Glow plug season

[Rural]

With night-time temperatures dropping here on the prairies, my Delica's glow plugs have become necessary again. Of course, earlier this week, one of them decided to die. So I had a couple of morning starts that were on the smoky side. This morning I woke up knowing that I'd be poking around under the hood trying to figure out which plug was had failed. Since the bed was warm and it was still dark, I picked up my smart phone and Googled for "testing glow plugs". There was some really good info, in particular this link and this one too.

The best tip is using a battery charger to test the plugs. The author of the article uses a 10-amp charger, but I just used a 6-amp charger this morning and it worked fine. All you do is hold the plug with one set of jaws and then grab the end with the other. If the charger has an amp-meter, it will max out and the plug will begin to glow after a few seconds. That is if it's good. If the plug is bad, nothing will happen. Super simple.

Since I had a complete set of replacement plugs, rather than taking out each plug, testing it, exchanging it for a new plug if it fails, and re-installing, I just removed all the plugs and replaced them with new ones (which had each been confirmed to work). Then I went back into the house and tested the old plugs in the comfort of my low-ceiling basement. Sure enough, one was toast.

I will add that having the proper plugs goes a long way to preventing problems. I'm using HKT CP-05 plugs now. I seem to be able to trust a new set for 8 months before the first one fails. When they do fail, they don't fall apart (inside the engine!) like the last brand/model I used.

Anyways, hopefully this helps someone track down a cold weather starting/smoking issue. The glow plugs are actually quite easy to check and replace.

[psilosin]

Good tips.

Looks like I am in need of a set as well. Last couple mornings have been around 2-4oC (not that cold at all...) and the L400 has been having a hell of a time to start and lets loose one hell of a sweet black and white cloud as it bucks and shakes. What a surprise, something else that doesn't work and need maintanance/replacement...fiddle fiddle fiddle nickle and dime something else every weekend.

[Rural]

Get them sooner rather than later. They really aren't a big deal to replace.

When the temperature drops below zero, you need three functioning glow plugs just to get the van started without a heck of a lot of cranking, and it won't be a clean start. Below -10, you'll need all four. Even one failed glow-plug and temperatures below 5C, and your neighbours will notice the smoke.

[Rising Sun Auto Import]

Good tips.

Looks like I am in need of a set as well. Last couple mornings have been around 2-4oC (not that cold at all...) and the L400 has been having a hell of a time to start and lets loose one hell of a sweet black and white cloud as it bucks and shakes. What a surprise, something else that doesn't work and need maintanance/replacement...fiddle fiddle fiddle nickle and dime something else every weekend.

Good quality glow plugs should last 5 more years in cold area like Okanagan, cause you have a L400 (It has 'Self Regulating Glow Plug System' which uses 11V glow plugs with one relay).

Steven