Okay, what did I do?

The Warden

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-cuss -cuss -cuss

I was working on the battery cables this evening, and after all the positives were hooked up, I hooked up one of the negative cables. I then heard what sounded almost like a sizzling noise, then a POP and some pretty smoke came wafting out from the passenger's side inner fender :mad: followed immediately by my heart sinking.

So, I blew something...and I think it was the new 7.3l glow plug controller that I had just installed (haven't removed it yet). The big problem is, I don't know why. AFAIK, I hooked everything up properly (see diagram below for how I did it).

After seeing the smoke, I CAREFULLY hooked the negative terminal back on (this time, with a fire extinguisher handy), and it seemed like everything was fine. I then realized that the wires at the injector pump were energized (with the key off and in my pocket). I disconnected the switched power connector at the controller, and tried again. This time, the wires at the IP weren't energized, so I took a test light and put the probe on the terminal I had had the wire hooked up to, and sure enough, it had constant 12 volt power...and this was with only the big wire (the constant-power wire that's supposed to feed the glow plugs) attached. Now, if the glow plug controller were getting its power from this terminal (through the red wire shown in the picture), shouldn't it have been cycling? It definitely was not (I don't know if it ever did or not).

As things currently stand, if I hook the cable up, everything else seems fine...cab light comes on, buzzer works, radio comes on if I turn the key ON, etc.

Any thoughts? What did I do wrong? Or, is the controller doing as it should and I need to be looking elsewhere? I'm not seeing any other obvious problems.

Thanks in advance!
 

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OkieGringo

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You probably smoked the OLD fusible links just off the starter relay. They're not used to passing the required amperage that a new controller needs. They're probably what was wrong in the first place. Check in the loom and get new ones at A/P store. I doubt you hooked anything up wrong. OkieGringo
 

obinella

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The Smoke Theory of Electric Circuits
Electrical Theory by Joseph Lucas
Positive ground depends upon proper circuit functioning, the transmission of negative ions by retention of the visible spectral manifestation known as "smoke". Smoke is the thing that makes electrical circuits work; we know this to be true because every time one lets the smoke out of the electrical system, it stops working. This can be verified repeatedly through empirical testing.

When, for example, the smoke escapes from an electrical component (i.e., say, a Lucas voltage regulator), it will be observed that the component stops working. The function of the wire harness is to carry the smoke from one device to another; when the wire harness "springs a leak", and lets all the smoke out of the system, nothing works afterwards. Starter motors were frowned upon in British Automobiles for some time, largely because they consume large quantities of smoke, requiring very large wires.

It has been noted that Lucas components are possibly more prone to electrical leakage than Bosch or generic Japanese electrics. Experts point out that this is because Lucas is British and all things British leak. British engines leak oil, shock absorbers, hydraulic forks and disk brakes leak fluid, British tyres leak air and the British defense establishment leaks secrets...so, naturally, British electrics leak smoke.

Subject: SMOKE

When wires smoke, how come the smoke is not the same color as the wire?

This is not completely true. When the smoke is in the wire, it is under pressure (called voltage). The pressure difference causes the color to change from the normal color we are used to. Not unlike the blood in our veins and arteries changing color due to the oxygen content. When the smoke escapes the wire and is exposed to air, the pressure is released, and the color reverts back to what we commonly recognize as smoke. The wire then changes to the color of the smoke that escaped.

I hope this helps you understand.

I would only question the last sentence of that description. It has been my experience that the wire turns a color directly opposite of the smoke.

Not always true, I think it must depend on the composition of the smoke in question.

I should have made it a little clearer; the color the wire becomes, is directly proportional to the escape velocity of the smoke. Higher velocities generate higher heat. This heat tends to burn the wire and affect the coloring. The statement was meant to be a generalization, indicating the fact that the color of the wire does in fact change. Sorry for the miscommunication.

I was speaking of electrical smoke which is generally white. The spent smoke casing generally assumes a color somewhat near black after the smoke leaves.

I can't stand it anymore! If, as you say, light bulbs suck up darkness and convert it to smoke which is transmitted (via wire) to a power source for recycling...why do car batteries go dead when lights are left on? Do car batteries (and flashlight batteries for that matter) have a limited amount of storage capability? Is it like a hard drive that gets so full that you have to double-space and then lose all data?

