Glow plug connector idea

[Selahdoor]

The connectors on my glow plugs are pretty much falling apart.

The previous owner of my truck kludged something together using a bolt, and a ground lug from a home electrical service, to connect to one of the glow plugs when apparently that connector just fell completely apart. Ingenious, but dangerous.

I bought some ordinary bullet type connectors. Got as tight a fit as I could find. Replaced that one connector. Not happy with it. I feel like it might vibrate loose.

Yesterday, while playing around under the hood, on a whim... I pulled the electrical connector off of the vacuum switch on the fuel filter housing...And tried that on the tip of a glow plug.

Primo fit! Not hard to get on, but it really holds on to that glow plug tip!

Only problem I see with using them, is the size of the wire. That wire MIGHT be just fine, but I'd prefer to have a size or two larger.

Now... If I could just find a place to buy those fittings... With a bit larger size wire than is on the one that goes to that switch.

 

[franklin2]

Do a little searching on this site, I believe some guys are using a later model glowplug harness and modifying it to fit. Be careful on changing the wire size very much, you need to keep it close to the same size and length as the factory used on the original glowplug harness.

I always wondered if something like this that was the correct size would work. That set screw would be a positive connection to the wire and the glowplug tip.

https://www.amazon.com/Conext-Link-WCT4N-2-Terminal-Connector/dp/B01M2UMM40

 

[The_Josh_Bear]

Do a little searching on this site, I believe some guys are using a later model glowplug harness and modifying it to fit. Be careful on changing the wire size very much, you need to keep it close to the same size and length as the factory used on the original glowplug harness.

I always wondered if something like this that was the correct size would work. That set screw would be a positive connection to the wire and the glowplug tip.

https://www.amazon.com/Conext-Link-WCT4N-2-Terminal-Connector/dp/B01M2UMM40

The feedback on the 6.0 harness has been pretty lame generally. What I read was that they start off fine but the connectors loosen up over a short time, making them too easy to pull off.

Besides that, @Thewespaul has plug and play harnesses and a great rep/feedback on them to date.

Interesting thought on the set screw type... might be hard to get even an extension on them for the Allen but who knows.

 

[chillman88]

The feedback on the 6.0 harness has been pretty lame generally. What I read was that they start off fine but the connectors loosen up over a short time, making them too easy to pull off.

Besides that, @Thewespaul has plug and play harnesses and a great rep/feedback on them to date.

I was considering mentioning this as well. I used a 6.0 harness and was less than thrilled with it. I bought a harness from Wes and although I don't have it installed yet I'm very pleased with the looks. Seems like a nice quality harness.

 

[Selahdoor]

I was considering mentioning this as well. I used a 6.0 harness and was less than thrilled with it. I bought a harness from Wes and although I don't have it installed yet I'm very pleased with the looks. Seems like a nice quality harness.

That sure is a beautious set!

But 1. I don't have the bucks. and 2. Those look exactly like the bullet connectors that I have already tried. So far, it has held. But I am not completely happy with the fit. Pulls off way too easily. (Even after I pinched it just a bit.) I'm afraid that it might vibrate off.

