If the timer you have looks like a starter relay it is located at the back of the engine close to the fire wall. There is a little plastic cover over it that you can pry off with a screw driver. It has 2 large and 2 small wire posts on it. I had to replace the one on my brothers truck the other week. Hope this helps.
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Many things to check. Wonder if this work was done to alleviate problem or problem was from doing the work.
Putting gas fumes in a 21:1 compression cylinder is sure way to ruin engine.
2 possible problems are losing your diesel fuel draw from an air leak in the fuel lines and an inoperative glow plug timer.
When you change a fuel filter you lose the vacuum lock that is in the fuel lines. Some mechanics add fuel to the new filter to remove some of the air and promote fuel draw. The O rings on the injector lines are a special type which resists petroleum products. Using cheap O rings will cause problems.
Glow plug timer-there is a power Relay to the timer and the timer itself is a type of Relay. You should hear clicking noise and lights should dim as timer provides power to the glow plugs.
Other things to check would be the Vacuum pump as Diesels work differently than gas engines and require a pump to supply Vacuum. Covering the intake suggests engine needs a Vacuum draw.
Weak fuel pump. Too weak to pressurize or draw fuel. Can be measured with pressure gauges.
Really bad rings could also cause symptoms.
Would be interested knowing what proved to be wrong.
Check for fuses first. The Glowplug timer is the proper name for the part that responds to Temperature when starting your engine. When the engine is cold, of course it is on longer and can cycle making a click and intermittently dimming the lights on your truck. When the engine is warm, your gowplugs may not even fire as the engine is using compression alone to fire up.
Also, Ford did make a Severe Weather model that kept the glowplugs on longer. If you stay in Alaska or a climate with consistent subzero temperatures you may need it.
I know for some models that Ford had another Diesel timer for the glowplugs for severe weather. This timer was meant to keep the glowplugs on longer.
I had an 87 Ford Diesel and the top wires on the timer were tight and clean. For some reason when I loosened them and retightened the wires the timer worked better.
Many truckers use a Diesel additive and usually the fuelstops have modified Diesel for cold climates. I understand there is a Cetane rating for Diesel and Premium Diesel may help.
This may not person to your question. A friend familiar with diesels takes out the automatic electric timed feed to the glowplugs, installs a manual momentary switch to energize the glow plug warm up power. His theory is timer problems, to eliminate the timer and use the glow plug manually.
Bad glow plugs and/or glow plug controller. Common issue with these vehciles. Some also have harness failures. Replace all glow plugs as a set not individually.
The relay should cost about $35-45. A common Ford Starter relay can be used in place of the official glow plug relay. All that is required is a relay with terminals that have 5/16 or 3/8 terminals and can carry about 150-200 amps. When all 8 glow plugs turn on, it draws about 150 amps is all. There are two relays for the 7.3 diesel. One energizes the glow plugs and the other energizes a heating element in the air intake. That one is used to help eliminate white smoke while warming up and is turned on and off by the engine computer. It is usually only called for when the temperature is 20 degrees F or lower. Otherwise only the glow plug relay works.
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