Rough, Smokey Starts

Does your Mitsubishi L300 make a strange noise? Need wheel alignment specs?
Trinker
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Rough, Smokey Starts

Post by Trinker »

Unfortunately I can't say, mine came with a block heater. Not sure if it's stock or not but I have a Chamonix, which is the winter/4 season version that has a couple of things beefed up for cold weather, so somewhat likely it was I would say. If you live somewhere Cold where it's below freezing regularly in the winter time I would highly recommend it. It's going to save you engine, battery and starter a lot of work. Also never crank more than 10-15 seconds or so. Our starters get hot as all hell and they need a break too!
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feetforbrains
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Rough, Smokey Starts

Post by feetforbrains »

Hum, I have a Chamonix too. Maybe I need to poke around for a plug?
Last edited by feetforbrains on Tue Nov 07, 2017 8:24 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Rough, Smokey Starts

Post by Trinker »

My plug runs out underneath the vehicle behind the air filter. But I would think you would have noticed it, wouldn't be too inconspicuous if it was there...
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Rough, Smokey Starts

Post by Crankshaft Culture »

I don't believe ours has one. That being said, a block heater won't help when we're out in the middle of nowhere camping. :-D
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Post by kombu »

Crankshaft Culture wrote:I don't believe ours has one. That being said, a block heater won't help when we're out in the middle of nowhere camping. :-D
I've used this trick on ice climbing trips: open up a couple of hand warmer packets and stick them next to the battery, then put a blanket on top for about 10 minutes. It's prevented a couple of very cold bivies in the middle of nowhere.

Caveat: I haven't tried this solution on my Delica yet.
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Post by Crankshaft Culture »

Growlerbearnz wrote: I would test the voltage between the glow plug rail and cylinder head. You should see 9V or higher while the relay is on (before starting and for about 30 seconds after starting). Just to be sure I would also pull each glow plug and power it with jumper cables for about 5 seconds, and make sure each one actually glows.
So I just realized something: My buss bar was reading 9V+ after the first relay click, but I believe it dropped to zero after the second. I didn't start the vehicle and measure, but I know it went down (I believe to zero) after the second click. Bad second relay perhaps? I'll test it again.
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Post by Growlerbearnz »

I was a bit unclear, wasn't I. The second click is the glow plugs turning off so they don't overheat, so that sounds about right. Once the engine's started though the glow plugs should come back on again.
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Post by Crankshaft Culture »

Growlerbearnz wrote:I was a bit unclear, wasn't I. The second click is the glow plugs turning off so they don't overheat, so that sounds about right. Once the engine's started though the glow plugs should come back on again.
Ah, I see. What should the voltage be once the engine is running; 9V?
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Post by Growlerbearnz »

About that, yes, possibly slightly less as they should be running on the lower power relay. Sorry, I'm a bit vague on this one as the workshop manuals tend to ignore the super-quick glow system, and my van has no gearbox so I can't just start it and test.
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Post by Trinker »

The first relay feeds the plugs >9V until they are hot. (You should hear it click on, and then off again after 6-9 seconds). Then when your cranking you should hear it clicking on and off until it fires (not sure which relay that is). Once it fires the lower voltage relay with the dropping resistor should click on. That should be <9V and drop voltage the longer it's on, clicking off once the engine has created enough heat to run without the plugs. Those numbers arn't precise, just a rough guidline, but I found mine to be somewhere around there. Hopefully that's helpful (and correct). Once again I'm no expert, but that's how my glow system works having just re-built the ecu and put in new plugs!
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Rough, Smokey Starts

Post by feetforbrains »

Trinker wrote:The first relay feeds the plugs >9V until they are hot. (You should hear it click on, and then off again after 6-9 seconds). Then when your cranking you should hear it clicking on and off until it fires (not sure which relay that is). Once it fires the lower voltage relay with the dropping resistor should click on. That should be <9V and drop voltage the longer it's on, clicking off once the engine has created enough heat to run without the plugs. Those numbers arn't precise, just a rough guidline, but I found mine to be somewhere around there. Hopefully that's helpful (and correct). Once again I'm no expert, but that's how my glow system works having just re-built the ecu and put in new plugs!
What did you do to rebuild your ECU? Sounds like a DIY story.

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Post by Trinker »

I got my ECU re-built by Daniel (w1ngselectronics) out of Victoria. His price was super reasonable and he had it done super quick. Only thing that sucks is if your not on the island..
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Post by Shaun Van Ramen »

My L300 is always like that on cold days. White smoke with a touch of black for good measure. Especially below zero. It can take a few tries (make sure you have a good battery). When it fires I usually pump the pedal a few times to make sure she's good then just let her idle. I assumed this is normal for diesels. On cold day a good 10 minutes at least.

As for the engine temp: Some on this forum I think have changed their thermos, They run cold in cold weather. I've installed a windblock on my vehicle. I got a piece of thin gauge sheet metal at Home Depot (it was actually the exact measurement I needed, so no cutting req.) did some strategic bending, drilled 4 holes and one cut to fit around a frame member, and "PRESTO!" A wind block. I goes right up front above the skid pan. It blocks direct air from being forced up to the rads, and eventually into the cab, cause the 300's are draftie. It goes on in the fall when temps hit the low teens.

But in severe cold weather there is still little heat in the engine at highway speeds unless you're climbing a steep slope and running the engine hard.
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Rough, Smokey Starts

Post by Crankshaft Culture »



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxNjLBz4ys0

So here's a video of my van cold starting. It was about 45 F/7 C. Too smokey?

I am getting 10V initially to the plugs, and voltage after the vehicle has run, so it appears the glow plug system is working as it should.

I have just put in some Diesel Kleen to see if that'll help clear some crud out, too.
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Rough, Smokey Starts

Post by north54 »

Too smoky IMO. It was -1 C a couple weeks ago in Vancouver and my 89' spat out a couple puffs then thats it.

And I would wager my van is a lot more tired than most 89's out there!

Couple questions: You mentioned you replaced the glow plugs with genuine Mitsubishi. Did you test them before installation?

When was the last time you cleaned your battery terminals?. This helped my van start a little quicker in the cold wet weather we're having. I've got the dual batteries with bus bar showing corrosion, cleaned them with sandpaper and tightened up the bolts.

Good luck
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