The connector I am talking about, really grips. It's supposed to be pushed on over a screw, as on most sensors.

~~~

I have noticed a lot of 'scare' talk on here. Gotta have this just right, or this or that part will fail, etc... (By the way, this is not directed at anyone in particular. I have just been noticing this in some of the threads I have been reading, so it is on my mind.)

When it comes to the glow plugs, a couple sizes larger wire, and a little extra length will do more good than harm.

Glow plugs aren't a 20 thousand dollar piece of electronic equipment. They are not much different to the elements in your average electric baseboard heater. Give them electricity, and they'll get hot. Don't give them enough, and they won't get AS hot. Give them too much, and you just might burn them up.

It's possible to use too much wire. But you'd pretty much have to use the whole spool to even begin to have an effect. It's also possible to use too small a wire size. If you did either, your wire would probably burn first.

Also possible to use wire that is just too big. If you made a harness out of welding cable, it would probably do the job, but you'd use up your battery more quickly. And possibly starve the GPs a bit. Just a bit. From all that wire resistance. Kinda like using a whole spool of wire to get to the plug, only this time, your cable wouldn't burn up. You'd just have perpetually too cool GPs.

As for too much current... You could hook your glow plugs directly to the battery with 8 guage wires, and they would work just fine. If you ran them for too long a time, yeah, you might burn them up. Run them the same amount of time as usual, and you'll get the usual lifetime out of them.

If the connector is good and solid. The wire is within 4 gauge sizes larger, or one or two smaller. And the lengths of the wires are no more than 1/2 again as long as the originals... Your Glow Plugs are not going to know the difference. In fact, as I said before, if you used wire that was a couple sizes larger gauge, you might actually see an increase in performance.



What I understand of the glowplugs... They, just like the elements in any electric heater, have a finite lifetime.

Yall are worried about tiny differences in wire size... When the real enemy of your glow plugs is the Ford enginerds.

This is it... The glow plugs will do their job a certain number of times before they deteriorate.

Those glow plugs do NOT have to be used every single time you turn the key!

Yet Ford, in their infinite wisdom, designed the system to cycle every single time!

This is why many people change their GP system to manual operation.

I prefer the kind of hack that lets the entire system work as it should... But you have to allow it.

In other words, a toggle switch, not a push button. Turn off the toggle, and the system will not run. Turn on the toggle it runs as designed. (For as long as designed, etc.)

 

[Selahdoor]

Do a little searching on this site, I believe some guys are using a later model glowplug harness and modifying it to fit. Be careful on changing the wire size very much, you need to keep it close to the same size and length as the factory used on the original glowplug harness.

I always wondered if something like this that was the correct size would work. That set screw would be a positive connection to the wire and the glowplug tip.

https://www.amazon.com/Conext-Link-WCT4N-2-Terminal-Connector/dp/B01M2UMM40

The PO of my truck used something like this:

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Of the right size, of course. Screwed onto the top of the GP. Then they crimped an ordinary eyelet onto the wire. And put a small nut and bolt through the eyelet, and the hole in this connector. It held, but man, all that electrified metal just hanging out right the under the air cleaner gave me the heebie-jeebies.

Lowes also has connectors that work quite like what you link to.

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I believe you can get them small enough for this. And I suppose that if you covered it with some shrink tubing, it might be a viable option.

Good idea.

 

[chillman88]

@Selahdoor

My understanding is the concern with wire size/length is the fact that the controller functions based on resistance.

 

[Selahdoor]

@Selahdoor

My understanding is the concern with wire size/length is the fact that the controller functions based on resistance.

Good point.

But again, it's not a 20k overly sensitive piece of electronic equipment.

Let's say that the wires used are 14 ga. And the overall length of the wires, (all of them added up.) is 10 feet.

If you used 10 ga wire, and/or you used 15 feet of wire... Even together... They will not make enough of a difference to the resistance that the controller sees, to cause any sort of malfunction. To the contrary, as I said before, you might see an improvement in performance, and possibly a bit longer life.

Now that set made from welding cable, that I mentioned earlier... Yeah. Probably enough of a difference to cornfuzzle your controller.

 

[Randy Bush]

Good point.

But again, it's not a 20k overly sensitive piece of electronic equipment.

Let's say that the wires used are 14 ga. And the overall length of the wires, (all of them added up.) is 10 feet.

If you used 10 ga wire, and/or you used 15 feet of wire... Even together... They will not make enough of a difference to the resistance that the controller sees, to cause any sort of malfunction. To the contrary, as I said before, you might see an improvement in performance, and possibly a bit longer life.

Now that set made from welding cable, that I mentioned earlier... Yeah. Probably enough of a difference to cornfuzzle your controller.

For what it is worth , information I have , factory wire size to GP was 10ga.

 

[Thewespaul]

Thank you for the great feedback guys, the glow plug harnesses have gone through a few updates since their release, but they’re a product I’m really happy to represent.

I use a .15” tapered bullet connector, and heat up the insulation to mold to an actual zd9 glow plug. The bullet connectors I use have a marine heat shrink on the back that glues itself to my high temp sheathing, and then I put a black 3/8” marine heat shrink over the whole connector. Pretty straight forward setup, if you can source everything for cheaper than I sell it be my guest

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[Randy Bush]

have not got mine on yet, but am very pleased with the quality.

 

[Selahdoor]

For what it is worth , information I have , factory wire size to GP was 10ga.

Thank you. Good to know.

Thank you for the great feedback guys, the glow plug harnesses have gone through a few updates since their release, but they’re a product I’m really happy to represent.

I use a .15” tapered bullet connector, and heat up the insulation to mold to an actual zd9 glow plug. The bullet connectors I use have a marine heat shrink on the back that glues itself to my high temp sheathing, and then I put a black 3/8” marine heat shrink over the whole connector. Pretty straight forward setup, if you can source everything for cheaper than I sell it be my guest

I'll bet I can't!!!

You say it's a tapered bullet connector? How well do they hold if you wiggle the wire?

I just went out a bit ago, and checked mine. The one that is a bullet connector that looks like yours... Was hanging loose, away from the GP. As I suspected it would end up doing.

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You can see the blue bullet connector on the right side of that bolt head. And the shiny top of the glow plug to the left of that bolt head.

 

[Thewespaul]

Holds on very tight, a dab of dielectric grease helps if yours keep coming off.

 

[Selahdoor]

Gotta say that is one beautiful setup.

How much do you sell those for?

 

[Thewespaul]

$65 for the na location harness
$85 for factory turbo location harness
$185 for the manual conversion kits

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