Manual glow plugs. Opinions and ideas.

[Black dawg]

well, proper glow plugs is easy, wiring, maybe not. But....it is a pretty simple circuit, and not to hard to get the wiring in good shape.


I do agree that a manual set up would be bulletproof, but with a new heavy gauge harness and not zd9 plugs.

 

[marmot]

I can't agree with the 20 yo wire theory. If you take a bit of time and check the (few) connections and make sure the components are functioning the auto glow systems work great. I have replaced a "manual" system some genius installed on my 86 190d. The glow plugs were all cooked and bad due to erratic reglows and over glowing, I replaced the whole system and now it functions flawlessly and you just turn the key like you are supposed to. Plus as the engine warms the resistance rises so they glow for shorter intervals. I am not a fan of push button ignitions or glow systems. Unless it's meat for the track...

 

[LCAM-01XA]

Always pains me to see people pull out a 7.3 controller and go to a push button. The 7.3 controller is smart and will let your glow plugs last a long time. Button pushers will find they always replace glow plugs more often than the automated system will. The main problem with the 7.3 controller, is that people don't understand how they work, and consequently get frustrated with them.

Yes, the factory system is kinda nice in that it is more or less idiot-proof, but there is definitely some room for improvements - namely a temperature-dependent power source so she doesn't glow when the engine is warm (adds up wear and tear on the plugs and not needed in the first place), and a backup timer to shut the controller off if it gets carried away for whatever reason (cause losing $100 worth of hard-to-obtain-locally plugs is definitely NOT how you want to start a long awaited and carefully planned-out vacation).

I do agree that a manual set up would be bulletproof, but with a new heavy gauge harness and not zd9 plugs.

What plugs would you recommend? Preferably with bullet connectors for compatibility with the factory harness and its built-in fusible links.

 

[Black dawg]

Yes, the factory system is kinda nice in that it is more or less idiot-proof, but there is definitely some room for improvements - namely a temperature-dependent power source so she doesn't glow when the engine is warm (adds up wear and tear on the plugs and not needed in the first place), and a backup timer to shut the controller off if it gets carried away for whatever reason (cause losing $100 worth of hard-to-obtain-locally plugs is definitely NOT how you want to start a long awaited and carefully planned-out vacation

What plugs would you recommend? Preferably with bullet connectors for compatibility with the factory harness and its built-in fusible links.

The glow plug cycle when warm is annoying.

The bosch 80034 is the only plug I use for manual control. Not bullet connector.

It would be way cool if bosch would do an actual duratherm for this (7.3) app.

 

[ironworker40]

Always pains me to see people pull out a 7.3 controller and go to a push button. The 7.3 controller is smart and will let your glow plugs last a long time. Button pushers will find they always replace glow plugs more often than the automated system will. The main problem with the 7.3 controller, is that people don't understand how they work, and consequently get frustrated with them.

I believe a lot, but not all, of the glow plug removal problems people have stem from manual glow plug buttons. This I think is because the carbon builds up on the glow plug and never gets burn off.

 

[Zaggnutt]

I believe a lot, but not all, of the glow plug removal problems people have stem from manual glow plug buttons. This I think is because the carbon builds up on the glow plug and never gets burn off.

That's something to think about. I agree with Agnem as far as the reliability, design, and misunderstanding of the 7.3 system. That being said, I do a lot of starting and stopping and in warm weather. The manual button was installed as a preservative for the glow plugs, controller, batteries, wiring etc. as opposed to problems or misunderstanding. I have noticed that the lack of afterburn does have an effect on starting in the cold, but I have not considered a negative effect on the gp's or any other part of the system. Something I need to think about. I can say that I am very happy with the additional control and results after about a year installed on one truck and a recent install on another.

*I recently pulled the Beru's to do a compression test and they looked "normal" for my experience with gp's. No distortion or breakage. Carbon buildup looked identical to the sets I have replaced. They have been in since October 2013... For what it's worth.

 

[madpogue]

From what I've read, glow plugs are most likely to get stuck from swelling of the element itself, rather than carbon buildup.

 

[theSHERPA]

I must be dumb because I cannot for the life of me get my 7.3 to cold start even with brand new Beru glow plugs.


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[quickster]

Do you have access to an electric outlet? Just plug the thing in for a couple hours or put it on a timer. 2F a couple mornings ago and started no problem.
I read about all these mods, and while some are good(Carrier pump), the glow plug mod seems pointless. Just my 2c. You guys have way too much free time. Maybe you should get married- or maybe that's the reason you guys are in the garage so much!

