Brandon..... Where's your original post how to do this... My gauges and pod are going to be here next week.. I could do this at the same time.. Sounds kinda trick ! Why do you need to know if your GPR is on anyways ???? Just for something to look at ??? Or did I miss some important detail in having this mod ???? lol !

 

It shows you how long your GPs are on, therefore helping with cold starts. Your GPs will stay on for 2 mins after the turn of the key, a lot longer than the 5 seconds that the WTS light stays on.

 

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/6...cator-led.html

 

That is not really the point IMO. (But it is one of them) It also tells you if your GPR solenoid is functioning. It is very common for them to go out and this will let you know if that is the problem.

"Some people on the shores of Lake Michigan" are using this as a WTS and I am somewhat confident that this is part of his hard start problem. For one, the GP's take a lot of juice to get fired. If you let them go till they stop you have drained a lot of reserve. For two, the GP's help complete combustion and keep the truck running AFTER it starts. Most of this is for emissions, but it also helps it run. Finally, the electric fuel pump has stopped pumping. If you have a drain down in pressure, but the pump has not kicked on yet you will not have much pressure for the crank. There are other ways the fuel pump could be a factor, but this one is glaring.

 

I have the pics already and I am probably going to do a more formal writeup today.

 

I forgot to add, I ohmed the wire on the counter and the hot wire jumped around like crazy. It may have had a short??? That and I have a really crappy DMM.

 

Here's something I've discovered lately, and it's loosely related so I'll go ahead and mention it here because of the above quote (which, by the way, is an excellent summary of some key issues - IMHO).

BACKGROUND: I had never used the WTS light until this winter when my batteries began to get low (really only one of them was dead), and it helped with cold morning starts. I also have never let the truck sit and idle before taking off. With these approaches to how I start my engine in the mornings, I noticed that the colder the morning and faster the startoff, the rougher the first part of my drive out of the neighborhood (by rougher, I mean lots of engine clattery noise and slower acceleration response).

SUGGESTED ACTION: In conjunction with some discussions about my running the Schaeffer's oil in my truck, White Buffalo (aka Sparky) casually suggested letting the engine run for about 30 seconds before taking off on a cold startup, and I decided to try it.

ACTION TAKEN: Now, I flip the switch and use the WTS light before starting the engine. Then, once it's running, instead of using my wonderful LED mod (because it is not yet installed), I let the engine run until my headlights get brighter, which, BTW, corresponds to exactly when the GPR turns off. Then I put it in drive and take off.

OBSERVATIONS: Oh my!!! The truck runs soooo much smoother from the very time I put it in gear all the way through accelerating and driving to the end of the street. The amount of "clattery noise" is phenomenally reduced! The ability to accelerate like normal is there from the start! Even when it is very cold, these things remain true, and it feels like a completely different truck!


My observations listed above are perfectly consistent with the summarized performance characteristics in the quote above, especially the part about the LED mod being useful for something other than a WTS light.

 

It is amazing what complete combustion will do
It is important for us to remember that heat (through friction, through compression) is what makes our motors run. We don't have a spark plug to ensure an ingnition source.

 

I had always treated the truck (for a year and a half) like a gasser in the way I started it up, but only did so because it always started fine that way. But my lesson on this startup routine reminds me of a similar example... even though using the flat side of a hammer's head to drive nails will work... that doesn't mean it's the best way to either use the hammer or drive the nail.

 

Pete...... So what you're saying is you use your LED as a timer.... When it goes out.. that means your truck is warm enough to drive ??? Thats pretty cool !

 

This is the "Catch 22" of cycling the GPs. You may get the combustion chambers good and warm but when you go to start the batteries may fall below the 10.5 volt start threshold. After a no start some will cycle the GPs again and that just makes the problem worse. JMHO.

 

while it does correspond with the GPR sucking some juice, that is not 100% accurate. the volt gauge shows that the alternator does not start putting out immediately after starting the truck. i don't idle my truck to warm up either, and I have noticed it takes about 30 seconds for the volt gauge to come up to 13+ after starting the truck. not having the a/c on either helps a lot too when starting. however, once the alternator is putting out, the gpr being on/off doesn't make much of a difference. i can't stress enough how much gauges will tell you about your truck (LED is cool too) and the need to have healthy batteries ( as robin points out).

apparently, they also make you **** retentive .

 

Russ - sort of... I'm actually using my headlights as the timer since I don't have the LED installed yet.

David - Now you've added some more context to my observations, and it makes perfect sense. What I've also observed is that the colder it is outside, the longer it takes before my headlights get bright. I know my batts are both really good and hot... just put in two Optima redtops about 3-4 weeks ago, and she spins like a top when starting.

Unfortunately, I don't have my voltmeter or ammeter installed yet (or purchased, for that matter)... they're both on the list, but just not high enough to be getting attention right now. Until then, the headlights are going to have to be my tattletale in the mornings.

 

when i replace my SPW with a Megan, you can have it pete (if you want it). I'll probably be doing that next week.

 

That's awfully kind of you, David. Why are you changing?

Edit: I've also been planning on going with the Prosports to stay with a complete Blackout Gauge appearance... at least as much as possible.