Ive had a look through a few questions on the site and it appeares threre is a lot of diesels with the same cold starting problem including my own 1996 escort diesel van,
I changed the heater plugs first,checked the heater relay,changed air and fuel filters,tested power going to the heater plugs but got nowhere,
If there is somebody out there that can help us diesel owners as to what to check for or what the problem is that they have encounterd and overcome please leave answers on this page first so everybody can see as there is so many people with the same common fault,most of the diesels appeare to have the same components,
Pleeeese help to clear this anoyying problem once and foreall.
Thanx

mark, January 2006

not quite same problem here mine will fire up first go then die.then have to keep foot to floor and crank till it starts ant ideas thx

steve, February 2009

ive had my 1996 escort van for 6 months now and before that i always had petrols. During these last few cold months ive been trying to find out want the problem is myself because im just not used to this diesel thing. It says in the owners manual to press the acc all the way down while starting teh engine but i find it start alot quicker if i dont and if it is realy cold let the heater plugs warm 2-3 times before starting the engine

simmo, March 2007

Could the engine pressure be too low? Diesels have to have a decent amount of pressure for combustion or they wont start.

Faisal, February 2006

If you are sure the glow plugs are coming on for the time period required and the rpms are met for crank up the only other thing is air in the fuel lines meaning you have a leak or a bad fuel pump letting the fuel drain back in the tank over nite and your having to let the fuel pump draw back up the fuel to the injection pump as if you have run out of fuel ......or possible a faulty injection pump .....its not that the diesel has the same problems but there are alot of problems with cold start on diesels ....especially on car diesels for some reason that trucks don`t incounter ....might try a block heater but no starting fluid ....can cause damage to engine ..

bg, January 2006