LUVTruck.com

Its been almost a year now and I have been running my 2.2 diesel in my S15 without a glow plug controller. I wired the bus bar with 12 volts from the batt and I use an intermitant push button switch to light the glow plugs. I think the plug mfg. rep told me that 5.6 volts was all they would stand.Looks like plugs can handle 12v. fine... I give it a 4 or 5 second light time on a cold start and no problems. Thus far I cant see why I ever needed all that controller junk anyhow. I like keeping things simple.

_________________
Excuse me while I tinker with my diesel s15.

Bob--

I believe you are right about the 5v/6v glow plugs taking 12 v. You are glowing them the same way that the control system does except for the small current sense resistor that the control system has in series with the plugs.

But one does not want to glow them this way for any more time than you are as this is sure to shorten their life or end it. If you need to glow longer, wait for 15 seconds and then glow again.

There are some other advantages to manual control.

-- You can still glow any good glow plugs even if some of them are open. The controller will not do this.

-- You can do intermittent glowing after the engine starts to smooth it out on a very cold or high altitude startup.

Regards--

Paul

_________________
'84 Isuzu diesel P'up

I rekon they are meant to deal with a fair bit more than 5-6V.

If you hook them direct to a battery to test them they should glow red within 2 seconds.


Bob.

_________________
Current project, 1979 KB Isuzu Ute.

Daily driver, '86 Rodeo Spacecab.
Chasing parts for Isuzu Impulse.

My Pup glow plug circuit just quit working, You can hear the relay kick in and then kick right back off in less than a second.

Where is this current sense resistor?

Why not include it in series_with_ a manual push button, or add another resistor?

(would it be a wire wound resistor? )

Anyone know what the value and size in watts this resistor is?

RKJ--

I think you have one or more glow plugs burned out as the click on and right off again is what happens in that case.

Re the sense resistor. This is a flat bus bar like piece of metal about six inches long that feeds the glow current to the glow plug bus bar. It is about .015 ohms and develops a voltage proportional to the glow current which the glow controller uses to decide when to end the glow interval.

The glow controller can be bypassed in favor of a manual switch but the controllers are quite reliable and it does seem like you have a plug out.

I suggest testing them and if one is out then buy a whole new set and put them in and keep the remaining good ones for spares.

Paul

_________________
'84 Isuzu diesel P'up

bob3
I've been running my S15 since I built it 4 years ago without a controller, relay hooked to a momentary switch, and so far so good. I burnt the first plugs out the first time I tried them, as I was used to Volkswagens and their 12 GP, and held them for 10 secs and cooked them. The second set lasted 2 years till I cooked them again, trying to start the truck in a hurry at -15C after a big snowstorm.
This set has been in there for about 2 years and work fine. The old motor is getting tired, and after that stubborn start that time, never started as easy again, so, much to the horror of many here I'm sure, I have a ether injection system hooked up, that was removed from a farm tractor, and it gives small, measured amounts of the good stuff when required.
Funny thing is, if it's about -5 to -10C, one zap with this, and it starts and runs like it was warm. No "CRAAAACKLE" like you can get with too much ether.
I'll run this motor till it's dead.
Then I'll run the next engine with the same manual GP control.

_________________
Bona Fide diesel fanatic.
1994 Chev S10 Ext Cab Isuzu Diesel 5spd
Kubota B6100 HST diesel