wont start

[Sergei]

Update, in case anyone is curious.
I replaced the battery and one of the cable ends/ connectors. It cranked right up...................the first time and the rest of the day.
Didn't crank it for a couple of days because of more rain, then tried, and it would just spin, no SOUNDS of it cranking, or firing. I used a very small squirt of starting fluid and it cranked right up. Yesterday was in the 40's and low 50's and I gave it a try again. It started out just spinning again until I put the throttle lever up to about half way.......turned the glow plugs on 3 or 4 times and it started up after just a couple of, what i would call, rotations, then it would crank easily again. So, to me, the only progress is not having to charge the battery anymore. Which I'll take for starters......
In my unejumacated opinion.........it doesn't seem to be getting fuel...hence the spinning but not firing. How off base am I?

and thanks for all the suggestions and help and......

If the engine is cranking then you should see some smoke coming from the exhaust and the fan should be turning. Glow plugs not needed to start it, once theres enough cranking speed it should fire. You'll get black smoke out exhaust as it heats the fuel before it fires a couple times. At your temperatures you could try without the glow plugs.
If the fan not turning mostly a bad starter motor.
Besides other possible reasons, hard starting could also be due to low fuel, check your fuel filter being clogged and maybe you might check the lines for a air leak on the suction side, the lines from the fuel filter and injection pump are tight.You most likely will not see any fuel leakage being on the suction side, but it could be sucking in air.

 

[Atlfinfan]

When you say spinning is the engine turning over?
or the starter is spinning but not turning the engine over?

Engine is turning over. Sorry for not being clear. Everything SOUNDS like it's going to fire right up, but .....

to add........yesterday, it was in the 50's here and very windy, but I did the multiple 'glow plug' thing and it fired right up again.

I mentioned in the OP that I heard the fuel gurgling when turning on the glow plugs, but that isn't correct. That's how I remembered it, but it was a ticking sound.

Some of you guys have GOT to be laughing by now.......I actually went to the local tech collage to see about taking an 'engine fixing' class (even a small engine class), but they said I had to do the English, History, etc. classes first. Not interested in that.

 

[RNeumann]

You’ve been given several ideas about what to check. What have you tested? Have you verified the manifold heater is heating up. Have you tested how long it has to sit before it takes multiple manifold heater cycles to start? Have you had the battery tested? Etc etc etc

 

[BlackOps]

you would be amazed and what a new proper battery does for the start!

 

[Sergei]

The ticking sound is your glow plug timer. Also try looking on Ebay or if you have a local used book store check for used class books on diesel repair from the tech school.

I know you"ve replaced the battery with a new one, but did you have your old battery tested?

Also since we been talking battery issue, have you taken a voltmeter and checked the output of the alternator for output of 14.2-14.6?

 

[Atlfinfan]

You致e been given several ideas about what to check. What have you tested? Have you verified the manifold heater is heating up. Have you tested how long it has to sit before it takes multiple manifold heater cycles to start? Have you had the battery tested? Etc etc etc

Only thing I have done is the new battery and cable end. I have watched a few YouTube videos to see how to do some of the other things. I think it was a combination of......bad battery and user error/ lack of knowledge. As Sergei advised....Glow plugs not needed to start it, once theres enough cranking speed it should fire. You'll get black smoke out exhaust as it heats the fuel before it fires a couple times. At your temperatures you could try without the glow plugs......
I did not know cranking speed would do it like that. I tried that yesterday and it worked. I hadn't been doing that previously because of trying not to drain the battery to much. I'm hoping it's fixed and was a ME problem. I will buy a trickle charger and use that soon. I will also go over this thread and try to learn how to do the things suggested.

BlackOps......you are right about new battery.

Sergei.......I did not get the old battery tested.