Glow plug problems.
New User
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 3
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Glow plug problems.
My 1989 7.3l is again starting poorly or not at all. I took it to a local garage to have glow plugs tested and was informed that all of them were fine. Having had the truck for some time, I knew that it was'nt cycling normally. I beleive the mechanic used a test light to check them. I then took the truck home and checked them myself in the same way. I did find one that needed replacing, changed it and things were good for two starts. The truck now won't cycle more than four seconds. Is this a reliable way to check glow plugs? How can I check the condition of the relay? Are there other factors that could be causing the problem?
New User
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 6
Likes: 0
Glow plug problems.
[updated:LAST EDITED ON 04-Nov-02 AT 07:33 PM (EST)]Sbun, you should get yourself a volt-ohmeter first thing, test lamps are ok but a meter, now it can tell you something. Usually they come with a how to booklet on there use. Your plugs should all read very near one ohm in resistance or less. Don't replace bad GP's with Champion, I did and the two new ones I installed lasted precisely 2 cycles and were cooked (I brought them back). Buy Beru's, or Motorcraft. Another fairly common problem as with other automotive electrical components is ground connections. Your GP controller ground may need cleaning, to find it follow the black wire coming from the "solid state" base of controller. It should lead off to the right of the controller and ground on a stud that on mine also holds the GP wiring harness near the rear right side of the intake. Lastly check out desielstop.com for more info. about Ford desiels. Hope this helps. 
