92 F-250 Diesel not turning over

[r3divory]

I turn my ignition on and wait for the wait to start light to go out, then i hear the glow plugs clicking. I finish turning the ignition and nada, no attempt to start deader than a doornail. Tested the starter and batteries are fine. The clicking seems a little sporadic, goes fast and slow. Any help would be appreciated.

[FastTeen]

have you tried putting cetane boost in the tank so the fuel doesn't gel? have you tried using diesel 911? it's sold at auto parts stores. it's in a red bottle and says diesel 911 on it. it's for when diesel fuel gels up.

how long has it been since the glow plugs were replaced or a top end overhaul was done.

last time it was started, was it putting out white smoke of any kind? if it's been several hundred thousand miles sine the last top end was done then it's probably losing compression.

an old army trick that I learned is to hit the "wait to start" light a couple of times to "super heat" the cylinder. those hummvee are P.O.S.

[FNA]

Far as I can tell, the OP does not have a fuel gel or "top end" problem. It appears he is saying that the starter doesn't crank, which indicates a starter battery connections problem.

Let's be sure of this before offering advice.

r3divory, when you say "no attempt to start deader than a doornail" do you mean that nothing at all happens when you turn the key to engage the starter motor?

I got into trouble here before trying to nail down certain "terms of art", because accurate communication is key in attempting to diagnose automotive problems 'by typewriter'.

An engine that "will not turn over" is an engine that is not "cranking", IOW the crankshaft is not being turned by the starter motor, the pistons thus are not moving up and down, cams and valves are not moving etc and no other systems of the engine are involved.

If the starter motor is operating and has properly engaged the flywheel, the engine will be turning over (driven by the running starter motor), all those actions described above (and more) are happening. The engine may not be running, but it is turning over. It is also called "cranking" because that's what was done before the electric start - one put a crank (handle) in the end of the crankshaft and manually gets the engine to "turn over"

So, back to question 1 - is this truck engine turning over or not turning over?