VWDiesel.net The IDI, TDI, and mTDI source.
General Information => FAQ/Tech Tips/Please Read First => Topic started by: Vincent Waldon on January 27, 2008, 07:34:25 pm
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One more take on an old favorite:
http://vincewaldon.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=30&Itemid=28
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I like.
Any concerns about longevity with those glass fuses? Will they be able to handle all the rumble and shaking?
ps. your title kicks ass.
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with this type of setup i suppose if you used LED's to tell which ones are coming on, that could also detect glow plugs that are 100% bad? (100% resistance)
pretty cool! I will definitely consider this for my TDI engine. this is a really good idea. getting juice to the glow plugs is pretty crucial :)
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You really did make that a simple, Clean report on how to pimp your GP's
I would like to hand it to ya! Your site is really cool and informative
After i get home from work, get up in the morning that's all I wanna hear about is VW's
ahahha yah....tell the wife that pfffffffff!
I enjoyed reading your write up, I will probubley try this...
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I like.
Any concerns about longevity with those glass fuses? Will they be able to handle all the rumble and shaking?
Excellent question.... hmmmmmm....
I did buy fuses intended for automotive use, but they are certainly more fragile looking than the standard blade-type.
I'll monitor and see how they do... between my driving style and Edmonton roads they will be tested for sure !
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I like that a lot, was wondering what I was going to do with the TDI glowplugs.... also a nice way to have an indicator light.
I'd probably like to use a blade-type fuse holder too, even one with a cover on it, but this is still much better than factory.
Brendan
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Nicely done Vince 8) . I would add a piece of clear lexan over the fuse block (say the bottom of a package of socks or barbie packaging with the sides cut off...leaving it in the shape of a "C") to protect it from the inevitable road spray sneaking up from below or around the headlight lenses, but not trapping any moisture or heat.
As for the glass fuses, never had a problem with them through the '80s in a blown z28 that rode harder than a locomotive...can't see a big problem in a dub; then again the build quality of things the last little while has me shaking my head. :roll:
Cheers,
Andy
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Some diesels use a heating screen in the air intake instead of glow plugs. I would keep the stock glow plugs and go that route instead of messing with the glow plugs. I wouldn't want pieces floating around my cylinders.
i've wondered about getting a propane torch in the intake to heat it. that way it's instant heat and no draw on the battery. the engine would probably start all the time 8)
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Nicely done Vince 8) . I would add a piece of clear lexan over the fuse block (say the bottom of a package of socks or barbie packaging with the sides cut off...leaving it in the shape of a "C")
Brilliant... great suggestion !!!
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Some diesels use a heating screen in the air intake instead of glow plugs. I would keep the stock glow plugs and go that route instead of messing with the glow plugs. I wouldn't want pieces floating around my cylinders.
i've wondered about getting a propane torch in the intake to heat it. that way it's instant heat and no draw on the battery. the engine would probably start all the time 8)
Haven't done it on the volks (yet!) but I've done it on other things that had no glow plugs.............. it works in a pinch.
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I was just considering doing the 4 separate wire thing , (pretty sure I've got 1 or 2 plugs fried and it's a pain to pull them alll to check) and thought I'd have a look around to see how heavy a wire was needed. I see you used 10 guage. Is 12 heavy enough or not?? got some 12 in stock....... BTW, rather than the glass fuses, have you considered a 50 amp post type breaker? Available at any truck part place, worht about 6 or 7 bucks. Just take the wires off the factory fuse and put them on the breaker. I've got two cars set up that way.
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i've wondered about getting a propane torch in the intake to heat it. that way it's instant heat and no draw on the battery. the engine would probably start all the time 8)
Cold propane is harder then a diesel to start IMO. In the event of the flame being extinguished I'm not sure how well the engine would fare on the compression stroke full of propane
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e you used 10 guage. Is 12 heavy enough or not?? got some 12 in stock....... BTW, rather than the glass fuses, have you considered a 50 amp post type breaker?
That would work too.
The reason I used individual fuses is that they are easy to remove... then you can quickly check continuity on each plug individually.
One of the drawbacks with the buss bar is that you can't easily test them one at a time.
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Exactly why I was thinking about 4 separate wires. Still would be individually testable by taking the nut off the circuit breaker, the stud is lots long enough to stack 4 connectors on. Is 12 guage big enough? or do I need to buy some 10 guage?
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According to this chart:
http://www.powerstream.com/Wire_Size.htm
even 20 gauge would work for the runs to the glowplugs.
12 should work just fine.
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Actually that isn't true as that table is for AC. DC needs thicker wire as it has greater losses. Still 12 ga would probably work fine, but 20 would be asking for a fire.
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Ok, I bought all the stuff for this mod. Assembled the fuse block and solenoid with the proper wires. I need to get one more copper lug for where i'm going to attach the main power supply to the starter. I can figure out where the wires from the fuse block to the glow plugs goes. I can figure out where the wire from the main power to the solenoid and solenoid to the fuse block goes. But what about the other two connections to the solenoid? In the box the solenoid came in it said I might only be using one of the two smaller connections. I'm including pics of what I've done so far. I also purchased a led rocker switch for inside the car. So how do i disconnect the original glow plug wiring? Any help for a rookie mechanic would be greatly appreciated 8)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/11904434@N05/2414156979/in/photostream
http://www.flickr.com/photos/11904434@N05/2414157245/in/photostream
P.S. could anyone tell me how to put the pictures in the post
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You're doing just fine so far.
