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glow plugs or lack of

There are several quick checks you can do before starting to hack wires. You need to check the glow plugs, the controller, and the temp sender that controls when the plugs activate. It's been awhile since I did this, but even the cheapo Haynes manual had a pretty simple diagnostic tree that you could go through in a couple of minutes with a multimeter. When my glow plugs quit working I found the temperature sender was bad and always showing the engine was warm, and thus was inhibiting the operation of the glow plugs.
 
my glow plug controller doesnt work at all, the card is missing 2...i just jumpered it to a switch for the glowplugs and i heat em hold the pedal halfway down , let off swich for ten sec then on for ten sec then turn the key...when its warm out it fires right up, when its cold (30 degrees and under) its a bitch, it fires but stalls 3 times then shes running... i installed all new glow plugs and just did a 24volt to 12volt conversion..so far so good....you have any ideas y its so hard to start when its cold or is that normal with a 6.2..........?
 
ok i havent checked the temp sensor. thats the one that is supposed to be behind *8 glow plug?? cuz i did the whole manual start switch and it dont work worth a damn. if i take a wire and go from the glow plug side of the contoller or not the solenoid, and touch it to the positive battery, for like 5 seconds it works. if all i have to do is do that every morning i get up ok, but i wish i would have know that for i spent money and time doing something that dont work. im gonna check in the temp sensor,that is the only thing i didnt do, and the only wire i cut was to the glowplug light which can be soldered back, so no worries there. ok, BLAZER will the temp swich not working cause the light to not come on and the glow plugs to not work??

thanks. i love this burban but things are creeping up quick on me without notice.

matt
 
Sorry, thought I was pretty clear in my previous reply:

"When my glow plugs quit working I found the temperature sender was bad and always showing the engine was warm, and thus was inhibiting the operation of the glow plugs."

The glow plugs just do not come on automatically whenever you turn the key on, it has to sense the engine temperature is below a certain level. This sender, at least on my '90, is located on the front top of the engine by the coolant crossover pipes. If the glow plugs are not coming on, then the light saying they are on does not come on either (why did you cut it?).

This sender also controls the cold advance and fast idle which are designed to help the engine start and stay running at cold tempertures until it warms up. This might explain why it will fire but not keep running.

Again, I'm not saying this is definitely the cause of your issues but a very quick and simple thing to check.

However, this all may be a moot point because I don't really understand what you have done so far (regarding talking about jumping and bypassing wires). If you tried to do a manual glow plug controller, but still have the factory controller in-line somehow (which seems the case) then it likely will not work.
 
ok HUGEEEEEEEEEEEEEE UPDATE, first i couldnt find the temp sensor cuz its blocked off, second my "constant positive" power wasnt so constant. i hoooked a battery cable up to the controller like it should be and damn if i dont have a light and a working controller. guess the burban was pissed at me cuz she aint seen no mud in while. again THANKKKKKKKK YOUUUUUUU ALLLLLLLLL FOR THE HELP. just one of those fluke things i guess. take care

matt
 
ok im wrong again, i got a light and the controller just clicks on and off on and off then off and still wont start. ohh well.
 
What year is your truck? Do you understand how a relay works? You should not be using more than 3-4 amps through the momentary push button if setup properly.

To modify the stock system for a manual button, you simply splice into a ground wire at the relay and ground the relay through the exta momentary switch. The stock controller acts as the ground for the relay to turn it on.
 
ok maybe im doing something wrong here. ill tell you what i was doing and you let me know what i did, i dis connected the controller all together, used a ford starter solenoid, hooked positive up to one big post the glow plug wires to the other post, used a push button hooked up to the s small post, when pushing the button with the light also hooked up it blew 50amp fuses, disconnet the light and it was fine then the "positive" wires would work then wouldnt so i hooked a battery cable up to the positive side of the contoller, then the light came on and the controller clicked on and offf on and off but still wont start. maybe im not seeing the "relay" part here. what relay. since i started this i havent grounded anything. what am i supossed to ground?? what ground on the controller or a different relay that im not seeing. i love this thing but im getting ticked quickly, no one around here knows anything about diesels so im gooing out of my mind here. if you can straighten me out please do so for a pull my hair out.

matt
 
A ford starter solenoid is a relay. It contains a coil that is used to pull the circuit closed when you push a remote button.

Sounds like you are mixing terms when trying to describe what you have done already... try this. Go out to your truck and take a pic of every part your trying to describe and include those in your post. It will make it easier for us to follow what your describing and get you straightened out.
 
ok i will but just for giggles i checked the glow plugs again, as i was told, nowww i checked them by putting a test light clip on the positive side of batt pulled the connector with key off and touched the glow plug spade. a few days ago i had 8 lights, nowwwwwwww i have one light up. could they go that damn quick?? also if this is the case, could that be why shes not firing right off. im gonna replace the ones i can afford at the moment and see what happens there. if i get pics i cant post them anyways. from what i read my controller is a controller/relay all in one. the older trucks have seperate ones. mine does not, she may be warm but i just tried the burban and she started right up soo. something stupid is going on. thanks

matt
 
added note: rusty you are the man. im gonna check all that has been said, but i now know for a fact that i have 7 dead glow plugs. ehh even if that is not the problem cant hurt to change them.
 
lonebker said:
added note: rusty you are the man. im gonna check all that has been said, but i now know for a fact that i have 7 dead glow plugs. ehh even if that is not the problem cant hurt to change them.
Click to expand...

The 6.2's don't start worth a sh!t with 7 dead GP's...lol

I have Kennedy "Quick Heats right now. They work pretty good, but to be honest they don't last as long as I'd like. Seems 2 years is about it for those...AC 60G GP's are also good, but take a fair bit more time to hit full glow. Most people that have those find manual control better, because with the stock controller they won't glow long enough for easy starting. They do last a good long time though. You should be able to find GP's for well under $10 each.

I wish I still had my '85 controller to look at...either way there should be a solenoid of some description in the mix. Too much amperage involved otherwise which would kill the controller. On the earlier set-ups there is a light blue wire from the solenoid on the fender to the controller at the back of the engine. The controller grounds the blue wire when the temp is below 'X' F. Grounding the light blue wire triggers the solenoid and sends power to the GP's. The easy way to go manual control is to re-route the light blue wire to the underdash area and hook it up to a momentary push button switch. Push the button and it grounds the wire...GP's come on, as does the glow light in the dash.

Rene
 
i got alot of blue wires under the dash, as the diesel book says on my controller i have a black wire that in the pic shows as ground could that be it??

8 new glow plugs, two good batterys, tank full of diesel, when we leaving??

rusty, thanks again. she started first try no pushing the diesel pedal no nothing, up and rolling again.

take care

matt
 
yeahhhhhhhhhhh i was havin that thought after i wrote it, loooooool thanks. i do appreciate the help and will not forget it!!!

matt
 
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