1kzte hard start first thing - problem solving

Ive had hiace super customs for 11yrs now - in australia and now usa.  I recently upgraded my 93 2wd gasser to a 95 4wd diesel.
Had the timing belt, tensioner, idler, water pump, thermostat, glow plugs, fuel oil and air filters changed, full oil change, and new AT tires.

Flew to pick the van up, drove 8hrs forst day..... next morning wouldnt start.  Took 10 min and 6-8 tries before i got it to go - then a cloud of smoke from the diesel deposited in the exhaust system.

Same thing next day and the one after til i finally got home  (18hrs drive altogether).  I never got to cold start the vehicle at pick up as it had been taken for the tire install that morning.

Van drives smooth, idles at 700-800rpm.

Yesterday i changed the battery from the exsisting 720cca to a 850cca as the crank was slow to nothing now hoping that would solve the problem.

Glow plugs are getting power - tested all yesterday and they read 12.4v each and 1.2-1.8 ohms.

Glow plug light on dash goes out in less than 0.5 sec when i put key in, but i think i hear the relay turn off several seconds after that (little click).

Ive never had a diesel before, and my mechanical knowledge is somewhat limited in regards to confidently pulling things apart myself.

I went looking for the g.p relay yesterday which i know is somewhere behind the glove compartment but i couldnt locate it.   But could it even be this if the plugs are getting power?

Help a diesel newbie!  I dont want to be attempting to start this multiple times every time i need to use it incase im damaging something

1. Check the fuel priming button for leaks, it's possible it's finding difficulty getting fuel from the tank.
When cold, slip off the fuel pipe from the filter/pump outlet and pump into a jar, just to see it gets through easily, and that the pump has no air leaks.

2. The ECU capacitors are known to degrade and leak (In left hand door pillar just above battery box, see if you can get a competent tech. to change them out. Look for my thread with details about this.

Other general things are glowplug checks, glowplug relay etc. Note that the glowplug light flicks on quickly, but in reality the glowplugs heat up for longer, listen carefully and you'll hear the relay click out. Only then, try to start.

hi, as i said, i checked the g.p already and wrote V and ohms in post, and couldnt locate the relay etc i also mentioned the click etc in the OP
also as before my mechanical knowledge is limited. VERY. i have no idea where a fuel primer is, what it looks like, how to get to it etc. :/

In your engine bay picture, look at the bottom, go 70% of the way to the RHS, and there it is!
It has a button you can press to prime the fuel. The fuel filter lives below it.

I get the white cloud out the exhaust from diesel deposited during the 5 to 6 start up attempts each morning - it dissipates within 5secs or so of starting. it's warm out today too. sunny 15c/60f.

I also had paid for a pre purchase inspection from a third party mechanic so I don't know why he didnt spot any issues.

could the new g.ps be bad?

in addition i also checked how long they hold the charge. So i tested the rail / busbar today and it read 11.2 volts, turned the key to 'on' and the 11.2 held for about 5 secs before dropping to 7v then down to zero. the drop was pretty fast.

Vague thought, has the wire come off of any of the temperature sensors? Or with all that work you had done did they forget to put any connections back on? That glowplug light seems a bit quick to me so maybe it thinks the engine is already hot when it isn't?

I have no idea. i wouldnt know where to look. The voltage test shows theyre getting power for at least 5-6 secs though

AgathaAlice wrote:

Vague thought, has the wire come off of any of the temperature sensors? Or with all that work you had done did they forget to put any connections back on? That glowplug light seems a bit quick to me so maybe it thinks the engine is already hot when it isn't?

My glowplug light only flicks on for a second or two: but the relay takes a lot longer.
I've no idea why it does this, but it seems to be a 1kz-te feature.

GPW wrote:

AgathaAlice wrote:

Vague thought, has the wire come off of any of the temperature sensors? Or with all that work you had done did they forget to put any connections back on? That glowplug light seems a bit quick to me so maybe it thinks the engine is already hot when it isn't?

My glowplug light only flicks on for a second or two: but the relay takes a lot longer.
I've no idea why it does this, but it seems to be a 1kz-te feature.

Yeah the glow plug light turns right off on mine, but the volts take 6 secs or so to drop (according to the multimeter)

can anyone direct me to the location of the CTS so i can unplug it and see if makes a diff to starting up?

What is a CTS?

coolant temperature sensor. Im literally clutching at straws lol.

im going to change the glow plugs out again on thurs also.

