More Fun with Glow Plugs

[JLDickmon]

so Tuesday night, a cold snap moves through the area, and I go to leave work and the truck wont start... coughing and sputtering and belching up HUGE coulds of white smoke... I mean my ol' truck FOUGHT HARD before it gave up and caught and fired...

came about two seconds from going back into the shop and grabbing a can of ether...

Thursday, I recheck the glowplug relay... remember this? http://www.superdutydiesel.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5994&highlight=relay

to make a long story a short one... five of the eight $27. glow plugs JUNK...

think the chicken (GPR) came first or the egg (burned up glow plugs)?

 

[hheynow]

think the chicken (GPR) came first or the egg (burned up glow plugs)?

So how cold was it? Heck, that's the age old question that has yet to be answered.

 

[JLDickmon]

the temp when I went to leave work was 27 deg...

 

[RSG]

I don't see how that coughing fit would kill the new glow plugs. But repeated cycling of them in an attempt to start, would that burn 'em up?

Some thoughts, and I don't claim to be an expert:
Are you sure you don' have any water (Leinie?) in the bowl?
Have you used a fuel additive for a bit more cetane?
Are you using a block heater for several hours prior to start?

White smoke = water, right?

Good luck. It is getting colder!

 

[SMOKNZ]

I just bit the bullet and installed 8 new Motorcraft plugs this weekend. Took a good 5 hours to do the job. Some of those valve cover bolts were a little tricky, but it wasn't to bad, just alot of time.

Bill

 

[dMerre89]

yeh the rear valve cover bolts are a pain

 

[drmjf]

White Smoke = lean

When a diesel starts up cold and the glow plugs are not working properly, the fuel just goes out the tailpipe as white smoke.

Hope this helps.

 

[JLDickmon]

actually, white or grey is moisture..
as the front moved through with the rain and fog, and cooled everything off, it must've condensated a LOT in the engine...

I remember when the GM 350 smallblock diesels first came out, you actually set the injector pump timing by inserting a lensed probe into the glow plug hole, and hooking up a photo-reactive timing light...

My big question still remains, however...

did the glowplugs OD the relay, or did the faulty relay somehow damage the glow plugs?

 

[Vindicator]

Be careful using the stock block heater...some guys' trucks have burned to the ground because the block heater wiring was brittle...

 

[JLDickmon]

Be careful using the stock block heater...some guys' trucks have burned to the ground because the block heater wiring was brittle...

been there done that, too... had to replace the lead last year... plug came right off in my hand in a shower of sparks...
I only plug it in when it's gonna be below 20 degrees or so... which is about half the winter... wife gets bent outta shape at the electric bill having a 1500 watt heater element running half the night... but I got no plug at work, so it's park it behind the building facing out of the wind..