Ok Most of you probably know ive been trying to determine the problem of why my engine wont start in my 83, i decided it was the glow plugs and i changed them all. Oh and to let you know the owner before me had 2 autolite plugs in there and they DID swell but i carefully removed them. All the others were AC delco i think and there was one champion. Anyways when i turn the key the wts light stays on for about 6 seconds, then it clicks on and off.....with the hood open you hear a clicking sound coming from right behind the battery i know that the glow plug switch is at the rear of the engine on the right hand side but is the relay the thing that is clicking? i really dont want to start my truck if this is a serious problem, i already dropped 80 bucks for new plugs and id hate to have to buy new ones.

 

Check out the push button GP controls here...... http://www.members.shaw.ca/k2pilot/

 

sounds like a normal glow plug cycling system at work. it should stop shortly after you start if the afterglow relay is working corectly. the 6.9 seam to have a screwy system , it might be a good idea to convert to a push button

 

The 83 thru 86 (old style system) glow plug system uses a relay behind the passenger side battery.
The controller is located in the rear of the passenger side head and goes into the coolant jacket to sense the coolant temp.

The controller will tell the glow plugs to turn ON even if all of them are burnt out if the coolant is below something like 105 degrees. It works on a timer and coolant temp.
Glow plugs are Motorcraft/Beru ZD 1A and have a spade connector on them.

The old style system and the new style system (87 thru 94) both have relays, both use glow plugs, both use a glow plug harness and both use a lot of amps to heat the plugs.
That is about all they have in common.
Nothing is interchangeable from one system to the other, it is either new style or old style.

 

ok i thought the relay was behind the battery but wasnt sure...thats where the clickin comes from...the wires go from the relay to the back DRIVERS side head to this little cylinder thingy....any idea of what that is?
it seems like the glow plugs arent staying on as ong as they should could this be that the thermometer that checks the temp is out or what? Also none of the glow plugs worked at all....after testing none worked so yah i changed them all and the new ones are all the same brand Motorcraft Beru zd1a. could it maybe be the wiring or what....i borowed a repair manual from a friend and im copying some pages out of it so i can see what i need i hope it helps, im sick of throwing money into this truck then having more problems.

 

the clicking is normal. that is the plugs cycling on and off. you will even hear it cycle after the engine starts, so don't worry about it. did you try to start yet?? with new plugs, 6 seconds is a little fast, but then again you may be getting a higher voltage than my 88 does. if it starts up with no problems, i would leave the factory controller in. it is very easy to burn out the plugs with a manual switch if you do not pay attention to what you are doing.

 

I let it sit over night, and the engine cooled off and it started right up this morning with no starting problems at all. I dont think im going to change the controller but i might change the wires and connectors because theyre getting a little old and the connectors are cracking.

 

The cylinder looking thing in the rear of the passenger side head is the controller.
Also if you follow the wiring harness from the relay to the engine you will find a connector where the chassis and engine harness plug together.
Check that connector for signs of melting on the side with the two large orange wires.
The are the wires that feed the glow plugs power and that connector has been known to melt and not make a good connection.
The small wires in the connector do not seem to have a problem, they are the power to the IP and gauge sending units.

If you go to Ford and price the wiring harness I think you will fix the one on the truck. Last engine harness I bought was about 160 dollars.

 

ok deffinately not spending that much......i dont NEED it its just old and looking bad and could need to be fixed....Everything works now, so i think im going to work on my air intake system, im getting a welder soon so i might weld up my own exhaust as well but who knows.

 

Heat shrink tubing is good to repair insulation and also to cover the terminals when the clips break off.