Glow plug data

[Selahdoor]

Ok, so my GPs are not working. I don't know why yet, because I haven't been able to get started testing them.

Sometimes it is SO frustrating not having a shop to work in. I got some house plumbing issues fixed yesterday, just before it started raining. It has been raining torrentially ever since. Non stop wall of rain. Supposed to continue until sunday. (River is a risin' too!)

So I won't be checking on any of this until the rain stops.

But...

The fact that the voltage meter all the sudden works correctly again, now that the GPs are NOT... has me curious.

I have to conclude the GP controller had problems. I also remember the GPs that I took out of there were already swollen up, after not that many miles. Autolites will do that if they are overused. Berus don't swell like that. So it's possible they were all being overworked. (The one zd9 was easy to get out. The autolites were all swelled a lot.)

Now, of course, I am wondering if the controller kakked, or if the GPs burned up. (Or the GPs burned up because the controller was in the process of kakking.) If the controller was leaving the GPs on, all the time, that would explain a short life on the other GPs. (But I had no data to work with. Only what I could see, when I replaced them.) And would explain it if I find that the current GPs, (ZD9s.), are also now exhibiting too much resistance.

Won't know any of that until I can get started.

Only way for me to suss this, is to start at the GPs and test all of them in situ. I'll do that.

Then I'll test the controller the best I can.

Still not going to leave the controller. Still going to replace the system completely and use a starter solenoid with direct battery power, to run them manually.

But here's the real point to the new thread...

There is at least one vid on youtube that shows a beru zd9 running for more than 12 minutes on 12v power. And still working perfectly. They just stopped there. Open air test. Granted it's a battery charger that it is running on. Therefore not the amperage you can get from a battery. But still, it was just one GP, clamped in a bench vise. getting all 12 volts. Actually 12.9 something, I think.

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I'd like to see the test done being powered by two batteries. (12v setup, not 24.)

I believe that if you run all 8 GPs direct from a 12v source, they all end up seeing between 8v and 9v. Which is fine for 6v GPs. (ZD9s are 6v, I believe.) Still, I'd like to see how one responds to 12v directly from two batteries and just the one GP.

t would be good to have a video of such a test being done. Maybe even setting up the ZD9 and the ZD1a, etc. And/or even showing what happens with different glow plug brands.

A different test: This is a commercial, more or less, for DieselRX glow plugs. But it is good at showing a test setup.

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[frankenwrench]

Ugh. I dislike AUTOLIGHTS greatly, but would use them swelling things before ever touching a diesel rx again. Those things don't just blow off the tip, they blow off at the base! Had that happen to all 8 in my truck, same with my sisters truck, and the 6.9 I had in my truck prior to the 7.3 that's in there now. And not one of those sets lasted more than 4 months. If anything, I'd put them on the wall of shame if they aren't already.

 

[Selahdoor]

Excellent information! Thank you very much!

Still hoping someone will be able to set up a test rig, and test our GPs for durability.

Especially if they can be tested against other GP brands.

 

[BeastMaster]

Tests are nice, but the bottom line is do they do the job?

You spend hours installing them. Do they work forever? Years? Months? Days?

Now that you have them in, if they fail, can you get 'em out, or do they have a tendency to disintegrate in place, make removal difficult, and damage the engine?

We have discussed such a simple thing as a glow plug here, only to share experiences that the reputation of a glow plug is far more important than its retail price.

I like your last video... I still will go for motorcraft/beru. Reputation. I take what you guys say on this forum very seriously.

Many of you have had very expensive experiences, and shared it here, so the rest of us don't have to have the same happen to us.

 

[Selahdoor]

Exactly. (BTW: That isn't my video. lol Just one I found.)

That's kind of why I am hoping someone will be able to set up the testing I am talking about.

I have a hunch, the Berus will take the full 12v and the amperage from two batteries... On one glow plug... For a long time. With no distortion, etc.

