manual glow plug controler

[Jim P]

What would be the proper way to wire up a manual glow plug switch on a 95 truck? As the weather is getting colder, my 18:1 engine seems to need a little longer glow time.

My glow plug controler has three small wires. The red one is the only one that seems to have any juice and it is hot anytime the ignition switch is on. Which wire would I hook to a manual switch to energize the controler?

Jim P.

[tanker]

Jim, I took a glow plug relay from an 84 6.2, mounted it side by side of mine, jumped the battery side to battery side, and glow side to glow side, next I installed a push button in the cabin, one wire to 12-V and the other to the small terminal on the new relay. Now prior to startup, key off, I push the button in to the count of ten, then turn the key switch to allow original glow time, and presto easy start without smoke, or shake rattle and roll.
Penninsular Diesel has a glow plug timer (adjustable) but I'm not sure what the cost is. I won mine at this years 5th Rendezvous in Montana, but have yet to do the installation. smile.gif

[Bobbie Martin]

It should be the yellow wire at the glow plug relay. Or you could find the same wire on the PCM computer at PC13, which is the pink 32 pin connector.

[Jim P]

Tanker,

Thanks for the reply. That would definitely work but isn't there a way to enengize the glow plug controler that I have? I know it is controled by the computer but it has to get juice from the computer somehow to make it work. I just thought that I could put juice to the wire that comes from the computer and that would make it work manually but I can't figure out which wire.

Jim P.

[Jim P]

Bobbie Martin,

Thats what I was looking for but I have one more question.

Does this wire need 12v to energize the controler or does it need grounded to energize the controler?

I had my wife cycling the glow plugs but I never had power to the yellow wire. The controler was working though because I could hear it clicking. The only wire that had juice was the red one but it had juice even when the controler would click off.

[Bobbie Martin]

According to my book, the yellow wire is B+. The glow plug relay is grounded via the black wire. The pink/black wire goes to the fuel heater & water in fuel sensor. So I would think you should have 12 volts + on the yellow wire when the PCM energizes the glow plugs. The red wire should have 12 volts all the time. I would try putting 12 volts to the yellow wire, but I would probably remove it from the PCM before you do. It's not expecting 12V there and I don't know if would do any harm or not.

[Jim P]

It was the yellow wire that you have to put juice to, to make the glow plug controler work. My truck has 3 wires on the controler red, yellow and black. The red has juice all the time, the black has juice only when the key is on and the yellow receives juice from the computer. All three have to have juice to energize the controler and make the glow plugs work. I cut the yellow and hooked up a switch to the end that goes to the controler. Now the glow plugs work manually. I am also going to get a diode to attach between the two cut yellow wires so the computer will also enegize the controler. That way when it's warm I won't have to glow manually but when it's cold, I can give it another 5 seconds or so of glow time. The diode will prevent juice from flowing back to the computer when I'm glowing manually. I am not sure if that would hurt it or not.

Jim P.

[DogDiesel]

I bought the Peninsular adjustable glow plug controller. Works great.

Vice buying their solenoid, just buy a lawn-mover solenoid, wires the same. The provide a decent diagram.

The only problem I had, was that the instructions said mount it on the emergency brake bracket with two screws provided. This lasted for about 3 months and the screws fell out with my wife driving. She called on the cell, said truck wouldn't start. Cranked... Asked her to look at the controller, and plugged one wire end and drove home. Hence I safety wired each wire, and remounted the controller up above, in the wiring harness.

Something like this is a must for the low compression engines. With the 60G plugs I can glow enough to start with no smoke.

Wayne