I can't seem to catch a break. My other 6.9, a 1986, started this morning idled for about 10 seconds and then shut off as though someone turned the key off or hit a kill switch. There was smoke coming out from underneath the engine so I pop the hood and saw quite a bit coming out from behind the air intake. I'm assuming one of the glow plug connectors fried? I didn't know this could happen and shut off the engine?

 

most likely what ever fried caused a loss of power to the fuel shut off solenoid .... and this will stop it dead.

 

I fries the glow plugs, all of the wire housings to the glow plugs are melted. What now? I will have to replace the whole glowplug system? Replace all of this with a manual glownplug controller system? It is still 60 degrees here in Colorado can I run the truck without glow plugs for a little to get me through the next week of work?

 

sure you can... you will just have to sort out the wiring so nothing is going to short out.

 

I hope you see this before you go to work this morning. FIRST, that's the wrong wiring diagram for your 86 Truck. That one is for the solid State GP Controller in 1987 and later Ford IDI diesels. This is the right one for your truck which has a different style controller.
1984 - 1986 Ford IDI Glow Plug Controller Circuit :


I suspect that your glow plug controller relay failed or the controller failed. If it's the glow plug controller relay it would have stuck in the 'closed' position which allowed a constant current flow to the glow plugs and would not cut the power off through the glow plug harness to the glow plugs. If the controller failed I think the same thing could happen. I don't have any experience with these older controllers so I'm going by the wiring diagram.

In either case, the following instruction will disconnect all power to the the glow plug harness and glow plugs and you could then drive it as long as you can get it started. Using the diagram, begin at the Starter Relay which is on the passenger side fender well. Follow the large 8 gauge RED wire from the starter relay to the primary post on the Glow Plug Relay. It's one of the two large posts on the glow plug relay. This post also has a red (HOT) wire coming from the Battery. This post is the PRIMARY side of the gp relay which is were the voltage source is connected.

Now the OPPOSITE Large Post post on that glow plug relay is the SECONDARY side and that is where your glow plug harness is connected and receives voltage when the relay is energized. When the relay is energized by the controller, the two posts are connected internally by an internal solenoid 'contact' mechanism that makes contact between the two posts allowing curent to flow from the battery to the glow plugs. DISCONNECT your glow plug harness ring terminal(s) from that secondary post and put them aside somewhere where they won't come in contact with a positive voltage source. That will eliminate voltage to the glow plug harness and glow plugs.

It should start and run that way for now but I don't have a wiring diagram for the ignition circuit so I am not positive. Many other people in this forum have experienced the same failure so they will know.

Secondly, the following is my opinion based on my studies and knowledge of the controllers, especially the solid state controller and it's glow plugs. If you decide to go to a push button controller, USE THE SAME MOTORCRAFT/BERU glow plugs that are specified for your 1986 truck. I believe those are ZD1A. Do NOT use the ZD9 glow plugs that are used with the newer solid state controller. The reason is, the newer Solid State Controller supplies a voltage of 6 volts to the ZD9 glow plugs and they are designed to operate in the 6 volt range - not 12 volts. A push button system will supply a constant 12 volts to those ZD9 glow plugs which is excessive voltage and even though the g-plugs might last for awhile because they are very well designed engineered and manufactured, they are likely to burn out prematurely.

For those who are wondering about the solid state controller only applying 6 volts to those glow plugs, the answer is in the flat metal bar resistor bent in a zig-zag shape that is connected to the secondary side of the relay on top of the solid state controller and is in direct line with (in series with) the harness to the glow plugs. When voltage is applied through the relay that resistor heats up very rapidly creating a high resistance which drops the 12 volt input to 6 volts out to the glow plugs.

Lastly, when rewiring a glow plug circuit DON'T FORGET THE FUSIBLE LINKS. Or when replacing any wire that has a fusible link, or 'fuse link' be CERTAIN to include it in your re-wiring.

 

yes I posted the 87 to show the Injection pump solenoids where the 86 version didn't

 

I understand now.
As it turns out, he has the same topic running at the Oilburners IDI forum and his photo(s) there show that his truck has the later Solid State Controller. He also has the truck running by jumping the Fuel Shutoff Solenoid and he is disconnecting the power wires to the glow plug circuit. With the comments he has been getting at Oilburners it looks like he will get the problems solved there. Here's the link to his thread at Oilburners, same topic title:
https://www.oilburners.net/threads/t...l-smoke.86590/

 

Ahhh I see.

I didn't know what controller he had or if he even had one as his original post didn't say...
after having the Old style controller fry a couple times on my 83 I installed a new style on it then when it fried I just went to Manual control and never looked back.

when I got my 93 the controller was already flaky and fried the GP's so I converted it to manual and has been trouble free ever since.

I really don't like where Ford placed the new style controller in the first place and one Might be better off to relocate it to a cooler place in the engine bay... I never did experiment with this so I don't know if it would help.

I do know there is a lot of current involved in the Glow system and if wiring ain't up to par something will smoke.

 

My apologies I thought I uploaded the photos here too. I have simply jumped a wire directly from battery to the radiator closest prong on the injection pump. I am using this truck all week for work so I am hoping it will work. I haceny disconnected anything except the purple wire going to the seliniod over the passenger fender wall. I understand that wire is what cycles the plugs with the key on? I have been driving it for 2 days now with the wire jumped from the battery to the pump, I haven't seen any smoke or anything else burning out. Do you think I'll be safe to run it for another week or should I dive in and disconnect some more wires.

 

So being that I do in fact have the solid state controller can I wire up the 6 volt system from the 6.0 harness?

 

Disregard my last comment. I am planning on buying an older version 87- relay and mounting it on the passenger fender. Then connecting a 6.0 harness directly to this relay and mounting a manual push button to the relay. Does this sound like the best option here assuming my solid state controller and relay are fried. I will have to rewire other things like my IP so I can get 12 volts to it since the wiring to my IP was fried. Any suggestions here? Thank you

 

simple way to do it......