Cold starting problems...

[mpascino]

Hey guys, Typical cold starting problems but heres the catch. The starter, batteries, glow plugs, and controller have all been reciently replaced and are all in perfect working order. The glow plugs cycle just as they should. It has really been getting cold aroung here at night. How can I hook a push button up to my grow plug controler to turn the plugs on by myself? I have the desiel hand book here but it isn't much help. My suburban is a 91. Currently I do no thave a block heater because some idiot from GM didn't put it back in when the motor was worked on. I really don't have anywhere to plug it in at night anyway so I never complained about it, but now it would be really nice to have. Anyone have any suggestions? Thanks for the help,
Mike

The jeep eater ......jeep it's what's for dinner

 

[OFFRDK5]

1. I run 150 ft of cord just to plug mine in. It helps alot. Not sure about your year, but do you have an advance on your timing? That will affect things. What about your fuel? Do you run any additives? Stanadyne would be my choice. How cold is it where you are at now? What kind of glow plugs did they put in? There are different kinds. If they put 60's in your glow plugs aren't cycling long enough. 14's you should be good. 9's are a PITA. I had mine replaced and the next day had no glow plugs.

2. Nice sig

SK-15
J**P...it's whats for dinner!
Roads? Where we're going, we don't need any roads!
If it wasn't for bad luck I would have no luck at all!!

 

[mpascino]

Hehe,
1. Sorry about the sig, I've had that for a while and never noticed before, hope theres no hard feelings...

2. I got off my tail today and tested the glow plugs again. I changed them myself last time and I know they WERE all good. Now three are bad. I used autolight 1110 glow plugs, thats what they gave me and me trusting parts counter guys too much well.....Do you have any idea what type of plugs these are, I can't seem to figure that part out. 9g, 60g? I haven't been able to find the 14's you spoke of, any ideas where to find them?
Thanks for all the help,
Mike

The jeep eater ......

 

[OFFRDK5]

No hard feelings....change the sig back...I don't mind if you have it. There are others on the site that have it. The more people that know it the more scared they will be when they have a rig with 44's and 12' of lift coming up on them!!
I don't know much about autolight gp's. The 9, 14, and 60s are all AC Delco plugs. I would call your local parts store...NAPA, CarQuest, AutoZone, PepGirls, Advance Auto Parts....and ask them if they carry em.
No prob for the help...thats what this site is for.


SK-15
J**P...it's whats for dinner!
Roads? Where we're going, we don't need any roads!
If it wasn't for bad luck I would have no luck at all!!

 

[calcide]

Today I installed a new set 60G glow plugs and a manual relay (ford starter solenoid) and a push button. Today was also the FIRST time ever that it started easily from a dead cold. I energized the glow plugs for about 10 seconds and then cranked. Now I'll find out how long the 60gs will last with a naughty manual override...

BTW, all my old glow plugs (11g) were still good, but it was very hard to start when cold. Soon I hope to install the newer controller.

<font color=red>When in doubt, empty the magazine. </font color=red>
<a target="_blank" href=http://www.geocities.com/calcide>http://www.geocities.com/calcide</a>
1983 K5 Blazer Silverado, 6.2L Diesel

 

[Tybee]

Im going to have to try that mine has problems starting, itll start but it taks awhile. The diesel page did a review on the 60gs and I think left them on for minutes with out them burning up.

1984 GMC Jimmy 379 diesel, 700R4, 3.73s, 31x10.50 x 15

 

[calcide]

It was the 11g plug that lasted for several minutes. The 60g plug lasted for several hours and still didn't burn out. They also said the 9g plug is good for about 15 seconds.

In case anyone cares, I powered an 11g and a 60g at the same time with the same voltage source, and the 60g took about a second longer to glow red.

<font color=red>When in doubt, empty the magazine. </font color=red>
<a target="_blank" href=http://www.geocities.com/calcide>http://www.geocities.com/calcide</a>
1983 K5 Blazer Silverado, 6.2L Diesel

 

[Tybee]

Hey, even better. where did you get yours and how much were they. Why a ford solenoid, any specific reason?


1984 GMC Jimmy 379 diesel, 700R4, 3.73s, 31x10.50 x 15

 

[calcide]

I got the 60g plugs at autozone for $68 for the set, including tax. The ford starter solenoid is about $7. It is a wells part number F496. I used it because the glow plugs draw a lot of current (120 amps), and the solenoid will handle it. It's a bad idea to try to run that much current straight through a switch alone. To switch it, it needs 12V to the "S" terminal. The solenoid will energize the glow plugs as long as 12V is applied there, then switch off when the "S" power is cut off. Wire your momentary switch to the battery (through a fuse) on one side, then to the "S" terminal on the other.

It's working well for me so far, I forgot to plug the truck in last night and this morning it started easily. I still plan on upgrading to the newer controller (85-93 setup), but I will also keep my manual switch wired in, too.

<font color=red>When in doubt, empty the magazine. </font color=red>
<a target="_blank" href=http://www.geocities.com/calcide>http://www.geocities.com/calcide</a>
1983 K5 Blazer Silverado, 6.2L Diesel

 

[Tybee]

Damn thats a good deal I checked with napa last year and they wanted $12 a piece for the 11gs. I was thinking about using a relay to manually lite the plugs.

1984 GMC Jimmy 379 diesel, 700R4, 3.73s, 31x10.50 x 15