What you've assembled is the heavy current section... the big black wire is going to go to your starter stud (as a source of high current from the battery), and obviously the long uniquely-coloured wires go to the glow plugs.
Now you just need to actuate the solenoid, and that's what the remaining small terminals on the solenoid are for.
One goes to ground... I usually just use one of the solenoid mounting bolts for that. The wiring for the other depends on how you want to activate the glowplugs.
If you want to let the old glow plug circuit run the plugs (temp controlled etc) then you'd use the heavy red wire that used to go to the glow plugs and run it to the other (ie non-grounded) small terminal on the solenoid.
If you want complete manual control then you'd use your dash-mounted switch... one side of the switch to a source of power that's on when the key is "on" or "start", and the other side of the switch to the other (ie non-grounded) small terminal on the solenoid.
Clear as mud ?
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Ty I'll get back to work on it tomorrow 8) , after I find a 12mm wrench that will fit the glowplugs. If I decide to use my rocker switch inside the car for manual glow plug control, what would you recommend doing with the wire that formally went to the glowplugs? Also does it matter which of the small terminals goes to ground?
Thanks Again!!
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Ty I'll get back to work on it tomorrow 8) , after I find a 12mm wrench that will fit the glowplugs. If I decide to use my rocker switch inside the car for manual glow plug control, what would you recommend doing with the wire that formally went to the glowplugs? Also does it matter which of the small terminals goes to ground?
Thanks Again!!
Probably the simplest way to disable the glow plug wire is to remove the glowplug fuse on the firewall. This makes the wire dead... obviously you want to secure it mechanically to something, but you don't have to worry about insulating it.
In terms of the terminals... nah... either one can go to ground.
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TY Vince!!! Got it working!! Car starts like a champ 8)
Now if I could just figure out how to wire the solenoid to a switch inside the car, instead of relying on the glow plug relay. I bought a switch, but not sure how to set it up exactly.
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No worries... you're almost there.
One wire from the switch should go to a source of power that's switched with the ignition key.... the other wire goes to the starter relay you mounted in the engine compartment and replaces the wire that came from the old glow plug relay (the one that energizes your new relay).
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Sooo the solenoid doesn't need that much juice to activate it?
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Nope... very little in fact.... yet it is capable of switching large currents. Relay magic !!
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Great write up Vince!!!!!
I am just gathering parts to do this on my GLI conversion...
what do you guys think of this??
http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/producte/10001/-1/10001/100499/377%20710%201632/0/Low%20Amperage%20Distribution/Primary%20Search/mode%20matchallpartial/0/0?N=377%20710%201632&Ne=0&Ntt=Low%20Amperage%20Distribution&Ntx=mode%20matchallpartial&page=CategoryDisplayLevel1&isLTokenURL=true&storeNum=5002&subdeptNum=9&classNum=753
I kinda wanna use blade type fuses not glass...
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"However, unlike the stock system where a blown fuse takes out all your glowplugs,"
On vince's page there it says that.
I replaced the stock relay with one of my own and a switch so its just an on off buisness with a switch in the dash. One of the GP's is out and my car stopped starting. I had no idea that if 1 GP burns out the rest don't get power.
from my limited knowledge of electronics wouldn't the other three still get power with the stock set up? because they're all on a big bus bar...
someone please pm me about this
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Dunno if I skimmed over the detail of fuse amperage on each of the GP's... Cats ass idea, super simple.
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I just pimped mine using the original relay to power the solenoid and it works good except when the GPs are supposed to switch off the stock solenoid clicks real fast on,off,on,off,on,off and the GP light flickers, when it finally goes off I can hear the add on solenoid go "pop". Sometime I have to turn the key off then on to make it quit clicking. This is a new problem so I don't know if I messed up or if my relay happened to die right then. thanks
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Assuming your wiring is correct it certainly sounds like your GP relay decided to go south... to check you could temporarily disconnect the connection from the old GP feed that now drives your new solenoid and use a multimeter / testlight to isolate the issue. The fact that the dash light flickers suggests that it's the relay, but in the world of automotive wiring strange things happen all the time. :wink:
Another thought: did the solenoid you used have small 1 terminal or 2 or 3 ?? Starter solenoids that have 2 or 3 are often designed to use one of the terminals as a bypass to the ballast resistor on the (original) ignition coil... if you were using the bypass terminal to drive the solenoid I suppose something strange might happen.
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I've don't that as well. Using the OE relay to run a Ford starter relay under the hood with huge wire going to the GP's.
I've not pimped them like Vince but still a major improvement over OE for sure.
Went from 10v at the bus bar to 13..
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Yeah I used a starter solenoid w/ 2 small terminals, I tried using the solenoid housing as the ground but it was made to use the 2 terminals. I just remembered a while ago I had the engine/body ground come loose and that made the GP light flicker, the difference is the GP relay wasn't clicking so I don't thinks the GPs were actually lighting.
I'll check the new solenoid ground and make sure it's tight. I'll post some pics of the settup sometime.
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I've sourced a fuel pump relay out of a golf... Any good?
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Never mind, solenoid is the way!