Glow plug testing solution

[johneic]

I did this on my 1500 on the glow plugs,

VID369 - YouTube

 

[Ilikeurtractor]

Be careful on wiring glow plugs directly to the battery without going through a glow indicator or the starter running as full battery voltage gets applied to the plugs. The plug design for these engines calls for 10V to be applied. Providing more can cause them to fail sooner/burn up. In a pinch this is probably fine. Long term I would consider trying to maintain the factory configuration or getting 12V rated plugs.

Factory wiring is for the glow plugs to be active on both the pre-heat and start positions of the switch. Many people bypass the glow plugs in the start position but it can help a lot with starting. In your case you just would hold down the glow plug button while cranking. Something to keep in mind.

 

[johneic]

I am sorry, I did not know about the 10 volt 12 volt difference, I did not mean to lead anyone astray. This has been working good for me on the Iseki and my 1983 Ford truck (which may be completely different). I thought I was trying to help someone get a tired engine started as the controllers/indicators are hard to find and expensive. Do follow I Like's advice above.

 

[Ilikeurtractor]

No worries. I doubt anybody would take it as you leading them astray. A lot of people do that and it can work fine for a while, maybe even as long as the owner has the vehicle. It's just something that should be considered because the last thing you want to do is burn the tip of the plug and have parts of it fall into the cylinder. Some people would conclude that if they have a 12V electrical system then that would naturally lead to using glow plugs designed for 12V which is certainly understandable. Most vehicle electrical systems drop to 10V while cranking though so the plugs need to operate at a high temperature at this voltage. Applying 12V can make them become too hot.