Whereas I don't think an autolite will last very long at all. Plus we get to see them bulging, etc.

With neither GP actually "designed" for that kind of load, it should end up to be a pretty visual descriptive of just why we recommend what we recommend.

Would be funny too, to have GPs like the dieselrx ones in there. Like I said, that video was a commercial. They showed only what they wanted to show. (I only showed it because it has a good example of a test setup.) It would be funny to see an honest competition between them and beru, and see which lasted longest, Which melted. Etc...

 

[Thewespaul]

I’ve done this before, I tested each plug to a failure, and the zd9 will eventually fail but will not swell, any other brand will last awhile at 12v but will eventually break the resistor interrupting the circuit first or going until the tip swells up or breaks. The small savings going with something other than zd9s does not go well in the long run.

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[IDIBRONCO]

A different test: This is a commercial, more or less, for DieselRX glow plugs. But it is good at showing a test setup.

First, I did not watch the video so this question may have been answered in the video and I don't know it. What are those glow plugs for? They sure don't look like ones for out IDIs. For something that's supposed to show how "great" the Diesel TX ones are, they sure don't look that great compared to the Beru right beside it.

 

[Selahdoor]

All 3 glow plugs are for a Ford 6.0L Diesel Engine.

And please note that I also said that it was obviously a commercial. And later reiterated that and said they obviously have shown only what they wanted to show.

I only used that video to show an example of a test setup where you could test several plugs at the same time.

 

[IDIBRONCO]

All 3 glow plugs are for a Ford 6.0L Diesel Engine.

Well that explains that. I've never seen one for a 6.0 and I honestly don't plan to.

 

[dgr]

Well that explains that. I've never seen one for a 6.0 and I honestly don't plan to.

You just saw 3 of them

 

[frankenwrench]

The glow plugs I just replaced in my truck are 4 years old and we're transfered between 3 different engines, used WITH ether, also used with b12, gas on a rag, wd40, and a few times with a propane torch in the intake just releasing the gas with the glow plugs cycling and still worked wen I pulled them out. They were beru. This was all done before I knew anything about these engins just wanted the thing to start. I have pics of these glow plugs on the CCD injectors thread.

 

[frankenwrench]

Here's a two month old diesel rx.

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This set never seen starting aid of any kind. As they themselves were supposed to be THE starting aid.

 

[aggiediesel01]

In our idi trucks we learned early on to stay with beru or motorcraft only so I can’t say what dieselRx is doing wrong with their idi part number but I put a set in my ‘97 PS three or four years ago and they’re all still good. Probably have 40-50k miles since and I cycle them twice usually if it’s below 40. Always get a quick start even for a powerstroke.

 

[Selahdoor]

My glow plugs have now "kind of" worked a couple more times.

Once it was even enough to get the truck started without any other help.


Every time they 'kind of work', the volt meter goes all wonky again.



Bear with me here. Gonna postulate, and could easily be wrong...

Since they have pretty much worked a couple more times, I would think the solenoid must still work.

Since they don't work all the time, and since there have been other problems with the truck that seem to be tied to this system... I am assuming it is, against all apparent odds, probably the controller that is wonky.




I have ordered parts. A 300 amp solenoid, and a heavy duty, (light on only when pushed), momentary on, push button. To build my own system.

While I wait for those to come in, I am going to kludge something, and hope it works.

I am going to remove the white, green and yellow wires. I'll insulate all of those, so they can't ground out. Maybe even put on rubber hoses. (I don't really want to remove the wires from the harness. But eventually I'll completely disconnect everything from this system, then disconnect all wires from their other ends as well. And just leave them in place.)

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Then I'll hook up my own white wire, run that into the cab, and put on a cheaper momentary on switch, to ground, for now.

 

[dgr]

You done yet?

I think you will need to move the wts light if that's important. But if I read the wire changes correctly, the lighted when pressed switch you're going to use serves the same function.