My glow plug connectors are disintegrating, how do you get these things off?

Thanks!

 

Unfortunately a lot of times the rubber ends of the connectors end up fusing themselves onto the glow plugs and you'll need to carefully try to either twist them gently while pulling, or try using a pair of needlenose pliers to get them off. Once the rubber is damaged though, you should replace the connector to ensure that once you hook them back up you don't have a loose connection.

 

If you cannot find connectors, you can use electrical crimp connectors instead.

 

If the white plastic has disintegrated just use heat shrink tube to cover the metal, but leave 1/16 over the live end so it does not short on the block when removed if you put the key on.

 

Got 'em off and tested GP's with a test light, all seem to be working but she still will not start... Any ideas???

 

i believe that the glow plugs could test good with a test light, but still be bad, you need to check resistance with an ohm meter, i think anything over 1 ohm they are bad, do a search on this forum for glow plugs, the topic has been discussed numerous times, i could possibly be wrong on the 1 ohm but you do have to check it by resistance, not a test light, also how long does your wait to start light stay on, when my plugs go bad my wait to start light doesnt stay on long like it should

 

When testing glow plugs, make sure the engine is cold to avoid a false reading. A good plug will have some resistance, while a bad plug will show zero resistance or "OL" (Out of limits). I learned the hard way on an engine that was warm, all the plugs read zero ohms, and I thought that they were all good. As it turned out, one of them was bent and shorting directly to ground and burned the insulation off the wiring harness. That's why I recommend testing them while the engine is cold.

 

Is that zero resistance the same as zero ohms? My digital multimeter shows that all of my glow plugs are about .1 to .2 ohms when cold. I get that number from shorting out the test leads next to each other on a conducting surface, and then subtracting that number from the reading when I measure the plugs.

Am I close?

 

Yes, zero resistance is the same as zero ohms. However, if your meter reads "OL", it means that no electricity can pass through.

 

Could be he glow plug controler just behind the air filter might be going bad. You can get them at most IH truck dealers if the ford dealer doesn't have one. Does the controler stay on for about 5 - 10 seconds? If not this might be a good possibility. I've replaced mine twice on my 93.

 

I know it's a hard job but I control my GP's outside the engine,one by one with an old battery,if the tip gets hot no need to mess around with testers.I got some good Bosch GP's at Rockauto $8.35 each, they fire-up in 4 seconds.
Saigon

Manual GP switch on my 6.9

 

When I go to start in the morning the light stays on for 12-15 seconds and she fire right up, I always figured that was normal. If it is below 40 she needs to be plugged in. Figured I needed to replace one or two GP's.

 

Saigon, you might want to consider using Motorcraft/Beru GPs instead. They are much better. The issue is not so much how fast they heat up, but how many seconds it takes to go bad. Of course you did the right thing installing your manual switch, you control the time, and no matter what you use they will last longer than with the controller hooked up. I also use a manual switch. But I still use the Motorcraft. It will be that much longer before I have to change them again. Just adding my 2 cents worth.

Hangfire, 12 - 15 sounds right. When I got my truck it had two bad gps. The light only stayed on for about 4 or 5 seconds. After I changed them the light stayed on for about 12 seconds or so. When it goes below 40 you might try to cycle the gps twice. I don't plug mine in until it gets into the 20s. I use a manual switch. If it doesn't start in about 3 or 4 seconds I hit the switch a second time.

 

The only time I have to plug in to the 110v is when it gets below 15 degrees. I've had this truck since 94 and in Michigan it gets pretty darn cold some winters.

 

My E350 7.3 1989 usually fires up right away down to 0°F (-18 °C) without the blockheater. In fact my blockheater has not worked in years. For the very few occations where it would not start right away, I have a can of ether which I use (which is extremely seldom after I got new batteries). At temperature below 20°F, 13-15 seconds sounds right. I changed my glowplug controller few years ago and it is working great. I hear the Beru gp are great but I have also heard good things about Delphi gp.