to rest for that.
The other suspicion is injectors but again, I’m not sure how I’d test for that. I’m retired now, and don’t have a lot of extra $ to throw at parts I may not need. Any ideas?
Thanks in advance!

My guess would br weak glow plugs. With that much age and time on the machine probably worth throwing a set at it.

Dan

 

[85Hokie]

I agree with Dan - sounds like plugs are not getting hot as before.

Glow them longer than normal - like a good 30 seconds and see if that makes ANY difference

 

[OffGridiot]

Since you are in a cold climate I assume that the fuel is winter blend and flowing well but that could be the problem?

What color smoke is it belching out?

Smoke is white-ish and I’d say moderately bellowing.
You might be on to something with the fuel grade. It’s likely diesel I bought in the summer. I’ll try buying some fresh stuff, which I assume should be switched over to the thinner mix for the winter?

 

[OffGridiot]

My guess would br weak glow plugs. With that much age and time on the machine probably worth throwing a set at it.

Dan

Ok, well I guess plugs would eventually need to be replaced, and if that ends up not fixing the issue, at least they’re likely going to need replacing before me and the machine get buried together, and they won’t go bad before then (…. Might get lost in my disorganized shop but….)

 

[mendonsy]

You might also try adding a fuel treatment such as Power Service to the fuel tank. I find that it helps my B7500 a lot in the winter.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Take the wires / buss bar off of the glow plugs and ohm test each one.

I bet they are fine and you have injectors that need rebuilt.

 

[OffGridiot]

Take the wires / buss bar off of the glow plugs and ohm test each one.

I bet they are fine and you have injectors that need rebuilt.

This is my suspicion too. The way the symptoms start and stop so abruptly has me thinking an injector is sticking. I bought some Lucas injector cleaner and new fuel filters. I like the ohm test idea. Will get to these items as priorities dictate…. Hopefully soon….ish.[/QUOTE]

 

[OffGridiot]

I agree with Dan - sounds like plugs are not getting hot as before.

Glow them longer than normal - like a good 30 seconds and see if that makes ANY difference

Didn’t seem to make any difference after about 45 seconds of heating the plugs.

 

[OffGridiot]

You might also try adding a fuel treatment such as Power Service to the fuel tank. I find that it helps my B7500 a lot in the winter.

Preliminary results suggest this was the fix. Last time I got it started (2 days ago), and before I did any work with it, I added some (75 ml) Lucas fuel conditioner with injector cleaner (designed/marketed for both gas and diesel engines) and topped up the tank with the fuel I have on hand (not sure if it’s summer or winter grade. Probably summer grade). Did enough work that the treated fuel got burned for quite a while. This morning was one of the coldest yet this season, and with only a moderate amount of time on the glow plugs, it started up beautifully.
Many thanks to everyone for their helpful suggestions! Now, back to work!