another glow plug controller thread

[IDIoit]

i cannot for the life of me get this glow plug controller to work.
its bran new!
ZD9's are bran new
glow plug harness is bran new.
if i jump the solenoid, itll heat up

this is on my engine run stand.
engine is fresh with everything powder coated.
ground is directly to the battery.

ive tried several known to work GPC's and neither of them will work.

does the WTS light have any bearing on the functionality of the GPC?
its not connected.

however, the last engine i had on there worked perfect. without the WTS light.

thoughts???

 

[Shadetreemechanic]

Have you tried grounding the white wire to see if the solenoid closes then? That would isolate switch issue from controller issue. I do not believe light has any bearing on operation of unit.

 

[laserjock]

Got it wired correctly right?

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[IDIoit]

yes sir, its wired correctly

 

[franklin2]

How are you jumping the solenoid? Large terminal to large terminal? If that is how you are jumping the solenoid, then get a meter and check across the small terminals. The smaller terminal with the red wire should have 12v and the controller "brain" will ground the white wire which should make the solenoid click and let it heat the plugs.

 

[IDIoit]

it just keeps clickin.
red wire (to ign) has 12V
main has 12V
white wire will not ground by itself.
when i ground the white wire, it works.

by jumpibng i mean from 12V batt to the plug harness leads

 

[G. Mann]

Scrape some of that fancy damn powder coating off where the glow controller bolts down so the black wire actually makes ground.. betcha it will work..

Just a thought.. Over the years, I've had more electrical issues due to bad grounds than I can count.. [with my shoes on anyway.. ]

 

[IDIoit]

Scrape some of that fancy damn powder coating off where the glow controller bolts down so the black wire actually makes ground.. betcha it will work..

Just a thought.. Over the years, I've had more electrical issues due to bad grounds than I can count.. [with my shoes on anyway.. ]

the ground for the GP controller is grounded on the bolt, and another wire going to the battery,
black is grounded.

 

[laserjock]

If I remember right, the controller pulls the white wire to ground to activate the relay. If it's not doing that, then I would say either the controller isn't grounded well enough or its bad. Grounding the white wire or post its on on the relay should heat the plugs. I think the red wire is switched ignition power.

 

[IDIoit]

guess ill try another ground source tomorrow

 

[OLDBULL8]

If your grounding the WHITE wire and it works (Relay pulls in) then either the BLACK wire is not grounding or the controller is defective internally

when i ground the white wire, it works.

Are you saying the GP's heat up when doing that? Or that the relay just keeps clicking?

 

[IDIoit]

If your grounding the WHITE wire and it works (Relay pulls in) then either the BLACK wire is not grounding or the controller is defective internally.

is not the battery an acceptable place for a ground?

or should it be grounded to the block?
didnt think it would matter, a ground is a ground...
the run stand has 2 separate grounds 1 to each battery.

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[IDIoit]

Are you saying the GP's heat up when doing that? Or that the relay just keeps clicking?

when i jump the white wire to the ground from the bolt, thats grounded, it works.
if i dont, it just keeps clicking...


now we would all agree that the controller is bad at this point, but the last controller i used came off an engine that was working properly, and did the same thing...

 

[franklin2]

If the controller is clicking the solenoid, then the brain is awake and working and grounding the white wire on and off. But it sounds like it's confused. It is easily confused by bad glowplugs, bad connections in the glowplug wiring at the glowplugs, and glowplug grounding.

The brain reads the voltage that is developed across the silver strapping on the controller. The strapping has a very small resistance, and as more or less current is drawn through the strap, it will have more or less voltage across it. When the glowplugs are cold, they draw a lot of current, this makes a larger voltage drop and the brain sees this and keeps the plugs glowing. As they get hotter they draw less current, the brain sees less voltage across the strap, so it starts cutting the plugs on and off.

But if you have a bad glowplug, the system will draw less current, so the brain cycles the relay prematurely. If you have resistance in the wiring, the system will draw less current, and that fools the brain also to just cycle the plugs and not glow them constantly.

 

[laserjock]

Are you sure the hot switch connection is good?