Hard start on 96 l400

[WhoGotTheFunk]

I had a bucking issue for the first time last night. My 96 l400 always started up no problem in any condition. I've had it for about 7 months now. Last night however it didn't start at all for a while. It would just chug during cranking and then after 15 minutes of on and of cranking, crank for 5-10 seconds then wait 2-3minutes, it finally caught. There was a couple of times where it didn't crank at all like a cylinder had hydraulic issue. A bunch of black smoke then some white for about a minute. It didn't smell sweet and the coolant is at the proper level. My initial thought was that maybe an injector dumped a pile of diesel into a cylinder and it just wouldn't catch. This morning, after about 8 hours of it resting, the van started great. I'm confused.

Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance

[Firesong]

How recent are your glow plugs. Might have some weak ones
or some corrosion on the bus bar (connector).

Was it really cold or minimal cool factor at the time?

Firesong

[WhoGotTheFunk]

Glow plugs and bus bar done this past summer. Wasn't very cold but really really wet. Wonder if some electrical components got wet.

[Feds]

Your issue is somewhere between your glowplugs and your glowplug relay. Pull the glowplugs and test them, then work backwards.

[MardyDelica]

hi,
usually when its cold and not used the car all the time there is sometime have a small fuel air in the system.
try to push the fuel filter top button 12 times then fire it up, then your be fine.
as this is a common problem on the delica when. its very cold.
if not then go to the next step.
email me if you need more help
cheers;
mardy

[WhoGotTheFunk]

Great thanks for the tip. I left it for 24 hours and it started fine. Guess it was just a little air in the fuel. I was pretty scared at the time.

[thedjjack]

remember when starting a diesel it is combustion chamber heat you need to ignite the fuel... trying for 10-15sec and waiting 2-3 minutes means all the heat you started to build is lost.... you need that heat to start... crank crank crank... sorry starter motor