Glo System Frustration
 

My problem has been that on occasion, the glo light won't come on and the car won't start. The light is accurate because when it comes on, the car starts and when it doesn't, the engine will crank but not fire. To make a long story short, I've done the following to try to cure an intermittent glo problem.

1. New glo plugs (5)
2. New 80 amp fuse
3. Inspect the contact points in the relay mechanism. One set of points has a larger gap than the other (is this a problem?)
4. The contact points look clean

Any ideas?

Don

Don that 84' used to do that from time to time. Is that the one your talkin about. Because I had to get a new plug one time.

later

Hey Joe:

Yep...its the 84 but i've just replaced the fuse and all plugs. Love that car. Its our most consistent of the three. But I need to nail that problem.

Wish we had your Georgia weather.

dp

lol! i knew it would come back!! sorry to hear it though... when i took mine apart i didn't notice a larger gap per-say, but one contact point did look sizeably bigger then the other one. I'm out of ideas, b/c when i took mine apart it was all carboned up. Perhaps the ignition switch not engaging it??(that was suggested to me when i was having problems...)
good luck
Ryan

Hey Ryan:

Very funny!

In the year 2007, you and I are going to still be chasing this one down. You are going to pick up the girl of your dreams for a date and that puppy is not going to glo!
I thought about the ignition switch as well. Don't even want to go there.

Don

true, lol. Mine actually has been working fine for about 4 months now, knocking on wood. You could tell my points were really carboned up though. I guess the only way well both have COMPLETE piece of mind is to replace the plugs, relay, AND ignition switch. I'll let you go first on this one...
Ryan

The little black box mounted high on the fender on the driver side was the culprit then. My mech said he thought whatever that part is (he said the name) was going bad. It happened to me maybe once a month and I would just smack it with a pair of plyers and the glow plug light would come on. If I had driven the car during the day and the engine was warm it would fire without. It only happened a 1/2 dozen times to me though. I have no idea what that box is. Good Luck!

later,

PS- You guys headed to the beach again this spring break? I would love to meet yall at the Mickey D's for a pit stop!

that black box is the glow plug relay, it has a timer and two contact points inside of it
Ryan

Hey Joe:

We're staying around this year due to scheduling conflicts and cold cash shortages! I'll buy you lunch the next time I'm going through however. Its a funny thing that the car functioned perfectly for nearly one year and then started to have intermittent struggles again. I'll keep an eye on the glo plug relay. I just got a printout from a friend on how to track it down.

Don

$&*$* MURPHEY!!!!!!
 

it is now official, i absolutley HATE murphey. Go out to my car this morning, turn the key...............nothing. Say, what the F#*#, turn it again.......nothing. Turn it for a third time, here a click......nothing......then the light comes on......goes right back off......wait a couple seconds...........clank clank clank(shes running). I knew responding with that my GP system had been working well was a bad idea....... looks like my ignition switch or relay is on the way out...not sure which i'd rather replace!
Ryan

glo-plug indicater light
 

When I turn on the key, I get a buzzer, but the light only comes on about once in every 50 start-ups. But as long as I wait for the buzzer to stop, the thing starts right up. Not sure what this means. The dealer I bought it from told me as long as I wait for the buzzer to stop, it meant the glo-plugs are ready.

on mine, whether or not the GP light comes on depends on whether the car starts easy/smoke free or hard and smokey, so i dont think the buzzer will work with mine, i dont think i even have a buzzer? the only buzzer that comes on in my car is A. when i leave the lights on, and B. when i press on the brake with the driver's door open. What is B. for anyway?????
Ryan

GP buzzer
 

This buzzer seems to be a different one from the buzzer for door, ect. It has a slightly different tone to it.
Anyone else have this, or am I just sniffing too much diesel smoke?:confused:

Glow Plug Relay!
 

I was checking on something earlier tonight and ran across this tidbit, I don't know, but if your relay's are original maybe this would interest you, its from the Fastline Catalog:


"Bosch superseded the glow control relay to a new glow plug kit which includes a new controller and 4 glow plugs. This new controller allows the glow plugs to continue functioning up to 3 minutes after the vehicle has been started, providing a smoother engine start up and less exhaust smoke. It is important to keep this in mind when testing the glow circuit func- tionality. For vehicles with 5 cylinders, 1 additional glow plug is required (0 250 201 039)."

Just a thought! Good Luck Gents!;)