Tiny heat vent on dashboard

[markct]

My Mitsubishi tractor, 1601 I believe, has a 1" diameter thing on the dashboard labeled heat, at first I expected it was a buzzer or something to tell you the glowplugs were on, but upon further inspection it's simply a small heating coil underneath. Why? To warm your fingers or something?never saw anything like it on a tractor

 

[Alesandro]

Mine doesn't work, but it's supposed to let you know when the glow plugs are done heating up. I think once the glow plus are hot then that little coil is supposed to glow, or maybe vice versa. Something like that.

 

[k0ua]

I am fairly sure that the glow plugs are in series with the indicator/resistor. It is a current limiting resister and of course it also glows to let you know the plugs are pulling current. When they burn out (go open), then your glow plugs don't likely work either. Modern tractors don't work that way and usually have a glow plug relay, driven by a glow plug timer, and may include such functions as "post glow". Yep, afterglow after the act of starting is over. My Kioti works that way. It "post glows" for 15 seconds after starting to reduce smoke and stuttering when very cold. Of course these designs don't glow at all when the temp is above a certain level. But on your system glowing is all up to you. If my glow indicator/resistor no longer worked, I would be breaking out the voltmeter to see if the glow plug buss has any voltage at all during the glow cycle. I don't think it will. But I could be wrong.

 

[k0ua]

One other diagnostic you can perform pretty quick is to use an handheld infrared thermometer to measure for a heat rise at each glow plug. They are so cheap now, everyone should have one.

 

[markct]

Thanks for the replies, someone made a mess of the wiring before I got it, it's stripped and starting to fully rewire it, I will simply put the glow plugs on a pushbutton as many other machines have but was curious what the original purpose of this was. Thank you for clearing it up!

 

[PILOON]

My Mitsubishi tractor, 1601 I believe, has a 1" diameter thing on the dashboard labeled heat, at first I expected it was a buzzer or something to tell you the glowplugs were on, but upon further inspection it's simply a small heating coil underneath. Why? To warm your fingers or something?never saw anything like it on a tractor

That s a glow plug indicator. It is like having a visible glow plug.
Glow plugs are wired in parallel as is that indicator so all heat up at the same rate.
All it is is a tiny coil of nichrome wire.

 

[Industrial Toys]

It's to light a cigarette while you wait for the glow plugs to do their thing. I think, it's just a way to give you some idea of what the glow plugs are doing. Not a bad idea actually.

 

[PILOON]

It's to light a cigarette while you wait for the glow plugs to do their thing. I think, it's just a way to give you some idea of what the glow plugs are doing. Not a bad idea actually.

LOL, actually if U remove the domed grill or 'window' U could use it as a lighter.
Might end up with a stiff neck however.

LOL, back when I smoked we'd often resort to the hot range to light smokes when run out of matches.

 

[coldsteelva]

It's a mini-toaster.