flexneck
Registered User
hi there
i'm a noob to this site, and have spent my last few evenings after work and messing with my truck here to trying to figure out whats wrong with my old *******. after learning a lot more than i ever wanted to know about the basics of the IH 6.9, i finally have it down to the following situation:
at first, the truck would not start as soon as it dropped below freezing at night. i went to the obvious, check the glowplugs - note: they are bypassed, as in i have a toggle on the dash that directly energizes the relay. all the wires are messy, but i have continuity and at least power to all of them, i replaced one that was not working. so even if the wires are not the greatest, i figure i have a tleast 6 out of 8 working at the moment. initially, after doing all this and charging the batteries, it fired up right away.
then, 2 days and a few trips later, first the temp & oil gauges went all the way to the left (H), and stuck there. i stopped, tried to shut her off, and noticed that she slowly stalled, as opposed to immediatly shutting down - obviously the FSS was not actuated properly. opened the hood, checked all hoses, released pressure on the rad - everything nice and warm, but no steam or anything indicating that she REALLY was overheating or squeezing oil out the top. got back in, fired her up - no sweat, but still funky gauges, and reeally slow and wimpy turnsignal indicators on the the dash (dunno how /if the signals were working, was driving with no companion)
then, stop at the jobsite, shut her down (same slow stall instead of immediate shut-off), do my thing, come back about 45mins later and turn the key. nothing. like, zilch, nada, nix, DUH. all i see is the glowplug light come on. BUT remember, my g'plugs are bypassed, and i didnt turn them on, cuz she still would have been warm - normally, shes good to start in cool weather for about 2 hours at least with a warm block without using the g'plugs.
so now im REALLY worried. i try the hazards & headlights - nothing on the headlights, nothing on the exterior lights on the hazards either, BUT the bloody glowplug light starts flashing with relay clicking - all this with the key in the off position. with it in on, the hazards do nothing at all, not even flash the damn glowplug light.
so now im not only worried, but depressed - i messed with wires, wiggled cables and took apart half the dash without avail. called the AAA guys, buddy comes, laughs at my rats nest of wiring under the hood, tells me he's not gonna touch it (cant blame him) and just jumps the old girl straight from the starter solenoid. BLAM,cough, belch, and shes running like a champ. i run to the dash, and check it out, everything is kinda on, pulsing with the alternator at idle, but nonetheless, its kinda there - the gauges are still pegged at (H), but shes running. so i peel out, drive straight home and shut her off - shuts down "OK", just a little lag, and on trying, starts again within a minute or so.
then i go home, after losing a half-day of work, and spend my evening here, on Oilburners.
so today, the morning after all this, i go to apply my new knowledge about the ominous ignition-switch issue on these trucks, and check whats going on with my key/switch position. turns out, if carefully place it on "ON", everything looks good (gas-gauge comes on, lights nice and solid etc.) - if its a little off, it gets weird. so there is something up with it, but it does actuate the starter, and returns to its proper position mostly when released. starter cranks strong to, g'plugs seem to do it, at least the blower motor gets noticeably slower when i turn 'em on - BUT she wont fire now, just a little cough here and there. the FSS rod is a little sticky, but not serious, and helping it out all the way is not making a difference.
i'm starting to lose my cool now (never mind work), and really would appreciate some good ole' advice on what the F is going here - thanks in advance for your much appreciated input!
flex
i'm a noob to this site, and have spent my last few evenings after work and messing with my truck here to trying to figure out whats wrong with my old *******. after learning a lot more than i ever wanted to know about the basics of the IH 6.9, i finally have it down to the following situation:
at first, the truck would not start as soon as it dropped below freezing at night. i went to the obvious, check the glowplugs - note: they are bypassed, as in i have a toggle on the dash that directly energizes the relay. all the wires are messy, but i have continuity and at least power to all of them, i replaced one that was not working. so even if the wires are not the greatest, i figure i have a tleast 6 out of 8 working at the moment. initially, after doing all this and charging the batteries, it fired up right away.
then, 2 days and a few trips later, first the temp & oil gauges went all the way to the left (H), and stuck there. i stopped, tried to shut her off, and noticed that she slowly stalled, as opposed to immediatly shutting down - obviously the FSS was not actuated properly. opened the hood, checked all hoses, released pressure on the rad - everything nice and warm, but no steam or anything indicating that she REALLY was overheating or squeezing oil out the top. got back in, fired her up - no sweat, but still funky gauges, and reeally slow and wimpy turnsignal indicators on the the dash (dunno how /if the signals were working, was driving with no companion)
then, stop at the jobsite, shut her down (same slow stall instead of immediate shut-off), do my thing, come back about 45mins later and turn the key. nothing. like, zilch, nada, nix, DUH. all i see is the glowplug light come on. BUT remember, my g'plugs are bypassed, and i didnt turn them on, cuz she still would have been warm - normally, shes good to start in cool weather for about 2 hours at least with a warm block without using the g'plugs.
so now im REALLY worried. i try the hazards & headlights - nothing on the headlights, nothing on the exterior lights on the hazards either, BUT the bloody glowplug light starts flashing with relay clicking - all this with the key in the off position. with it in on, the hazards do nothing at all, not even flash the damn glowplug light.
so now im not only worried, but depressed - i messed with wires, wiggled cables and took apart half the dash without avail. called the AAA guys, buddy comes, laughs at my rats nest of wiring under the hood, tells me he's not gonna touch it (cant blame him) and just jumps the old girl straight from the starter solenoid. BLAM,cough, belch, and shes running like a champ. i run to the dash, and check it out, everything is kinda on, pulsing with the alternator at idle, but nonetheless, its kinda there - the gauges are still pegged at (H), but shes running. so i peel out, drive straight home and shut her off - shuts down "OK", just a little lag, and on trying, starts again within a minute or so.
then i go home, after losing a half-day of work, and spend my evening here, on Oilburners.
so today, the morning after all this, i go to apply my new knowledge about the ominous ignition-switch issue on these trucks, and check whats going on with my key/switch position. turns out, if carefully place it on "ON", everything looks good (gas-gauge comes on, lights nice and solid etc.) - if its a little off, it gets weird. so there is something up with it, but it does actuate the starter, and returns to its proper position mostly when released. starter cranks strong to, g'plugs seem to do it, at least the blower motor gets noticeably slower when i turn 'em on - BUT she wont fire now, just a little cough here and there. the FSS rod is a little sticky, but not serious, and helping it out all the way is not making a difference.
i'm starting to lose my cool now (never mind work), and really would appreciate some good ole' advice on what the F is going here - thanks in advance for your much appreciated input!
flex