New purchase 1984 6.9 IDI

[nick2020]

I'm trying to get the glow plugs up and running again. This is a new purchase 1984 6.9 idi. The Glow plugs relay has nothing connected to it other than the power from battery. There are several lose cables,I have a orange/white and a orange/green a purple and black. I would like to bring glow plugs back to oem config.

(The new red wire on the gp relay goes to new electric fuel pump). Also since I'm not mechanic an explanation at the 4th grade level would be helpful.

Note: I sent 12v on the orange/white into harness and was able to read it on the glow plug end.

I looked online for a picture but was hit and miss.

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[dgr]

Test the black to ground. It should go on one small post. Test the purple for power with key on that shuts off after about 10 seconds. It's trigger from the controller.

Ignore the yellow wires in this pic. The two big orange are feed to the GPs.

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[nick2020]

Thanks dgr. That picture helps, now i can wire it up. How does the glow plugs know to turn off? I'm wondering why they disconnected and don't want to burn the new glow plugs.

 

[Clb]

Hit the tech\stickies yet?
Should be some diagrams (hopefully that old) in there...
https://www.oilburners.net/posts/1017085/

https://www.oilburners.net/posts/971207/

https://www.oilburners.net/posts/637472/

https://www.oilburners.net/posts/415853/
Careful with the wire sockets on the actual g.p. That chitt is brittle as all git out

 

[snicklas]

Does it currently have a push button to run the plugs?

My guess is, the reason everything is disconnected except the feed wires, is the controller has failed, which is common on the 6.9's. The controller will fail on, and burn up the plugs.

My recommendation would be, if you want the system to be automatic, I would upgrade to the 7.3 setup.

 

[nick2020]

No push button as far as i can tell. Even the orange cables to the gp are disconnected. I'm going to look into the 7.3 Setup Thanks!

 

[dgr]

Nick,
The controller on a 6.9 is screwed into the back of the drivers head. @Cubey posted a good pic here from his van. https://www.oilburners.net/threads/...eally-bad-situation.86992/page-2#post-1045024

When the controller goes bad, it can stick on and the purple wire won't turn off.

If you want to do manual GPs, you need power to the relay which you have. You need power to the glow plugs which is the two orange wires. You need a ground and a trigger for the gp relay.

Easiest way is to jump a wire from the hot side of the relay to the small post. Run a wire from the other small post to the cab and hook to a push button switch. Hook the other end of the switch to ground. This will allow you to trigger the glow plugs whether or not the key is on.

Other way is to find a switched power wire and either feed it through a switch to the GP relay and ground the other post or hook the switched power to the GP relay and run a switch to ground on the other post.

You can find switched power for the fuel solenoid near the GP relay. You can use the original feed wire to the controller on the back of the head and run a wire to the GP relay. There are lots of ways to get to where you're going.

 

[nick2020]

Thanks, that helps


How do i find the tech articles? For example if I want to see if anyone has written up a tech on how to swap from a 6.9 to 7.3 glow plug? I've looked around and don't see a tech page.

 

[dgr]

Click the back arrow. Look at the top of the posts for the idi forum. It is a sub forum of the 6.9 IH and 7.3 IDI forum. IDI Tech Article.

 

[IDIBRONCO]

I believe that Thewespaul sells a complete, stand alone wiring kit. You would just have to buy that and a set of Motorcraft/Beru ZD9 glow plugs. They will go right in place of the Motorcraft ZD1A glow plugs for a 6.9. In fact, the 1987 6.9 had the 7.3 style glow plug set up.

 

[Cubey]

I believe that Thewespaul sells a complete, stand alone wiring kit. You would just have to buy that and a set of Motorcraft/Beru ZD9 glow plugs. They will go right in place of the Motorcraft ZD1A glow plugs for a 6.9. In fact, the 1987 6.9 had the 7.3 style glow plug set up.

Yep, my 87 F250 does. I had to replace the glow plug's relay that sits on top of the controller when it was weak and didn't always activate, even with a manual push button.

 

[TahoeTom]

The two orange wires go on the empty lug on the relay. They power the GPs. Black should go to pass side small terminal and purple to drivers side small terminal. There should be another wire with a large end like the orange wires that feeds the wait to start light. Purple powers the relay if the controller is working. You can jump a hot wire to the small terminal in place of the purple wire and you should hear a loud click if the relay is working. If using a push button setup this is where momentary hot would go. Test to see if voltage is transferred to the orange wires with power to the relay.

Have you replaced the glow plugs? Verify if they are Beru/Motorcraft. If not you may have other issues. O'Reilly Auto Parts can get Motorcraft GPs in a day. Test plugs with a test lamp by disconnecting each wire and each plug terminal should be grounded. If you want to go original controller there are a few sources for solid state versions. I had an OEM controller fail in the on position, and could be why all your wires are disconnected. The controller threads into the rear of the drivers side head and uses coolant temperature to determine how long to power the GPs. I bought one from Accurate Diesel and it is basically a coolant plug as I run a push button setup. The factory harness plugs in like the original. I did test it and it functioned properly. Mel, the owner of Conestoga Diesel Injection said he found they weren't reliable long term and he recommended Delphi as a better choice.