When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
One of my friends wants to add the in cab LED to indicate the glow plugs are active. Is this a noteworthy mod? If so I might as well do my truck at the same time. Also are there any write ups?
I chose to NOT do this mod because I had an extremely active tactile feedback "click" when my Stancor unit would deactivate. HOWEVER, if I had installed the LED anyway, I would have not been plugging in my block heater all winter long because I would have SEEN that the GPR was not performing!
Do it. Cheap and easy. I'm adding mine this weekend when I install my new Trombetta relay.
Yes it's very simple. I used a tiny (1/4") red LED and drilled a hole in the A pillar and mounted it there. Running the wire is the hardest part. Nothing like being able to trouble shoot from the driver's seat in 2 seconds and also to know how long the cycle is in cold weather.
Back when I did mine we still had Radio Shack locally but I believe they are mostly gone now, not any in Tucson anyway.
A voltmeter in the cab will do the same thing, as well as advise you when you have battery issues, alternator issues, etc. But, if I didn't have a voltmeter, I'd surely have an LED. My GPR died recently and along with not starting (;-)), my other clue was that my voltmeter did not drop to 10.x volts when I cycled the ignition.
I have used a voltage meter plugged into the cig/power port for many many years.....
gives you voltage of
1) battery voltage (above 12.3 v)
2) power drop when key on, (wait to start) (your GPR 'light' will be 'on' at this time) (voltage around 11.5v)
3) power drop, starter engaged, voltage drops too far (10.5v?) truck will not start.
4) truck start and GPR is still on.... voltage (voltage goes back to around 11.5v)
5) voltage starts to climb (your GPR 'light' will go 'off' at this time)
6) your voltage will climb to the output of the alternator. (voltage above 14v)
get a plug in voltage meter and get more information and not worry about wiring anything up or drilling holes. (imo)
@Sous Does the manual switch mod cause any errors from the PCM?
None!
It also gives me 100% control of the GP's which doesn't allow the high output alternator (160A) to overcharge the GP's and possibly cause them to fail prematurely.
Also, I have only been lighting the GP's for ~15 seconds before turning them off and firing up the engine. Anything past that time is said to be for emissions reduction only.
I have the full power of the NorthStar AGM batteries at start up, which is nice.
There is A LOT of detail in the thread I linked to above if you have a few minutes/hours to read through it.
Shoot me a PM or post in that thread if you have any questions so we don't derail this one.
I echo what Sous posted as well. I've had a manual push-button switch for over ten years now with zero issues and a greatly increased glow plug life span. The ONLY reason glow plugs are needed is to get the engine running on a cold morning, and to help reduce smoking from over-fueling that cold combustion chamber. After that, nothing. They only designed it as computer controlled to shield the truck from people who don't really understand, or don't want to understand and just want to turn the key and drive away.
I echo what Sous posted as well. I've had a manual push-button switch for over ten years now with zero issues and a greatly increased glow plug life span. The ONLY reason glow plugs are needed is to get the engine running on a cold morning, and to help reduce smoking from over-fueling that cold combustion chamber. After that, nothing. They only designed it as computer controlled to shield the truck from people who don't really understand, or don't want to understand and just want to turn the key and drive away.
Interesting, I never gave this a thought. I also wonder if this could be the reason a lot of 7.3 owners report starter grinding from time to time, I have starter grinding on occasion and have never really figured it out except that lower battery power seems to aggravate the situation. Now you got me considering the push button mod. Do you simply disconnect the PCM supplied ground and wire in your own?
Interesting, I never gave this a thought. I also wonder if this could be the reason a lot of 7.3 owners report starter grinding from time to time, I have starter grinding on occasion and have never really figured it out except that lower battery power seems to aggravate the situation. Now you got me considering the push button mod. Do you simply disconnect the PCM supplied ground and wire in your own?
Yes. Disconnect the small wire that does NOT go to the larger power supply wire. That is the ground wire that terminates in the ECU. That is how the computer turns on the glow plug relay by completing the circuit to ground, activating the GPR. From there, it's up to you to determine how to control the GPR. I used a NAPA boat starter momentary on push button switch. Way more switch than is necessary, but it get's the job done with ease.
Run a wire from the now disconnected post to one pole of the switch, mounted in the location of your choosing, and out of the other side of the switch to a convenient ground location under the dash. https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/TWD9115BX
Interesting, I never gave this a thought. I also wonder if this could be the reason a lot of 7.3 owners report starter grinding from time to time, I have starter grinding on occasion and have never really figured it out except that lower battery power seems to aggravate the situation. Now you got me considering the push button mod. Do you simply disconnect the PCM supplied ground and wire in your own?
See the diagram and link I provided above in post #2.
The link has very detailed pictures and explanation to augment the diagram.
Saw this on the 7.3 Powerstroke Technical Page on FB. Nice option for the GPR LED mod. I think if I didn't already have an indicator on my glow plug disable switch, I'd try one of these.