Now you're getting it.......

I thought you guys were smarter than this. Of course the battery stores the smoke. In fact it can store so much smoke that if you open the top and light a match, the resulting explosion can do serious damage. I'm sure you are aware that usually where there's smoke there's fire. If you connect the battery to a charger, the smoke is then returned to the wire (Remember, a light bulb wont work unless it is connected to a wire system) for the utility companies to use. Your hard drive analogy is a very good example.

Our hardware guys might be onto something in their quest for superior wiring. I have noticed the unique method of of series/parallel wiring the power strips on our systems seems to prevent the smoke from getting out of the wires. A "Smoke Loop" of sorts. In the case of the "smoked" workstation recently, you should notice that this was a conventional single power strip installation.

Since color is perceived by the cone shaped receptors in our eyes, and cones require more light that their rod shaped counterparts. Is the sky blue at night?

At night the process including contraction of the pupil is visual purple by which the eye adapts to conditions of increased illumination when facing 300 candle power redeflecting devices.

Since there is a spectrum of light that we as humans cannot see, I support the theory that everything is going up in smoke, we just can't see it. This may explain why the neighbors dog barks for no apparent reason.

I think your basic understanding of smoke systems is remarkable. However I find a flaw with your theory. The battery is a reusable storage device for smoke. therefore, one would assume that some sort of one way valve (we can call it a diode) should be needed to prevent pressure flooding back into the system while at rest. Unlike the A/C system, the smoke system is collecting darkness at the headlights and converting it to smoke. This causes the system to fill up. The battery can contain much higher pressures and volumes than the wires. If this pressure exceeds the capacity of the wire, it will cause a rupture as you described. The rupture can be controlled by a sacrificial device known as a fuse. But this still doesn't eliminate the problem. Perhaps a two way valve (zener diode) is used to allow a small amount of pressure to return to the system, and partially equalize. I find this theory unlikely though, due to the increase in the force required to start the pump (which is now under pressure) working again...

The smoke continues circulating through the system, due to the pressure differential in the battery (smoke pressure/vacuum reservoir). When the reservoir becomes depleted, the pressure simply equalizes everywhere in the system (similar to an A/C system when it's turned off) and stuff just wont work. Notice the relations: Work (W) = Force (F) x Distance (D); Force (F) = total difference in pressure (Dp) x Area (A). Therefore, the work done in a pressure system is: Dp x A x D. If the pressure differential (Dp) is reduced to zero then W = 0 x A x D = 0.

The smoke only escapes the wires when a path is created between the pressure differential areas (@ either the reservoir or the pump) that has too little restriction. When this happens, the smoke travels through the wires so fast that the friction between the smoke and the outer walls of the wiring heats the wires until they rupture. The smoke continues to escape until its pressure is equalized with the atmosphere, or until the conduit that provides the path between pressure areas is severed. When this happens, the sudden drop in pressure allows the wires to "collapse" slightly and, being so hot, as the edges of the ruptures and severed ends touch, the material becomes fused, sealing the system and retaining the remaining smoke.

Don't forget, when the system is at rest, all the valves, (switches and relays) are closed, keeping the pressure areas separated. When restarting the pump, as long as everything is OK, the smoke pressure is equal on both sides of the pump and there is no net force on the pump when it begins operating again. Also, within the pump there are pressure/volume actuated one-way valves with restrictors built in, arranged in such a way that they keep excess smoke volume recirculating through an integral smoke loop, which maintains the pressure within manageable limits.

The excess smoke, created by the light/smoke converters (headlights and other darkness absorbing devices), is changed back to darkness and dissipated in small unit concentrations so its dark effect is not locally observed. The smoke pump impeller (stator), converts smoke into magnetic flux which does work on the engine. Some of the excess work energy is dissipated through the cooling system and exhaust in the form of heat, while the remaining work energy is converted back to smoke and distributed evenly in small concentrations as you drive. This maintains the total quantity of smoke in the system at an average that does not change over time.

