GLOW CYCLE LENGTH?

[skippyalbright]

REPLACED GLOW PLUGS WITH NEW NGK 2161'S THIS FALL. MY GLOW CYCLE LENGTH SEEMS TO BE RATHER LONG TO ME (ABOUT A MINUTE OR MORE TO HEAR THE SECOND CLICK). THE OLDER MITSU ONES WERE ABOUT HALF THAT. ANYONE HAVE A REFERENCE TO COMPARE? THE CYCLE LENGTH DOES NOT SEEM TO BE AFFECTED BY TEMP AS IT SEEMS TO TAKE THE SAME AMOUNT OF TIME WHETHER AMBIENT TEMPS ARE +10 OR -15. I HAVE HAD MULTIMETER ON SILVER BAR AT GLOWPLUGS AND I SEEM TO GET THE NORMAL 12V TO 6V DROP AFTER A COUPLE OF SECONDS. JUST NOT SURE IF THIS IS NORMAL AS PEOPLE SEEM TO BE REPORTING 8-10 SECOND GLOWS PRIOR TO STARTING. MY VAN IS A HARD START AT -15

PHIL
92 DELICA EXCEED

[Artacoma]

I have the NGK's don't know the model # though. My plugs click at 10 secs or so. If its under 0 degs I'll click for 2 cycles before I start, works every time.

Rik

[mararmeisto]

A 'cold' van (i.e. not at/near operating temperature), should have a glow cycle of between 4-8 seconds. This is when you'll hear the 'click'. If you were to switch it off, and then back to start, the 'click' should happen a little more quickly because of the residual heat from the first glow cycle.

Regardless, if the engine block is cold, once the vehicle starts, there may be a series of clicks as the glow plugs cycle (rapid-fire) to help increase the engine up to operating temperature. This is something a lot of us on lower Vancouver Island didn't hear until this past week or so, but those of you out on the Prairies should hear more regularly.

The glow cycle is complete after three minutes (you shouldn't hear the solenoids clicking at all after this time). The colder it is, the harder it's going to be to start your van, but after a couple of minutes it should be warm enough to run on its own.

Potential problems:

• faulty glow plugs (most usual)
  faulty solenoids (not so usual, almost unheard of by some mechanics accounts)
  faulty ECU (somewhat usual, the capacitors are usually leaking)
  faulty 2-wire temperature sensor (somewhat usual, this sensor is what tells the ECU to activate the glow plugs)

I've had a bad temperature sensor (this is the one that sends to the ECU and the dashboard gauge), and the glow plugs were 'clicking' like mad, even when the engine was warm. And I've changed all my glow plugs. And I had to have the ECU for an automatic put in instead of the one for a manual (which is what my van came with, for some strange reason).

Long story short, if it's not cold, you generally won't know you're having a tough time starting unless the van has a battery/starter/fuel/IP/timing problem. Because a diesel is a compression engine, it should start even without the glow plug system - it's just easier/quicker to start it with one.

All-in-all, I think these vans are pretty hardy when everything is working properly: one of the export markets, from way back, was Norway. And even if it doesn't get retardedly cold in Japan, it get pretty gorram cold in Norway, just like on the Prairies! What I mean is: the Japanese are pretty market savvy and I doubt they would have sold this vehicle into a market that wouldn't be survivable (unlike some other unnamed vehicle manufacturers, who we all donated a sizable bucket of money to recently).

N.B.: Turn off CAPS LOCK on your keyboard. Netiquette suggests that most people don't like to read posts which are all yelling (which is what you're doing by typing everything in all capital letters). Use all-caps for emphasis, not all the time.

[jessef]

Green top Mitsu's are hotter than the NGK's = faster cycling

The green top Mitsu's are the best but they cost $

Get what you pay for with regards to glow plugs