a little shot isn't going to cause that.

no but after a while it ruins rings...

either way its not good.

Never... Never... Never use any kind of starting fluid on a glow plug fired diesel. If the glow plugs are working it can lead to bent pushrods, bent valves, blown head gaskets... any number of bad and expensive things.

Fix the issue, dont make it worse.

Check your glow plug relay, UVC harness and glow plugs. I have never had an issue starting any of the 5 7.3's I have had at temps below -20. Turn key on, wait for about 30 seconds and fire.

I also added a glow plug light to my A pillar, it is on the cold side of the glow plug relay. When the relay is closed, the light is on, when the relay is open the light is off. Cheap, easy way to make sure your GPR is working.

change your relay i have a 99 power stroke and had the same problem your relay is going bad but its not bad yet, change it and youll be happy.

I am aware it's not the best thing to do in a motor with GP's but, in 6 winters I've not had a problem. My 7.3 is in a E350 and I wouldn't think there's much of a difference in a 7.3 in a F-350 besides the turbo and lack of IC. You're correct... try and fix the problem but, when you do that and still have trouble.... it helps to get you going.

Its just very unsafe. I have done it as well, but only on a known dead GPR or by unhooking it myself.

Same thing can happen with a Grid heater on a 5.9, just most times it comes right back at you threw the intake...LOL

HAHAHA my buddy burnt his eyebrows off that way!! lol

Hi...First time post...been lurking around for a few days now, and I'm impressed with all the knowledge put into words on this site. I just read the "chip" post, WOW...all I will say is, I appreciated the good debating going on there from BOTH sides, I learned a lot about tuners. I never knew there were so many other tuners out there that are probably a lot better than my 6yr old Hyper-Tech, I will be asking more questions on that later.
I have a 2000 F350 7.3 with 62 thousand miles on it.....My question is.... I to just started having a problem with it starting in just 30 and 40 degree temps. Never have I ever had a problem with this engine starting in cold temps (much colder than 30 & 40 degrees) I live in the UP of Michigan and on top of all that, I have NEVER plugged it in, and it ALWAYS still started after the "wait" light went off however, just recently it became very hard to start when left to sit to cool down or sit over night. Once you do start it then it starts great after that as long it doesn't sit long enough to get cold. I checked my GPR, and with the key off I have no power to either stud, with the key on and the wait light cycled off, I have power to both studs and they both read 10 volts, if this sounds normal what else should I look for. What do you mean when you say check the UVC harness and how do I go about checking the glow plugs.
Any and all help will be greatly appreciated:tu:

Sounds to me you have a glow plug relay issue. Get a test light, hook one end to a good ground and then with a friend, check each side with the key off (one side should be hot and the other not) and again with the key on. Check each side of the GPR (there are two relays, the one closest to the firewall is the glow plug relay). If you do not get power to the other side with the key on, the relay is dead.

You can get a good replacement at Napa, part number GPR109... DO NOT ask for a glow plug relay for a powerstroke, the price will go from 30 bucks to over 90...

OK....Thanks CSIPSD....Well, I now know I checked the wrong relay, I checked the one closest to the radiator. I am going out there in a little bit to re-check the GPR again. Should I have power on any of the studs of the GPR with the key off aside from the main power lead, and then what should the volt reading be on the studs should they read the same as the main power lead (12v) or a little less .
I will let you know what I find.