 

[LCAM-01XA]

I read about all these mods, and while some are good(Carrier pump), the glow plug mod seems pointless. Just my 2c. You guys have way too much free time. Maybe you should get married- or maybe that's the reason you guys are in the garage so much!

And what would you do if all of sudden you lost some of your glowplugs while you're snowed in at some random motel due to lousy weather shutting down the interstate, how the heck are you going to start the truck if the non-pointless full-auto controller gives you the finger like it did to us? Assuming you even carry 100ft of 10-gauge extension cord, how many managers would happily allow you to string that out your window and across their parking lot? Also did you know that in a pinch an IDI will start on just half of its cylinders even in very cold weather? However good luck making that happen without the "pointless" glow plugs mod, you can go ahead and unplug just two of your glowplugs to test what your full-auto controller has in store for you in such a situation.

So no, it has nothing to do with having way too much free time, and everything to do with improving yours and your family's safety factor by providing an alternate means of operating one of the most vital winter-use systems in your truck.

 

[Zaggnutt]

I must be dumb because I cannot for the life of me get my 7.3 to cold start even with brand new Beru glow plugs.


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Could be several things. New plugs won't do **** if you have a bad gp solenoid or controller or if you have a bad connection, exposed wire, etc. We need to know a lot more detail before we can help. This topic has been covered many times over I would first suggest thoroughly searching here and google and if you can't solve your specific problem come back here and start a thread. You got this.

 

[maverick350]

After some time to contemplate, I have one more observation.

Don't use a manual setup with a battery charger connected. Or if you do, decrease the duration accordingly.

But I have a feeling that 17-18 volts during charging was the larger factor, coupled with a longer duration, that finished off my plugs.

I SHOULD have thought of this,.. but I didn't. Learned my lesson. The 9th plug mounted on the dash would have made the shorter time to glow obvious though, and I think I will do that.

 

[Agnem]

Well these are all good points, and one of these days I'm going to take the time to do a comprehensive glow plug video so that people will actually be able to properly diagnose and fix these things. I fix these things all the time, not just on one truck, but dozens. Case in point, I have a 94 IDI Factory turbo customer who does snow removal. He couldn't get his truck to start last Friday night after I was closed, so he called another shop. He got the truck to them, and they put 8 brand new Autolite glow plugs, and a new $185 glow plug controller in it. The customer brought the truck to me yesterday morning, because... it still won't start. I fixed it by putting 8 Beru plugs in it, and fixing the broken wire going to the #5 and #7 (under the turbo) cylinders. What clued me in was the electrical tape. The other mechanic just twisted the wires together and put tape on them. Jobs like that require solder and heat shrink. I totally removed that part of the glow plug harness and rebuilt those two cylinder feeds, using the proper tools and materials. Now it works like a champ. What failed the other mechanic was A) - His inability to understand the relationship between the glow plug controller and the load that it controls, B) - His shoddy worksmanship, thinking that glow plug wires must work like trailer lights, and C) - His unfamiliarity with the IDI in general and absence on these forums. 3 of the brand new Autolite glow plugs were already burned out! Pretty amazing, considering the repair was just a few days old. In all likelyhood, there was never anything wrong with the customers original glow plug controller, and its hard to tell with these aftermarket ones, if they have bar or disc type contactors (you guys call them relays) on them. Now that the original controller is gone, its hard to say how long that GPC is going to last. I've educated the customer and returned all 8 Autolites to him. This is the kind of thing I see all the time, and it is always something simple that just isn't that hard to fix. As to what to do when it doesn't work as intended, and you are stranded somewhere without a block heater? Simple. Get out a pair of jumper cables, and use just one of the clamps to short together the two big poles on the contactor to manually energize the glow plugs that still remain operational. Want to avoid warm start glow plug operation? Find an ambient air thermostat like you would use on a furnace, and route the power feed or ground wire to the GPC through it. As long as the thermostat is warm, the glow plugs won't come on.

 

[OLDBULL8]

/\ /\ /\
Poor guy had to plow out 10 or 15 driveways just to recover his lose due to an "ignorant shoddy Mechanic".
The only thing Autolite has going for them is there name, most of there products are crap including there spark plugs.

Read there history.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autolite

 

[IDIoit]

The only thing Autolite has going for them is there name, most of there products are crap including there spark plugs.

they have that going for them???
i wouldnt use an autolite product if they were free.
i learned this in my marine adventures.
their spark plugs would break off at the electrode and end up bending a valve.
NGK's only for spark plugs
motorcraft only for glow plugs.