Trouble starting diesel

[SoTXAg06]

Sounds stupid but check your batteries and connections. My had a similar issue and it was battery related.

This! My old dodge did the same thing in cold weather. My terminals were corroded, and the primary battery was a little weak. Fixed both and all issues wee resolved.

[CentexRancher]

Its glow plug related most likely considering its a ford and im assuming a 96..? So first thing would be your glow plug relay, 19$ part. Just go ahead and change it if youve never done so. Im pretty sure thats your problem, however with the age of the truck its glow plugs probably dont have all that much life anyways. But definitely just change the glow plug relay and it should do the trick hopefully.

[cashcropper]

Battery needs to be able to spin engine 250 rpm for reliable start. Glow plug relay-replace it cause you will eat up 20$worth of your time wondering if thats it,glow plugs can be checked to see if they are good. Do you get a wait to start light? If 2 or more glow plugs are bad it will default and kick out of glow plug heat up cycle. Have you tried the cold start cycle? Also,it does not take much of an injector o ring leak to cause problems. Normally it will start then die and be hard to restart if thats the case.

[Old Bald Guy]

Glow plug relay. Super easy fix

99% chance this is your problem.

[dope hunter]

What year model is your truck and is is running really rough after it starts??