Hiya guys and gals, I hope someone can help me here. I have an 08 Grand Voyager that does not want to start when its cold unless I use some easy start spray. I have checked the Glow Plugs and they are all ok, I have also checked the Voltage to the Glow plugs on start of the car and there is no voltage at all. So i went to check the relays on the bench and they all (theres 3) click when given 12 volts and they make the connection between the two other terminals.

What am i doing wrong?, what should i be checking for?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Graham

 

The relays may be good(you BENCH TESTED them), BUT they need to have a power source to work from where they are plugged in. Check your fuses and fuse panel.

 

Sorry I should of said, all fuses are good.

 

Start her and check the battery voltage when running. If it isn't around 14.4 volts, it's undercharging.
New battery would hide the issue for a while, but it'll happen again. My first GV could kill a battery in 18 months with under charging.

 

Hi, I did check it and its giving out around 14v when running. Ive even had the fuse unit out to check all the connections and there all clean, i used contact cleaner just in case.

 

I'm going to go "out on a limb" here, as we don't have the Diesel motor here in the "Colonies" and my modern diesel knowledge is limited.
One way or another you need to first determine if power is reaching the glow plugs. If YES then it is NOT a glow plug issue, and from first posting I would question injector pressure/spray(from what I've read there is a low and high pressure fuel pump)and they may be "bleeding down between initial starts.
If NO power at the glow plugs, then one needs to find the break. I've heard of lots of various Doge/MOPAR TIPM problems due to the printed circuit board inside of them. My own 04 T&C had a problem I just fixed for loss of horn from a broken ground pathway on the printed circuit board of the TIPM. Proper fix usually calls for new TIPM...For the horn I made an external wire splice to the affected wire harness to the circuit board, bypassing the bad printed board pathway. You MAY have something similar going on with yours for the glow plug system. It takes a thorough wiring schematic and ability to intewrpret them to follow them out and make a repair if another TIPM is not a doable option.
GOOD LUCK!

 

When you say around, what's the actual reading. Mines was 13.8 to 13.9 and it was too low. Done the button mod and got a constant 14.4. Made all the difference

 

Maybe I'm missing something between the Queens English and American English...
BUT what the heck does charging system rates have to do with hard cold start on a diesel? The OP never said anything about the BATTERY GIVING OUT while it was being cranked to start......

 

Having had 2 grand voyager diesels, a 2.5 and a 2.8, if it's undercharging (had it with both), it can give you issues when it's colder.
They need a minimum rate of turnover to supply fuel I believe, so once the battery isn't at full capacity, this starts to show up as a difficult to start problem (or every winter in my case).
As it's harder to start, the battery gets juiced even more, and the alternator isn't putting enough charge back into the battery, so it gets progressively worse.
Replacing the battery, or fully charging it, or even a decent run, will mask the issue for a while.
All the time, this is screwing the battery. I put in a warranty claim for one, it was originally something like 880cca. They put the battery on the manufacturers charger when I made the claim, and found it was now only 420cca.

The battery mod gave me 14.4v, no further issues.

 

@Scotsman4th , Thanks for the ENGLISH lecture on batteries. I have had and worked with MANY of the OLD VW Golf/Rabbit Diesels(1977-1981) in my past. I know very well of CCA and motor "spin over to fire" needs of Diesels. BUT the OP stated NO POWER to glow plugs and said nothing of "slow cranking" as the point of my reply.
YES you have a valid point, but I was going by posted information. PERHAPS the OP is reading along and will respond with a bit more information to "clarify" things so more accurate help can be given.