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Toggle Switch Glow Plug Users?

12K views 13 replies 5 participants last post by  DZLJIM 
#1 ·
my question is for all of you that have done the manual glow plug switchover, How long do you flip the switch for? count to ten, twenty maybe thirty?
Also, how long wil the glow plugs stay cycled for? Ive heard they will shut off automatically at 2 minutes... is this correct?
the reason im asking is, for the first time when i went to start my truck, she didnt fire.. its 37degrees here and she hasnt been ran all day.. wasnt plugged in.. i counted to about 8 and no start... waited a sec, hit the switch again and counted to 15 and she fired up fine with a big belch of white smoke.... shes idle'n now for about 10 mins or so....
thanks
 
#2 ·
there are two small wires that go to the glow plug relay, one of the wires simply goes to ground so what i did was put a toggle switch in-line with that small wire. when i have the toggle switch on, the glow plugs work as they should and when i turn it off, the glow plugs don't come on at all, that way i don't have to think about how long i want to run glow plugs for when i need them. i've been using this set-up for a couple years and have not had a problem with it yet. running as they should, the glow plugs will run for about 2 minutes even after the WTS light goes out.
 
#3 ·
thats exactly what i did... its my first winter since ive done this, so i guess i have to "cycle" them a little longer....
 
#4 ·
when my engine is cold, i'll turn my glow plugs on and let the wts light turn off and wait an additional half minute or so and she'll generally fire right up. once started, i'll leave the glow plugs on and usually won't start driving until they turn off automatically and the volt meter kicks up to what it should be. if the engine is even a little warm, generally won't need glow plugs at all, especially in the warmer months like you've probably already found.
 
#7 ·
Engine Auto part Fuel line Vehicle Automotive fuel system

the newer red wire w/ the blue butt conector was ran inside the cab to a on/off switch... then another wire was ran to a ground.. on to cycle the plugs, off for off... RIGHT?
when i did this it was summer, BUT now thats its winter, i have had some starting issues..
all comments appreciated
 
#8 ·
The way you have the relay wired you have taken the PCM out of the system. Toggle switch on-glowplugs on. Leave the glowplugs on for a minute or two in cooler weather. You can start the engine after about 20 seconds.
Why did you wire it this way? The PCM control works quite well.
 
#10 ·
i did it this way because there was a short somewhere in the wire... the guys at the international dealership told me about wire'n it this way since it is a positive ground...it worked quite well since here lately..
 
#9 · (Edited)
Might have been easier to snip one of the small wires going to the relay and then splice one end to one terminal of the toggle switch and splice the other end to the other terminal on the toggle. On would complete the circuit and off would open the circuit to turn the glow plugs off. Sounds like it would still be pretty easy to redo it that way if you wanted. With the way you have, might have to be careful not to bump the switch and leave the glow plugs on for too long of a time which could cause damage to them and to the engine.
 
#11 ·
it works great now!!!! my problems were in the switch... i had a basic up/on down/off switch... it failed leading me to this post... since then i have went to momentary push button style switch... wired it up today and it works GREAT!!!!!!
 
#12 ·
No real need for a manual override if your parts are in good shape. If you're having trouble starting then you need a new relay and/or all new gp's.
This stuff doesn't last forever.
If your relay is in good shape and your Glow Plugs are good, the truck will start even below zero in about 8-10 seconds just using the factory set-up.
You turn the key on and the gp's glow for up to 2 minutes, but you can start the truck in 8 to 10 sec, usually. You can watch your volt meter to confirm this. When the truck warms up, the gp on-time will be much shorter, if on at all.
You don't "CYCLE" these glow plugs at all!!! When they are on, they are on for 2 minutes. If it won't start after 8 to 10 sec you have problems to fix.
 
#13 ·
there was a short some where between the pcm and the relay.... or maybe even the pcm.. i did this to circumvent the issue without having to "wire case"....
 
#14 ·
Gotcha!
That works well in that case.
So did you find the problem, or just gonna live with it with the switch?

Even with the switch, they only need to be on for about 8 seconds or so to start, then a few seconds after it starts. I shut mine off once as soon as it started and the truck ran crappy till it really wamred up.
 
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