Alright!! The GP controller has got to go!

Diezel_Cowboy

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kennyd said:
Yes, you can rewire the WTS light to work. But Why? You will have to cut wires out of the factory harness, and it will only light while you have the switch pushed. And I think you'll know that if your pushing the switch, you should "wait to start" anyway....Do you need a light to tell you this? cookoo

And the WTS light will be no indication that the GP's are actually glowing, as all of the plugs could be burnt out and the WTS light will still be lit. The only true indication of GP activity is a volt or amp gauge.


I would personally rather not cut up the factory harness if at all possible, but that is just me. YMMV.


Kennyd,
First of all THANK YOU! for all of your advise, It has made me very certain of what I need to do to hook this thing up to a switch.
Second, about the WTS light, I guess the reason I would like it hooked up is just as a warning that I am pressing the button. You are right about the gp's being burned out and the light will still come on, but I like to see the light come on to indicate that the button is working.
As far as cutting up the factory harness...........I have the old GP controller that I took out and it has the little plug I need for the WTS lamp on it. I will simply cut off the end and put a round crimp end on it so all i have to do is unplug it and not mess with the truck wiring. ;Sweet I am going to try and tackle this project this weekend. I will surely keep you posted about how the system works and if it solves all my hard starting problems :hail
I am going to replace any bad glow plugs before at the same time I wire up the switch so the system should be in tip top to start with.
 

Diezel_Cowboy

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:mad: Alright here is what I've did............First I checked and replaced all bad glow plugs (there were 5 bad) Then I wired in a switch in the cab to the terminal where the white wire was, and taped up the original white wire. Wired the other side of the switch to the frame.
And lastly I wired the WTS lamp wire up to the same terminal as the glow plugs.
HERE IS THE PROBLEM........when I turn the key on the wait to start light also comes on, WITH OUT pushing the newly installed button. What this means to me is that there is power going to the glow plugs and I am not even pushing the button??? Is this right? Why am i getting power to the glow plug terminal if I am not pushing the button????? Please Help because I am at a loss of any more ideas??? Anybody?
 

kennyd

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I do not think you really have power to the plugs, You only moved ONE wire for the WTS light correct?

I am not sure how the WTS circuit is originally hooked up, but I think you will have to find the other side if the circuit. It takes two wires to light a bulb, what is the other side of the bulb hooked to in the factory harness? I do not know whether it is grounded or is hooked to +12V. But I think that is your problem....

If you disconnect the WTS light, do the GP's operate correctly with the new push-button? Verify with a test-light or a voltmeter at the GPC relay.
 

Diezel_Cowboy

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kennyd said:
I do not think you really have power to the plugs, You only moved ONE wire for the WTS light correct?

I am not sure how the WTS circuit is originally hooked up, but I think you will have to find the other side if the circuit. It takes two wires to light a bulb, what is the other side of the bulb hooked to in the factory harness? I do not know whether it is grounded or is hooked to +12V. But I think that is your problem....

If you disconnect the WTS light, do the GP's operate correctly with the new push-button? Verify with a test-light or a voltmeter at the GPC relay.

Thanks for the response again kennyd!

With some questioning and help from the old man I figured it out!
I had hooked the WTS light up to the GP terminal on the controller...........well you said above what was happening is when the key is on the WTS light was coming on because it had a ground through the GP terminal ....and not because there was power at that terminal like I had thought. SO what i did to correct the problem and make things with the light work right is simply connected the WTS light wire (blue on controller black/pink from truck) to the same terminal as my switch is connected to. Now when i press the button the GP's come on (amp gauge goes down) and the WTS light comes on! :thumbsup:
So Thanks to the help of Kennyd mainly, my glow plugs should last a lot longer!
Later when i get time I may do a write up and maybe some pictures to put into a tech article to help others that may want to do the same..........I will especially do so if this works better than the factory setup and It wont take much for it to do so.
Thanks again Kennyd! ;Sweet
 

kennyd

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Great news :D

I had thought that was the trouble, but I wasn't positive how the WTS light circuit worked. Looks like you got it nailed though!

So, I don you the new manual glow plug guru :hail
 

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Diezel_Cowboy said:
I will especially do so if this works better than the factory setup and It wont take much for it to do so.
Thanks again Kennyd! ;Sweet
Let see you cookoo you replaced 5 bad glowplugs I hope it works better than the factory set up. LOL
 

Diezel_Cowboy

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kennyd said:
Great news :D

I had thought that was the trouble, but I wasn't positive how the WTS light circuit worked. Looks like you got it nailed though!

So, I don you the new manual glow plug guru :hail

Yep, I held the button for about 5 seconds this morning and she fired right up!

Yes I guess after my frustration with the WTS light, I could be considered a "guru" of sorts! :thumbsup:
 

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smokin_stroker00 said:
Let see you cookoo you replaced 5 bad glowplugs I hope it works better than the factory set up. LOL

Yeah, there were five bad, BUT they went bad a lot faster because they were coming on year round with the factory set up! cookoo I would place full blame on the factory set up for burning out those five glow plugs!
The other bad thing to me about the factory setup is that it worries too much.........It senses the resistance and when 1 or 2 of the eight gp's burns out the resistance changes enough for it to quit working. :puke: The button allows me to continue to use the system after several gp's burn out!
 

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aaklingler said:
No, Your glow plugs are still going to turn off just like they used to.

Why would they "turn off"? I control the time they are on with the switch, which is no longer controlled by the resistance of the system, but instead by my finger pushing the button. Therefore if a couple plugs are burn out then I can still activate the remaining good plugs, which is where the original system lacks in logic.
 

aaklingler

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Nice drawing, but i think all your doing is connecting and disconnecting the ground. The heating element thing in the controller is still working as normal, correct? I think you have it though that your wts light will be on when ever your pushing the button.
 
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