Zd29s vs Zd9s...for the inquiring mind...

captain720

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Wow these things really really cook, that was after about 8 seconds and you could feel the heat from a ways away.
 

david85

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They're probably fine. Most multimeters aren't very accurate at the low resistance end (say, less than 1 ohm). For that, you would need a ductor (mili-ohm meter), something most of don't have access to.
 

DaveBen

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What is important is there is continuity and not zero ohms. Zero ohms is an OPEN circuit and that is NOT GOOD!
 

david85

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What is important is there is continuity and not zero ohms. Zero ohms is an OPEN circuit and that is NOT GOOD!
Open circuit would be infinite ohms, which is the opposite of zero ohms. It might show zero on an open circuit, but it's actually infinite (depending on the meter).
 

DaveBen

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YOU are correct! It is infinite ohms. Zero ohms is a short circuit or a direct connection.
 

snicklas

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One other thing with meters, is you do get what you pay for.

I have a Fluke that I use and am VERY protective of (is stored in the house, in a cabinet and NO ONE is allowed to touch it (LOL)). It will read a glow plug.... the $20 meters from Harbor Freight... not so much.....

But for just general troubleshooting, like chasing voltage, I have a cheap meter, that way if something happens to it... not as big a deal... if I am chasing "12 volts" if it read 11.4 or 12.8 because it isn't all that accurate, oh well.. it tells me what I need to know. But something like measuring glow plugs, I will use the Fluke....
 

IDIBRONCO

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One other thing with meters, is you do get what you pay for.
DEFINITELY!
I have a Fluke that I use and am VERY protective of (is stored in the house, in a cabinet and NO ONE is allowed to touch it (LOL)). It will read a glow plug.... the $20 meters from Harbor Freight... not so much.....
Same here except for the stored in the house part.
 

IDIBRONCO

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, they pass the test light test fine
I'm not a big fan of the test light method. All it will tell you is whether it's burned out or not. It won't tell you if a glow plug is out of spec and about to burn out. A test light is fine for a quick check, but I won't use one when I want to know if a glow plug needs to be replaced soon.
 

captain720

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I did use a high end fluke meter to test them when I put them in 6 months ago and I was testing with a Klein today that’s likely the actual culprit here
 

david85

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To get accurate readings <1ohm, you need a milli-ohm meter, sometimes called a ductor. We use them to measure generator winding resistance for maintenance records at my work. Never had use for one at home and they are usually very expensive compared to a regular multimeter (even when compared to a fluke).

In my experience I've found that glow plugs generally either work or they don't, without much time transitioning from good to bad. So if you get close to a dead short, it's probably good. If it's bad, it's probably going to read as an open circuit. That may not be everyone else's experience though.
 

Reggie f250

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I had some glow plug problems. Tested with a test light and they showed good. But a few starts later they were dead. I tested them again with a Vicegrip across the battery terminals. It's easy to see which ones work.
 

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ttman4

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I had some glow plug problems. Tested with a test light and they showed good. But a few starts later they were dead. I tested them again with a Vicegrip across the battery terminals. It's easy to see which ones work.
I think I know @Reggie f250 but please clarify how you do it with the Vicegrips and the battery. Thanks

And on Edit: I see that @captain720 is also doing the testing with the battery and pliers. How you guys hooking to the battery etc etc.
Thanks
 
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