Hey guys, I was about to head into work today so I was warming up my glow plugs and after I started my truck the glow plug light wouldn't turn off. Being the noob at mechanics that I am I quickly turned off my engine after I realized that the light was still on for fear of the possibility of my plugs burning out.
I was hoping someone could shed some light on the subject and maybe give me a few pointers on troubleshooting this problem.

 

Do you have a voltmeter on the truck, and if so, does it continue to draw amps or does the voltmeter level out. If it levels out, you gp's are no longer heating it might just be a light or sensor problem, if it continues to spike and drop, your plugs are still heating. I would suspect the controller.

 

welcome ot FTE.
it sounds like the glow plug controller on your 86 has died in the on position.
good call on shutting the truck rite off, you probably saved the glow plugs.

 

I think my glow plugs must have burnt out or the engine is too cold to start. Winter came a little earlier than I expected and I haven't had time to buy a heater block or whatever it is to keep my engine warm so I can start it in the morning.

I don't have a voltmeter on it. So I don't know what the hell is happening. Excuse my greenness.

I had to pop my hood and disconnect both batteries so the light would turn off.

Any type of advice helps it's my only vehicle and I would like it to last a little longer

 

yup, sounds like the glow plugs are done.
if you disconnect the power wire coming out of the relay to the glow plugs, you can use a slight whiff of ether to fire it up until you can get the block heater working.

 

I was reading that it can be harmful to the engine if not used properly. Granted, I'm not going to spray the whole damn bottle on the thing but are there any precautions before spraying the ether? I heard WD-40 works as well because if has a higher ignition point than diesel.

Also I would like any advice on maintenance during winter. Sorry for all the questions

 

Ska, ether is ok to use as long as you disable your glow plugs. It only takes a small amount to get her running experiment with the "less is more" attitude. There is no real "winter maintenance" required other than a healthy glow plug system, a working block heater, antifreeze, (which should already be up to par for sca reasons) ans good tires since you'll be driving the same roads as me! I responded to your pm. I have glow plugs and controllers laying all around this place! hook up with me when we can work it out and I'll do what I can.

 

the problem with ether on diesels is when the glow plugs are hooked up they can ignite the ether and the engine goes BOOM.
that was why i said disconnect the glow plugs and only give it a slight whiff.
1 second spray into the air filter is usually more than enough to start it.

 

When using ether I prefer to spray with the engine cranking, much less chance of giving it too much and locking it up that way. A healthy IDI with proper timing, good pump and Injectors and a good starter takes only a very small amount of ether to start.

 

Thanks for all the replies and sorry for not replying sooner. I've been busy at works and whatnot you know the usual.
So I dove into the engine to take a look around because I forgot to buy an extension for my socket wrench to take out the glow plugs. I found a round connector which was disconnected so I reconnected in and tried to start her up. The glow plug light worked like normal but I have to press it to disengage the glow plug light thing. The engine temperature light turns on as well as the water in fuel and I have no idea why they're turning on because I just changed my fuel filter and my tanks are almost full and I haven't ran my engine for the past week so I know that it's not overheating or whatever.

I'm assuming the glow plugs aren't shot because of that round thing because I looked at where it leads and it's to all of my plugs in my engine.
I'll take a look this weekend when I get the chance to take a look at my plugs.

Also, I was wondering the difference between beru and motorcraft plugs. I have been reading about quick startup kits and stuff but I'd like to see if anyone has them on an older model and particularly an IDI engine. If it's not possible whatever I just wanted to know a bit more on this. Thanks again guys!

 

What did you have to press, exactly?

The WIF and temp light go on while you're holding the key in the START position; it's a bulb test.

Beru and Motorcraft are the same.

 

I have a push to heat glow plugs button. It came with my truck. It also seems to me that the person who did the wiring didn't know what he was really doing because everything looks rather ugly. I'll post pictures if you need or whatever you want if possible.