I think there is a relay that is known for going bad, alot cheaper than the solenoid. there are 2 relays I believe, one for pull in and one for hold in, the solenoids have 2 coils in them, a high amp and low amp, the high amp pulls it in then the low amp holds it. Again replace the relay first or you could jump the relay out with a piece of wire to make sure the solenoid is good.

 

ether is dangerouse,do not spray it in ur truck!! ive see to many dumbasses dump either in machins and tractors and the thing will ping till it blows!! if anything soak a rag in gassoline and set it over the intake alot safer! old school mechanic trick learned from a union diesel mechanic

 

Most people that destroy their engines with ether is because they used too much. This is why some big trucks in very cold climates have AUTOMATIC ether injection systems.

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not ether injection, its alcohol injection the same consept just safer

 

It's ether they use. In cold climates they use alcohol in the air system.

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yup they sure do. the 6bt can use it too!

http://www.aeroservicios.com/system/...%20Cummins.pdf

look at the engine specifications on the second page. "Automatic cold weather ether start" i know its a genset but its still a 6bt.

ether is not the boogieman. used properly it will get a frozen diesel engine running when it is not! use it improperly you better bump up your limit on your credit card.

yes intake heaters and ether DO NOT MIX!! that being said, i have used ether on 7.3/6.0 psds, other navistar engines, cats, and others with heaters/glowplugs many many times and i havent blown one up yet. navistar engines (dont know about the new maxforce ones) dont cycle the heater after they go off. if you wait a minute or two for them to cool off the ether wont flash fire in the intake. gm diesels like 6.5l and cummins engines cycle the heaters after the engine has started so you would have to disable the heater circuit to use a starting aid safely.

you should disable the heater on any engine with electric starting aids before using ether as an extra percaution extra couple minutes of work worth it

yes ether is not GOOD for an engine, but freezing to death in a parking lot or paying for a tow is worse in my opinion

you only need a little bit, too much and you will dry out cylender walls (many starting fluids supposedly contain upper cyl lubricant though) and risk hydrolocking the engine. you should spray it in short bursts while cranking the engine. ether cans used to spray in a solid stream like a can of lube. in the last few years they changed it to a mist spray. if it comes out in a stream you need to be very stingy with it or you will use too much. if it comes out in a mist you can be more generous. too little is better then too much

i personally would risk it if it is rarely used. starting it every day for a year with a hand held can of ether, ya your probably going to do damage.

im sure lots of people will say im an idiot and a liar. but im not. they will be the ones in the winter waiting for a tow truck in a parking lot, and i will be the one blowing smoke that being said my truck starts 10 F not plugged in (cant) with two weak batteries no problem.

 

Agreed ether is not HORRIBLE. But you need to be cautious with it I do belive engines can become ether babys if you use it all the time. My cummins has started in -29 F with powersevice in the fuel, and unpluged no problem.

 

i had a regular customer with a f 650 with a 12v with a bad solenoid on the pump, had to lift the hood and lift the lever every time you started it, guy would never want to fix it, been doing that for 2 years...

 

i got nothin to back it up but i totally agree with you there. i bet if used too much over time would prob result in lower compression from cylender walls dryhumpin the pistons too much

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LOL! well at least no one would steal it. solenoid goes on mine i'll be spending $20 on a choke cable. im cheap but im also lazy. no hood poping for me

when i was looking for a link to prove that a 6bt could handle ether i found a marine site that recommended plugging the intake while cranking the engine so it would be cranking a vacuum and crank faster then uncover it while it was still cranking so the air would rush in and cause it to fire. it would prob flood but it might be something to try in a pinch. the cylenders would prob build a little more heat i could see it working

 

#1 if this is a 24 valve the compression ratio is something like 16.5:1 12 valve is 14:1 i believe, The oldest trick in the book for starting any diesel is the gasoline trick, and the plain old crank it for 15 sec then wait, then wait some more, it spreads the heat inside the cylinders around into piston and cylinder walls, next crank I'll guarantee it'll at least start to shudder, unless you outta fuel but with a element type heater like above said, gas/ether it may/will explode and before you do that let me run first.idk if these ppl in here that said to use ether ever work on a diesel engine, but i do, and this is what results, pic attached.

Dumb asses, even on your old tractor ether is a last resort, the cold crank heat spread is EXTREMELY effective way of starting a cold motor. Even works on Detroits with the short amount of time the fuel is in the cylinder.
Also the 6BT ether injection system is only used on lower compression engines heavy equipment gnereators etc. Dodge wanted power so cummins upped it by compression ratio, and is injected after the preheater right into the intake manifold.