Ah I see.
I think there is more than one coolant sensor. One is a switch, disconnect it and the fan spins on the horizontal rad.
Another appears to be just for the gauge.

I've never discovered where the one for the ECU is. But you may be able to find it?

My glow plugs stay on after starting never timed it but must be all of 60 seconds but only when engine is cold so must have a temp sensor somewhere. Can be sure of this because I run on 90% wvo and it misfires when cold when glow plugs cut out so I turn engine of and back on then perfect , conclusion would be your glow plug control is faulty either temp sensor or relay.

One think I do on a peugeot, which seems to have very 'thick' glowplugs, is let the glowplugs have 2 or 3 warmups before I try to start the engine: they don't get hot enough after one warmup. In summer it's fine.

Worth a try to see if it affects the starting.

GPW wrote:

One think I do on a peugeot, which seems to have very 'thick' glowplugs, is let the glowplugs have 2 or 3 warmups before I try to start the engine: they don't get hot enough after one warmup. In summer it's fine.

Worth a try to see if it affects the starting.

This is what i tried initially doing this 10 times or so til i hear the relay turn off after 6 secs each time and it does nothing

JT69 wrote:

My glow plugs stay on after starting never timed it but must be all of 60 seconds but only when engine is cold so must have a temp sensor somewhere. Can be sure of this because I run on 90% wvo and it misfires when cold when glow plugs cut out so I turn engine of and back on then perfect , conclusion would be your glow plug control is faulty either temp sensor or relay.      

The relay is working fine.  But it turns off after 6 secs.  In the hiace service manual i think it said theyre timed for 6 secs but i coud be wrong.  I cant get the service manual to load as the internet is terrible as work

When it eventually starts, what colour is the cloud of smoke?

I'm trying to think of things. To start a diesel needs compression, fuel and a hot glowplug.
Not sure if the timing matters to start it.

If the smoke is black (or white) it's probably diesel, blue is oil.
Coolant level is fine? Check expansion tank for that.
How many miles on it?

GPW wrote:

When it eventually starts, what colour is the cloud of smoke?

I'm trying to think of things. To start a diesel needs compression, fuel and a hot glowplug.
Not sure if the timing matters to start it.

If the smoke is black (or white) it's probably diesel, blue is oil.
Coolant level is fine? Check expansion tank for that.
How many miles on it?

 its just a touch of white from the diesel deposited from the mutiple attempts.

Its not a head gasket - ive already had one of those on previous van so i know lol.

There is a temp sensor on the ip pump .

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2F379647639147731%2Fposts%2F1kz-te-injector-pump%2F648716075574218%2F&psig=AOvVaw0Q5TmqOmEd19O4AQr5ru6k&ust=1616658244955000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAIQjRxqFwoTCPil0oC5yO8CFQAAAAAdAAAAABAF
Link for sensor on IP pump

Im thinking you might want to double check the glow plug resistance.  You wrote that you measured 1.2-1.8 ohms on your GP.

From memory I had my good ones measuring around 0.7 ohms and factory spec is 0.72ohms @ 20C.  Anything about 1 ohm would be no good.  

If you have time, then look up on internet 1KZ-TE engine manual and find section about glow plugs there.  There you will have factory specs for glow plug resistance and how to test them.  I can provide the pdf file, but I am sure what is correct etiquette to do that on forum.  Perhaps someone can advice.

Everything else failing, remove glow plugs and attach them all in series and test them visually by glowing them about 10sec.  In 10 sec time they should be almost white from heat.  Just make sure you DO NOT test them directly from battery as that will give to many volts.  From memory HiAce I think has glow plug circuit on 11 volts for some reason.  Have your test rig rigged in a way that you feed power from original glow plug wire powering the glow plugs in engine.


I had whitish/grayish smoke when 2 of my glow plugs were not working properly for about 30-60sec when starting cold engine...

Interesting, the OP measured 12.4V at the glowplugs, perhaps 11V was from a tired battery, with connector and wiring losses into 4 at once.

Perhaps using 1m of 6amp mains lighting cord to power them with will simulate the normal resistance between the battery and the plugs.

I don't know how much they cost, but maybe worth fitting new Toyota ones regardless if they are not too expensive, just to eliminate that as an option.

I have a 96 diesel on which the glow plug current draw is insane. I think the fuse is 160A. On 3degC days I might wait 20 seconds before cranking after turning the ignition on. My understanding is that after starting the glow plugs in these after starting are still on to preheat the incoming air for up to 90 seconds after starting. If I crank too soon (not enough glow time) and it starts it does let out a big cloud of smoke!