6.0 Powerstroke and cold weather
 

Anyone have trouble starting their powerstrokes when it is really cold out? I have an 04 and it never failed to start without plugging it in(even down in the teens) I noticed this winter it has turned over pretty slow when down around 20 degrees or less. Went out this morning(12degrees) and would not start.. Could my batteries be getting weak or is this just the way it is if not plugged in :confused:

You have a problem. Mine starts like summer at 20 above. At 20 below it will start hard without plugging it in but it will start. Check your batteries and your alternator to make sure it is charging fully. When running you should be at 13.2volts or a little over.

Under 20 degrees, mine starts hard, should plug it in !

have a 05 it was 1 degree this morning and started no problem has started hard at 15 below not plugged in when it gets that cold now I plug in just so oils stays a little warm

20 is getting close to the point when it begins getting tougher to start, but not cold enough to prevent starting. Sounds like a dying battery to me. When a battery is going to fail it's usually during the first cold snap of the year. (It's why they rate batteries in CCA - Cold Cranking Amps).

I plug mine in religiously but what do you do when your at work and there is no place to plug in? I just got off work and it took about 6 tries before it started

Exactly what I was thinking, you cant always be where you can plug them in....

Thanks for the replies, I am leaning towards battery issues also, like I said this is the fourth winter I have had the truck and the first time it did not want to start. It turned over very slow both times I tried. I just got it going a few minutes ago (I plugged it in for 3 hrs before the last try), almost did not think it was going to start again, turned over slow but started. I usually plug it in at night when I am home if it gets down below 20, but did not last night.. I guess I will go somewhere and get my batteries checked out tommorrow, still has the factory batteries in it. If only 1 battery is bad I would assume it is best to go ahead and replace both? It is still in the teens with wind chill near 0 here...

make sure your batt's are good , drop to a 5w40 oil and plug in in winter, it just helps your motor live longer.

The late '03 and all '04 engines are notorious for smoking the glow plug wiring harnesses on the passenger side. It's routed too close to the exhaust manifold and deteriorates over time.

The 6.0 starts down to zero without need for a plug-in. Below 10 it needs a double-cycle on the glow plugs.

Make sure you have a fuel filter set with less than 20K on it and that you pull the water drain with every oil change. If it has a brass plug, get the updated plated-steel one That separator isn't perfect. Use an additive at least in the winter.

Batteries cost less than a tow and a lot less than an evening stranded somewhere. Every battery I own gets replaced at 2 years. That motor's cranking demands and the underhood heat of that truck are especially hard on batteries. The alternator on that truck is a very high output unit and quite small. It also gets baked. They can certainly be failure-prone. Usually it's a diode that goes, giving you voltage ripple and low output- it's a slow death that you don't notice in a day or two. It usually takes something significant to kill it.