thats a good point, probably wouldnt matter anyhow as im good tell -20f anyhow with these 6.9s

 

Okay, i bought a filter from advance auto, and am trying to gather the courage to replace this without help. But, should the new filter have come with o rings??
Also, someone please briefly explain to me what this heater element of the filter is that iv heard about?

 

Well guys, the new filter didnt fix it, to my dismay. I dont know where to turn next

 

you need to figure out why your "fuel filter" light is on.there's a vacuum.be it a plugged up filter/gelled fuel and bad filter,a non working fuel pump or pitched/clogged fuel delivery line.
when you crank the engine does fuel pump out of the filter head,with the valve pressed in?
the filter heater is to help aid against fuel from gelling in the filter.it shouldn't be required if you fuel up locally as the fuel will be refined for your local temps.the issue is when you fuel up with summer blend,leave the truck sitting with this fuel until winter or when traveling from warm to cold climates.that's when you can run into issues with gelled fuel..primarily.iv had my "fuel filter" light come on and stall the engine out during the winter,when i got a bad batch of fuel with water in it.the water froze in the filter and clogged it.a bottle of diesel 911 with the e-pump running cleaned it up.

merry xmas.

 

Thanks for the informative reply.
I changed the fuel filter, so i should hope it is not the problem. And yeah fuel does come out the valve.
And i have local fuel and i put winter anti-gel additive in it.

So the next suspect would probably be the fuel pump, huh.
I dont know if this is relevant, but when i turn the key on, the glow plugs cycle. After a few seconds, should i hear clicking and my volt meter changing back and forth?
Because it did that normally before i had these issues.
Thanks, and merry Christmas!

 

That clicking is called afterglow. It's the GPC keeping the glow plugs at their peak temperature to help warm up the cylinders after the initial glow is done. Totally normal.

 

I have also seen the fuel filter light come on when i have air intrusion. Air doesn't pump as well as fuel.

Two years ago I ended up having an issue with the fuel lines and re-ran them from the tank to the fuel pump. Its something to look into as well.

I currently have this issue with my truck. It's a pain to start due to air. I had some splices in the my fuel line for a mini filter so i could observe air in the line but, i eliminated it as those mini filter only last a couple months before clogging with all the rust and junk in the tank. But, my hose clamps and hose barb i replaced it with suck.

 

On mine I eliminated the lower portion with the water in fuel sensor and the fuel filter warning sensor.
The WIX filter On mine has a small plug to allow water to drain.
It makes an easier filter change, just one piece.
(an important note is; both the water in fuel warning light and fuel filter warning light won't operate without the lower spin on portion)

The filter warning light is activated by vacuum in the filter.
This is why the warning light will come on with air intrusion.
(with Air intrusion, the filter is usually not at fault.)

There is a fix for the heater terminal, to replace the "O" rings,
or,
Remove the heater altogether, and replace the wiring terminal in the housing with a blind plug epoxied in to the hole.

Mine stopped leaking when I let a heat gun blow on it for about five minutes.
Not that I'm that smart, just a lucky draw;
I was trying to heat it it up to make the filter easier to remove,,
And voila !! No more leak !!

 

This isn't exactly true. There are a few different models of the one piece filter. You can get them with a port for the water in fuel sensor. The filter I put in my truck (Wix 33617 if I remember correctly) fits the water sensor that is screwed into the lower portion of the OEM filter.

The fuel filter warning sensor is a vacuum sensor that is in the filter head, NOT the filter, or the bottom of the filter. The type of filter you use has absolutely no bearing on the operation of the vacuum sensor. The fuel filter warning light will light when it senses vacuum in the filter head. This can occur if the filter clogs not allowing enough fuel to flow through. It can also occur if the lift pump isn't supplying enough fuel for the injection pump. Air intrusion by itself will not cause the filter warning light to come on, as the air will not set off the vacuum sensor.

 

Thanks for those corrections,
I didn't know about that WIX filter
I guess my warning lights are not working for some other reason

 

No problem, I just want to make sure people find correct info.
I've only seen the filter warning light come on a couple times of my truck. First was in the middle of winter, a few times on the highway. That cleared up a few days later when it got warmer, I don't recall actually doing anything (though I did order a new filter, but didn't install it until months later).
Second time was when my lift pump was failing. When on the highway, or when towing at more than like 30MPH the light came on. I was getting ready to swap filters again, then the lift pump crapped out for good.

My gut instinct says that air intrusion won't ever cause the warning light to come on, because as soon as the injection pump sucks air, it will loose its prime, then not be able to pull any fuel into the pump and have to wait for the lift pump to catch up and refill the filter and reprime the injector pump. I don't know if thats true, but it makes sense to me.

 

OP, if you have a meter, pop the wires off and OHM your glow plugs to ground, it will quickly tell you if any have burned out. Only have to lose a couple on an older engine for it to not fire.

 

Heck, you can always 'spark test' them -- a piece of stout wire to the + battery terminal, and just touch the other end to the GP terminal. If you see little sparks(current is flowing), it's good. If you see nothing, it's bad.

 

I both a bad glow plug controller and the broken strainers in both tanks and it had been sitting for a year.

 

the IP transfer pump can pull fuel from tank through a lift pump that has plastic bits, of shower head in the valves or if your fuse blows on your e pump, my brothers e pump wire came unhooked on a test run, and the engine would idle and move slowly, we drove it 4 miles before we found the problem.