need timing set and alternator question

[castlesburning]

I just finished reading Mels excellent article on injection and timing. I am about to do my lines and injectors as the final step in my fuel system rebuild.
I learned from the article that my truck must be set at the static timing because I have very little smoke and the truck doesnt seems to hit as hard as my last one (the one that got away), more of a purrr than a growl so the question is who can I trust to set the time using the pulse method and not give me a hard time like "we're the diesel mechani9cs here and you couldnt possibly know anything". like the local diesel shop. " dont worry about which method we're using, i been doing this 20 years blah blah"

also, I have finished fixing all of the lighting on this truck and getting some gauges. None of the interior lights were working before and now I see that my lights pulse with the speed of the engine. my head lights and factory amp meter do this also. I swear they pulse just like a tach. which doesnt even twitch on my truck.
Im thinking bad ground? I have cleaned up and reset the grounds I can find;
take out the bolt little sand paper etc.
my gauges are just basic 50$ SunPro oil, amp and temp cluster from autozone..

Which wire do I connect to my new amp meter while leaving the factory meter as it is apparently working?
I get about 40 lbs oil pressure upon start up and shortly after the high speed solinoid kicks off, its down to about 25lbs, then back up to 40lbs at cruising speed. I am assuming the oil heats up and thins out? Is this normal?
Why in the hell would they put a tiny plastic hose in a oil pressure gauge kit???
How long should I hold my glow plug button?
why do i have a small leak of rain water in each footwell only when it rains? pluged drain channel, faulty windshield seal or rusty fire wall ******??

im in chattanooga area thanks

 

[typ4]

Amp gauges are a thing of the past, get a volt meter. I think gauge set suppliers need to supply a volt instead of amp meter. The one the truck came with is marginal at best, shunt type not real responsive. Also check ground wires on the regulator, core support and inner fenders. These trucks are famous for dash ground problems also.
It would be easier to give electrical advice if we knew what truck you had!
Those are normal oil pressure numbers.

 

[castlesburning]

well what is that thing in my dash? what about the gauge that cam with the sunpro kit?
the truck is an 84 f250 na 6.9 4x4 C-6.

thanks

 

[subway]

either way i would go with a voltmeter, better for reading your system. i have had decent luck with the autometer gages, the only on to give me trouble is "funny" the volt meter in my truck and i have some replacements lined up.

if your lights are pulsing you might want to look at the batteries and there connections. the batteries are supposed to basically even out the voltage the alt puts out. with bad connections the alt can jump around with its output like you described. if your wiring is hacked which i suspect if you say lights are going out and such it can make tracking problems a nightmare.

the water can possibly from multiple things but i would first check the cab drains, they get clogged up from leaves and crap that gets past the holes on the cowl. the drain is a little tricky to get to, it is up inside the rear of the front fenders on the front of the cab.

oil pressure sounds about normal, these motors are putting out allot of volume of oil but not a ton of pressure. mine runs in the same range. you should be able to get some copper tubing to replace the plastic stuff wherever you got your gages. its right on the shelves of most big box parts stores.

generally you shouldent need to push the glow plugs more than 15 secs in the COLD. more like 10 or less in normal weather. just a side not it is HIGHLY reccomended you go with the beru (original) glow plugs, most others have swelling issues which can lead you to pulling the head if its bad.

 

[castlesburning]

ok thanks. the wiring is a little hacked up, but from what I can tell it is the glow plug controller bypass that is hacked. the splices have been shrink wrapped and had good blade type inline fuses between the solenoid and the glow plugs themselves. It looks like quality work.
the plugs are new but How would I tell which plugs they (the only real diesel shop around) installed last year??

the battery terminals and tighten everything up.look good and tight. the hot is a factory type cable and the ground is the kind with the strap to hold down the wires. I am going to go through the elec system today and tighten everything. 1 more question...where does the inline fuel heater connect?? is it supposed to be "on" with the switch, or???
thanks

 

[Dsl_Dog_Treat]

Pulsing lights is symptomatic of the voltage regulator going bad or improperly grounded.
First check to make sure it is grounded properly before ya replace it.