I have a 92 ford F-250 7.3L diesel. It is stock.

I am having trouble starting the truck now after some minor fuel filter heater problems. I replaced the fuel filter and heater after the heater cracked the plastic seal on top and was spewing fuel out. After replacing the bottom side (actual heater) I found out from the ford dealership that the plastic connector that snaps onto the top is no longer made. So put a clip on the old wire (what was left of it) and put it back on the metal tang for the fuel heater. I tested the wiring and it's getting power to the heater.

With that said I am having touble getting the truck to start now. I have become dependant on starting fluid to get it to start from cold. After that it fires right up if it's warm. The truck runs completely fine after it starts.

I have tested all the glow plugs and they are good. . . I am not sure what's going on?

Oh and one more thing. . . the light on the dash is showing Water In Fuel now. . .

Any Ideas??? Thanks fellas. This issue is really troubling me.

 

WIF light on.......drain the filter or change it if over 10K miles.

Click on my name and email me use Subject: GP controller test

 

I changed the filter when I messed with the heater. . . ever since the light has been on.

It won't let me send emails or pm for another 10 days. . . if you could post any information here it would be much appreciated. . . thanks

 

Kowboy Kenny,
Welcome to FTE and the IDI diesel forum.

Is the Wait to Start light coming on?
For how long?

 

Thanks Dave,

As far as the wait to start light goes. . . My solenoid that sets the time to heat the plugs went out. . . and I didn't want to pay the 2-300 bucks that they wanted for it. So i wired around it to a switch. Then mounted the switch on my dash and I hold that button for how ever long I want to heat the plugs. . .

Yeah WAY OAKIE eh? But it works. SO I know that I am heating the plugs long enough. I have to check that I am getting power to the plugs though. . . that is one thing that I forgot to check. I know the plugs are good though. . .

Thanks, ken

 

Nuthin' OAKIE about that. If your answer had indicated controller malfunction, the switch is what he would have been recommending! Around here its known as bypassing the controller with a manual control

Don't bet the farm on the plugs being good unless you've tested them with a VOM or test light. I bought a set of MotorCraft/Beru plugs (the best commonly available GPs for these trucks) and they were dead right out of the box (actually bag, but whatever).

 

1.0 Pull the wire of the water sensor and see if your WIF light stays on. If it does you got a short somewhere in your wiring that causes your light to come on. I got rid of the factory filter set-up years ago when I installed my Racor filter setup with the clear plastic see-thru bowl and then my WIF light started comming on one day. The only explanation is a short as it had been disconnected for years at the sensor.

2.0 Check all your fuel connections/gaskets around the filter, you probably disturbed one of the rubber lines or drain valve and now have an air leak that is causing your starting problems.

3.0 If you got a push button bypass system to glow your glow plugs check all the plugs with a 12V test light. My bet would be atleast half of the plugs are gone and glowing the rest is not enought to get the engine to start. There is no way to tell how many plugs are still good with the push buttom system unless you physically test each plug.

Here is the procedure for testing the plugs, very simple, all you need is a 12V test light:

1.0 Pull the electrical connector off each plug.
2.0 Connect a standard 12V test light to the +ve terminal on your battery.
3.0 Touch the negative on your battery to test whether the light works.
4.0 Touch the glowplug at the tip were the electrical connector used to connect.
5.0 If the Test light lights up the plug is good.
6.0 If the Test light does not light up or is dim then the plug is bad.
7.0 If you find a bad plug replace them all unless you just replaced them all
8.0 Only replace with Beru/Motorcraft Plug (or maybe "Bosch" Plugs that say "Made in Germany" right on the body of the plug)

 

Hamburger,

Thanks for all the recommendations. . . my analysis is as follows

The WIF light goes off if I disconnect the wire. . . don't know what that means

There is no leaks around the fuel filter. . .all gaskets seem to be fine. . . But that wouldn't explain why it runs fine after firing with starting fluid. . .

7/8 glow plugs are good (I have always used the testing method you described. . . works great, and simple) Just curious but why replace all the plugs if only one is bad???

I need to get someone to hold the button to see if i'm getting power at the plug connector. . . that's the only possible option left I think. . .

THANKS FOR ALL INFO!!!

Later, ken

 

The WIF light goes off if I disconnect the wire. . . don't know what that means

Just curious but why replace all the plugs if only one is bad???

Since the WIF light goes out when you unplug it, this means you either have water in your fuel or the sensing unit is not working.

The reason for replacing all the plugs is that older plugs take different amounts of current and if you stick in one new plug and glow the plugs for say 10 seconds one of two scenarios sometimes happens: 1, The new plug takes a lot more current and burns out in a short time after installing it. or 2, One of the existing weaker plugs burns out. The only way to get the best current distribution possible (remember all plugs are wired in parallel from one source) is to start with a new set of plugs.


Seb...

 

Saw something that scared me here, surprised noone else said anything. Ether and glow plug are not the best of friends. Be careful with that, thank god I don't speak from personal experience, as it can get very expensive.

 

Ether and glow plug are not the best of friends.

Amen Bro, Glad you did not have to learn this the hard way.

 

Replaced all plugs and she seems to be working fine!

Thanks fellas, Ken

 

I have one more question, are you still using the relay to supply current to the glow plugs?

The way I read your reply has me thinking you are using a switch instead of the relay.
The glow plug circuit draws about 200 amps when they first start to heat.
That takes a very large switch to supply that much amperage.

 

If you go to buy a "switch", I suggest a [old fashion style] starter push button.

 

Dave, who are you asking?