First start of the day, of course I need the glow plugs. But after a drive I occasionally hop in and start the truck without thinking. Does it hurt anything if I start the truck while the glow plugs are still energized?
Do I need to "wait to start"?
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No it does not hurt the glow plugs. I do this all day long. I just hop in and hit the key without waiting. The Wait to Start should go out quickly after the first start if the engine has been used (up to temperature).
I assumed this was true. Thanks.
M
My 85 E350 likes to cycle the plugs a few times with the engine running, the WTS light comes on and everything.
My 85 E350 likes to cycle the plugs a few times with the engine running, the WTS light comes on and everything.
That was for emissions, to help clear up any smoke from the tailpipe. Excessive wear on the glowplug relay is all it really is.
The glow plugs are the more expensive things getting worn out. The relay/solenoid is about $25.
Christian9112
Full Access Member
the only thing it would hurt is the alternator. Its not gonna kill it but it will eventually wear it out faster. The alternator will try to charge the battery run the starter and run the glowplugs. the glowplugs drain a lot of amps. almost as much as the starter. if your engine is already warm, and dont want the glowplugs to always engage, you have to look up the mod. It will save your glow plugs, alternator, and the batteries. you just have to manually hold a button to turn on the glow plugs. if you dont have any electrical background, i would just wait for the voltage meter to go back to 12v.
At least I have the 100A alternator on the E350 so it's less strain than the 65A would be. I did the push button mod on my F250.
I've been toying with the idea of running a relay through an oil pressure switch myself. Would keep the automatic system and kill power to the relay as soon as the engine starts. Just food for thought.
I put a kill switch in to my controller. After it starts, I turn it off and I’m good for the day usually. If it sets all day and gets stone cold, I flip the switch back on and the controller takes over. Sorta the best of both worlds as far as I’m concerned.
You can also remove the ignition source to controller, and splice into the cold advance/high idle circuit. That way controller automatically shuts off above 135* coolant temp.
This was my original plan but I somehow got things twisted up in my wire harness so I punted. It’s nice to have some control over it. I can short cycle it just by flipping the switch on and back off. It kills it as soon as the switch is off.
this is what I did on sulaco.
but 4-5 times of it starting, it fried the switch.
I suggest putting a relay when doing this.
mblaney
Full Access Member
I installed an oil pressure switch to stop the post-start cycling. Once I have oil pressure the GP's are off. The only time I had problems with this was at -27C cold start in the bush (no block heater). I had to bypass the oil switch so GP's would continue to heat to allow more cylinders to fire up.
One of the best mods I have done and I highly recommend it.
One of the best mods I have done and I highly recommend it.
That sounds more like a bad switch, all the ignition source is doing is energizing a coil in a relay, the switches go bad a lot so I bet it was just the temp switch, I’ve done this mod to probably a dozen trucks without the temp switch burning up