Author Unknown
sorry i could'nt resist
 

OkieGringo

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The Smoke Theory of Electric Circuits LOL LOL LOL That's soooo funny and sooooo true. I once owned a 1969 Triumph TR-6 back in 1972. It was great fun, when the transmission wasn't in the shop being rebuilt (3 times in 18 months). OkieGringo
 

The Warden

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OkieGringo said:
You probably smoked the OLD fusible links just off the starter relay. They're not used to passing the required amperage that a new controller needs. They're probably what was wrong in the first place. Check in the loom and get new ones at A/P store. I doubt you hooked anything up wrong.
How would this blow a fusible link? If this is on the constant-hot side, I ran a new wire straight from the battery to the 12+ constant terminal on the controller. The wire to the starter relay goes from the GP controller to the relay. If you're referring to a fusible link in the wire going to the IP (that is also powering the controller, at least in theory), I checked...with the wire not hooked to the GP controller, I AM getting power to the IP wires with the key ON. Also, if a fusible link was blown, why would the 12+ switched terminal on the controller have constant 12v?

Other than the issues relating to the controller, I think my electrical system is still functional...if I had the other negative cable finished, I could probably crank the truck (although I haven't tried this).

Sorry if I sound a little terse; I desperately need my truck this weekend, and I need to get this done PDQ...

Thank you again!
 

argve

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Tim,

If I am reading this correctly...

When you have the key in your pocket you have 12v positive on the small red wire at the glow plug controller? This is not correct - that says to me that the relay on the fender that is the main relay for the electrical system is "ON" for some odd reason and we need to figure out why... Typically when a relay fails it will fail in the "OFF" state but that does not mean that the contacts can't arc and weld themselves "ON" but I don't see that too often - actually only seen it a couple of times and then only in high voltage application (480 3 phase where high current is present).

The relay that I'm talking about is called a starter solenoid on the fender and it's pretty cheap if that's your problem - test it first don't just throw parts at it...
 

The Warden

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I'm 99.99% certain that I found the problem. The wire coming from the battery (a 4 gauge cable) has a lug on the end to hook up to the terminal on the controller, and a part of the lug that was bare metal was in contact with the heat shrink on the white ground wire going from the relay to the controller. I guess the heat shrink on the white wire wasn't as good as one would expect, because it looks like electricity burned through the heat shrink and put a truckload of 12 volts through a wire that's supposed to go to ground. Take a look at the picture; I'm holding the wire in my hand, and you can see where it burned through. The big cable in the foreground is the wire going from the battery to the controller, that the white wire shorted to. The black dab on the lug is just liquid electrical tape, to seal a portion of the connector that the heat shrink didn't get. There isn't a mark on the lug at all where it shorted out, surprisingly enough.

If that didn't fry the controller, I would be shocked...but at least it looks like I (hopefully) had everything hooked up properly, except not having enough clearance between the white wire and the 12 volt constant-feed. OTOH, it looks like my glow plugs are still happy :) (actually, I'll bet they didn't activate at all)...I ohm-checked them all, and all 8 passed.

Now, can I find a controller at a semi-reasonable price that can be in my hands in the next 24 hours? *sigh*

Thank you...and thanks for the funny; I'll read it when I'm in a better mood ;)
 

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argve

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Oh almost forgot it appears that from your pic that you wired it correctly so I doubt that was the cause of your problems but before you go throwing power back on - double check your connections just to be sure... Sometimes a guy can get in hurry and land a wire in the wrong spot - not saying that is the problem but it's worth a look see.
 

The Warden

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argve said:
When you have the key in your pocket you have 12v positive on the small red wire at the glow plug controller?
Travis, that's correct...but, that's 12 volts positive on the small red wire when there is NOTHING else hooked up to it. It looks like the 12 volts was feeding from the short-circuit that I just found; otherwise, the only way I can imagine 12 volts getting to that terminal would be if the GP relay shorted out internally...

With the short corrected, I am no longer getting 12 volts at the small red wire...so, I imagine the relay's okay. Not that it matters, though; although I haven't tested it, I'm still just about certain that the circuitry in the controller's fried...too much smoke and burnt electronics smell for it NOT to be fried...
 

towcat

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The Warden said:
Now, can I find a controller at a semi-reasonable price that can be in my hands in the next 24 hours? *sigh*
bring a 12 pack of Coors fully leaded in a bottle TONITE and I will give you a one that has been pulled off a wreck :D
 

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