Wires burnt clean through on GP harness...

[N.E fjord-by-fjord 2fiddy]

I noticed when I was putting in my return line kit that 2 wires on my glow plug harness were burnt completely through... (two mid cylinders on driver side bank)

Does this mean the glow plugs are bad and caused the overloaded wires? If not, what did?

I plan on getting a new wiring harness soon, but how important is it if I've only got 6 active GP's? Can I get away with it like that for a a while?

Also, If I test GP's, and 1 is bad, should I change them all? Thought I may have heard that somewhere....


Thanks!

 

[79jasper]

If they aren't beru's, change em all. No exceptions.

Failed glowplug could maybe cause it. But that puny wire they used was junk anyways. Add years of use and....

If you're using that factory gp controller, it may not light them long enough.
But if it's still starting fine...

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[gandalf]

If they aren't beru's, change em all. No exceptions.

...

It's my understanding that one bad glowplug will make our engines hard starting. I've heard that two bad glowplugs make our engines somewhere from very hard starting to not starting. Add to that the fact that its December, and December in Maine can be rather cold. January and February can be wicked cold. Yes, winters in Maine can be a bit harsh. You're going to need every advantage you can find to start your engine. You'll want all eight glowplugs working their best, and both batteries in top condition.

 

[N.E fjord-by-fjord 2fiddy]

Yup... Maine's a great place to experience all that New England winters have to offer...

That's why I'm doing all this now. Don't want to be doing it in -10 in January and snapping my fingers off...

So when the kid sold it to me, he was showing me all these additives he had. "...and this is to keep the fuel system clean..." "...and I use this to keep it from gelling..." and so on... After the conversation, I wondered if what was in the tank would even be considered diesel any more!

Also said "she doesn't like the cold. you gotta let the glow plugs cycle like 5 times before you crank it. if it doesn't start, let them cycle again"... But my guess is that she didn't like having a leaky fuel return system, a leaky fuel filter heater, two dead glow plugs, and one dead battery... yes, that's right... One battery was completely toasted.

New battery now, good fuel return... gonna do 8 ZD9's, harness and check the fuel filter o-rings, and all will be right with the world! Hopefully...

Thank you for confirming my suspicions.

Oh... and the block heater he said would "take it's sweet time"...... Was rusted out wire @ the plug site. No juice. Fixed that for a whopping $1.79 @ Ace hardware... Works great!

Glad I rescued her from her certain doom!

 

[Agnem]

Certainly sounds like you did! Yes, as was said before, change them all. the burned wires can be cut out and replaced with the same wire gauge. Don't change the gauge or length, as the system is very dependent on current draw for glow time calculations.

 

[ZWilson07]

OP did you ever find out what caused only those 2 specific wires to burn up?

Also is there anyway to actually tell how well all the gp's are working besides just trying to listen for it; an actual specific thorough way?

 

[79jasper]

Well you can ohm them.
Or pull them out, hold with pliers, and give power.

Compare starting with and without the block heater.

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[ZWilson07]

Well you can ohm them.
Or pull them out, hold with pliers, and give power.

Compare starting with and without the block heater.

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Any more detail on how to ohm them? I just picked up a multi-meter for these kind of things but I haven't used one much yet so I am still learning in that area.

Isn't the block heater a seperate heating unit? As in it should start easier with the block heater even if the GP's aren't working as good?

 

[79jasper]

Correct.
If it starts 10 times better with the block heater, could mean GP's aren't up to *****.

Take ground of meter to good ground (I use the battery), take + lead to gp tip.
Can't remember the spec, but shouldn't be 0 nor infinite.

Can ohm the harness too.

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[N.E fjord-by-fjord 2fiddy]

I think spec is low side... like 2-4 ohms??? I heard 7 or more is the too much impedance range, and they need replacing.... Someone please correct me if I'm wrong. Don't want to spread dis-information....

 

[N.E fjord-by-fjord 2fiddy]

Ok.... just type "ohm testing glow plugs" into google... LOTS of good info... From one site, I gathered that "factory specs" on glow plugs (don't know brand) were .6 - 6 ohms for "acceptable". The lowere the ohms, the better. So I guess I wasn't far off....

Hope that helps.

 

[icanfixall]

Generally speaking if the glow lite stays on for 7 seconds then your system is acting correctly. Colde weather makes that time a little longer. A short 3 or 4 second lite is telling you there is something wrong. Many times the engine main wire harness plug melts from corrosion and hest. So look at that plug. If the end is melted its the 2 yellow wires that feeds power to the controller. Just bypass the plug and run a new wire of 6 gauge with crimped and soldiered lugs for the amps of this draw..

 

[gandalf]

Generally speaking if the glow lite stays on for 7 seconds then your system is acting correctly. Colde weather makes that time a little longer. A short 3 or 4 second lite is telling you there is something wrong. Many times the engine main wire harness plug melts from corrosion and hest. So look at that plug. If the end is melted its the 2 yellow wires that feeds power to the controller. Just bypass the plug and run a new wire of 6 gauge with crimped and soldiered lugs for the amps of this draw..

Yes sir. Been there, done that. I had the two yellow source wires melt at their connector, so the glowplug controller was getting no power. That connector is located on the driver's side, sort of under the power distribution box. See the picture.

I cut the two yellow cables going into the connector and capped them. You can see the caps in the picture. I cut the two yellow cables coming out the other side of the connector, where they had melted, and disconnected them at the other end, from the glowplug controller.

I then wired in a new power source for the glowplug controller. See the other picture. This came from the starter solenoid as a single cable, significantly heavier gauge, and goes directly to the glowplug controller. In the picture it's the one going off to the right, with a black casing. It's a constant hot, attached to the large lug, along with the red cable from the battery.

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[icanfixall]

Nice pics Ken plus nice work on the controller connection.