new to me 92. need help.

[ANGELO]

just bought a 92 f250, 4x4 manual 7.3. overall its pretty good, just a couple of problems.i have a couple of gauge cluster problems, like my speedo and odometer dont work. the po was surprised when i pointed that out he said they worked last time he drove the truck. probably been broken for a while. then the tach seems to get stop around 2,300 and not go any higher then that. also my 4 dummy gauges dont seem right, i have a 95 bronco and they usually stay in the middle. this truck everything stays on the low side, especially the temp i dont think it even gets to the n.
the only other problem is its hard to start when cold. i dont think to glow plugs are turning on. my wait to start light only stays on for 2 seconds before shutting off. it takes like 20-30 seconds to start and it will white smoke while cold cranking and right as it starts when cold. every other time the truck will black haze. never has a thick smoke.
any ideas on these problems?
thanks angelo

 

[steelheadguy]

Wait to start should be on longer than that. I heard the controller acts funny if any of the glow plugs are bad. Get it fixed before the cold or before you burn out the starter. I know Ill get grief for this, but I would disconnect the glow plugs and start it with starting fluid to save your starter until you get it fixed.

 

[ANGELO]

how do i test the glow plugs?

 

[cpdenton]

Gauges could be a bad ground. The gauge cluster is grounded behind the drivers side kick panel. Pull the plastic cover and look for a bunch of wires bolted down with a green bolt. Take it off and clean everything with cleaner or sandpaper to make sure it has a nice clean connection.

Glow plugs are likely bad. A dead glow plug will make the system not read properly and shut off too soon.
Buy ONLY MOTORCRAFT OR BERU glow plugs. All others are junk and will fail in short order. Replace all 8 that way you know they are all good. If any of the old ones are hard to remove from having soot buildup or swollen tips, go very slowly and use lots of lube.

 

[steelheadguy]

If you take them out you could just hook them to a battery and see if they glow.

 

[IDIoit]

Gauges could be a bad ground. The gauge cluster is grounded behind the drivers side kick panel. Pull the plastic cover and look for a bunch of wires bolted down with a green bolt. Take it off and clean everything with cleaner or sandpaper to make sure it has a nice clean connection.

Glow plugs are likely bad. A dead glow plug will make the system not read properly and shut off too soon.
Buy ONLY MOTORCRAFT OR BERU glow plugs. All others are junk and will fail in short order. Replace all 8 that way you know they are all good. If any of the old ones are hard to remove from having soot buildup or swollen tips, go very slowly and use lots of lube.

x2 on CP's post.
if you clean the ground, and things still act funny, I would also pull the connectors out of the back of the gauge cluster, clean the pins, and reinstall.

 

[OLDBULL8]

Yeah, Ford and there ground connections. The whole chassis is painted everywhere, then the ground wires are connected over paint, relying on the internal or external tooth washer to make a good ground contact.

 

[OLDBULL8]

It's amazing how quick these IDI's will start when the GP system is working correctly, the fuel system is tight, no air intrusion, good batteries and starter. My 92 will start with one turn of the crank. It can set for a month and still start that way.

Edit: Oh and the fuel in it is over ten years old. Just don't drive it much. Love my PSD to drive.

 

[ANGELO]

Would bad plugs make the light not stay on? Im going to check it all today

 

[DaveBen]

Bad glow plugs would make the light stay on a short time, like 2 seconds, if that.

 

[ANGELO]

I fixed the speedo and odometer. Bad fuse. But the tach still stops

 

[OLDBULL8]

I fixed the speedo and odometer. Bad fuse. But the tach still stops

Please put your truck info in your signature including the trans. That way we don't have to go back to your 1st post to see what where dealing with.
Also Check mark "Show your signature" so it appears on all posts.

 

[icanfixall]

I fixed the speedo and odometer. Bad fuse. But the tach still stops

Do you know how many miles are on the injection pump?. Figure about 125 to 150 thousand miles and they are worn out. DO NOT BUY from the cheapest ebay seller either. Most if not all ebay injection pumps are not worth a darn. This forum recognizes 3 pump builders that will not sell junk. Conestoga Diesel in Pa is the best money can buy. Mel is the owner and a founding member here. If you looked in Websters you would see a picture of him under the word HONEST... He did not get there by cheating people like some others that are well written about in the forum.. The Hall of Shame.
A possible reason your rpm stops at 2300 is the type pump you have is the U Haul type pump. they used a low rpm pump on the big 1600 moving trucks. That way they kept the stress lower on those rigs and they went slower too down the road. The had the governor set to around 2600 rpm.

 

[ANGELO]

Im not sure how many miles. But it looks fairly new. But you can hear the rpms going up but the tach doesnt

 

[riotwarrior]

Im not sure how many miles. But it looks fairly new. But you can hear the rpms going up but the tach doesnt

Stop playing with the least important issues...guages and tachs n such seeing as you have a standard trans there isnt a NEED for a tach.

Fix the hard starting before any other shenanigans...or burn the starter out while playing guage fixerupper.....yer choice

Make sure battery cables are in great shape...no green fuzz...and clean ground ends on block too...

8 new BERU ZD9 plugs ebay sells em reasonable prices...Motorcraft Are BERU ZD9 and should be stamped as such.

Remove all glow plugs...be very carefull some are likely swollen and wont enjoy the trip out at all...worst case a broken tip...that is ugly.

Before you do much though....read the stickies and tech articles...to get a basic knowledge of these trucks to help yourself understand the complexities of them.

Tons of info here on glow plugs...search is your friend.

JM7.3CW Eh!