Hard Starting

[jerry10848]

I have an '84 O'Day 28 with a Universal M-15 (5411) two cylinder diesel engine. Lately, it has been starting hard, and when it does start, it runs on one cylinder for awhile before the other cylinder kicks in. When it was warmer, it took about 15 seconds, but yesterday it was in the low 50s and it took about 60 seconds after it started for the second cylinder to start firing.

I'm thinking it's a problem with a glow plug. Once the engine heats up, the cylinder with the bad plug starts firing.

Does this sound right?

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

It sounds possible but there are many potential causes for your starting problem. The glow plugs are simple enough to check as a first step so why not do that to see?

It seems pointless to suggest a list of possible causes until you start eliminating the easy ones. Glow plugs, clogged injector, does it REALLY run on just one cylinder?, etc...

 

[Deadline]

It's cold in Lake George, even for Yanmar. Down here in Virginia, I've already begun using my onboard hairdryer to heat the engine through the air horn, for ten minutes. Buy a U-shaped PVC piece to connect the hairdryer to the horn. Works wonders.

 

[Bill Roosa]

if it is taking a minute to start running on the second cylinder then it is NOT the glow plug. You have an fuel system problem on that "lazy" cylinder. Probably the injector needs cleaned/refurbished.

 

[Eddie7045]

A compression check would be an easy check

.

 

[kloudie1]

Bleed air all the way out to the injectors on both cylinders..

 

[Benny17441]

So you have been expiriencing a delay in firing for that 2nd cylinder which seems to have worsened with the cold weather. A 15 to 60 second delay is not right so the problem is there irregardless of temperature. I concur it is probably a fuel problem and it is likely some leak allowing air to the injector line of that cylinder. Like Kloudie indicates go ahead and bleed any air out of the system and then try it. If the problem goes away but comes back you will need to find the leak. If bleeding makes no difference then move on to cleaning or replacing the injector.