Glow Plug Qustion... Need help ASAP

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Sep 2, 2014 | 08:13 PM

old blue beast

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Joined: Oct 2008

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From: Toronto, On

Glow Plug Qustion... Need help ASAP

Hey guys, so something weird happened to me on my way up to the cottage. I noticed the "wait to start" light was dimly lit, not full like a cold morning start, but half. I ignored this as it has been doing this for about 2 weeks. But then the light just went out, came back on, and went out again. All this happening within a minute. Then the light came back on full blast, my headlights dimmed, and all I could smell was electrical burning. I pulled over, turned off the motor, popped the hood, and took a look. Smoke appeared to be coming from the glow plug controller, but none of the wires looked to be burned. I pulled the fuse (#18 on the fuse panel) and fired it up. Everything was fine, just had no gauges except the speedo. Drove about 35-45km and pulled into a gas station to check on everything. Everything was fine. I decided to put the fuse back in and see if it would either do it again, or not. It made it to the cottage alright. So, my question is, what the hell happened? Trucks a 1990 ford f250, 7.3l idi, 5spd, 553,350km

Sep 2, 2014 | 09:21 PM

Forddiesel17

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Joined: Jan 2011

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From: Bluffton, IN

Did the smoke come from the controller or the wiring to the controller. Sounds like a fusible link melted. Check for melted/burnt wiring.

Sep 6, 2014 | 07:55 PM

southern-old-bold

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My 6.9 has a retro fitted system done by a PO that uses a turbo timer (adjustable ) through a relay . This is in cab, marked for 10 secs and can be run back to zero time if the engine is warm. Short ownership so far, but I see this as a simple system that bypasses all the stuff that can O/L when glowplugs and the controller fail. Remember to check glowplugs regularly for function, plenty of posts on this topic here (Pre-Power Stroke Diesel (7.3L IDI & 6.9L) Diesel Topics Only) and work a similar controller system. I would say the possibility that your controller had fused in the active or cold start position and was feeding maybe 200 amps to the glowplugs constantly is real.