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Engine Specific Info and Questions => IDI Engine => Topic started by: SolarSteve on December 15, 2009, 06:14:09 pm
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Last July I swapped out the head on my 1.6 and ever since then the GP coolant temp sensor hasn't been right. So I disconnected the plug and just count when I glow the plugs.
The engine has been running great and last night I drove home from work, pulled into the garage shut it down and plugged in the block heater (on a timer). Today I decided to plug the GP coolant temp sensor plug in and give it a try. I turned the key forward and the GP light came on for only 3 seconds and went off, I try to start and nothing but white/greyish smoke. I tried to cycle the plugs 3 times and still nothing. Needing to get to work, I unplugged the temp sensor, let the plugs glow for about 15 seconds and still nothing but cranking and whitish smoke. The air temp was 41F and the 400 watt block heater had been plugged in for 4 hours. So I had to drive the truck into work. I have not yet had a chance to start to trouble shoot this.
I am wondering, could I have burned up the relay? The 50 amp fuse is not blown. Is there a way to bench check the relay? The GP's were installed in July when the head was changed and have been working all along even in the 15F nights we have been having, which makes me think its the relay.
Any ideas would be helpful
Thanks
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Oh yeah, I took a quick peek under the timing belt cover and the belt is on and tight.
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If you have power at the glowplugs then the relay is working.
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try giving the buss bar (that connects all four gp's) 12v's for 10-15 seconds with a jumper cable from the battery and see if it will make a difference then.
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I've been told that the sensors are different, but they are the same part in my car.
Swap the leads between the two sensors. they use the same connector. If they are supposed to be different, you may have them swapped around.
I'd try it, anyway. Cheap and quick check, like under a minute.
One of my sensors is dead, so i chose to have a glow plug relay, rather than a temperature reading on the dashboard.
Cheers
Trev
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try giving the buss bar (that connects all four gp's) 12v's for 10-15 seconds with a jumper cable from the battery and see if it will make a difference then.
If I do this and it starts, This is telling me that the GP's are good, and if so then where do you think the problem lies?
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If you have power at the glowplugs then the relay is working.
OK, I'll check this when I get home. If I have power to the plugs, but it still doesn't start, whats next.
Also, if I don't have power I will put the ohm meter on the fuse (it is intact). If the fuse is good does that mean the relay is shot? Would the GP light come on if the relay is bad?
Thanks
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If I do this and it starts, This is telling me that the GP's are good, and if so then where do you think the problem lies?
Somewhere between the battery and the Gp's.. lmao! well it could be in a number of places.. have you considered "pimping" your plugs?
http://vincewaldon.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=30&Itemid=28 (http://vincewaldon.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=30&Itemid=28)
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Yes I do want to pimp the plugs, but right now I am trying to buy a 1997 Dodge Ram diesel and if it happens I will be selling the Jetta, so I kind of didn't want to put the time and money into it right now. As it was the system was working as advertised and I didn't want to fix what wasn't broke. Too bad I didn't remind myself of that a few moments before i had the great idea of plugging the connector back in!
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well it won't sell to good when it can't start :P
its a simple cheap fix. you don't have to do the whole thing. Just the switch and starter solenoid part.. you don't have to do the 4 fuses and separate wires ordeal. just take the buss feed wire and have the relay fire that, it will be good to go.. and cost maybe $20 and half hour of your time
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Is that basically bypassing the stock relay?
In the meantime, I would really like to get this problem fixed. If I don't get power at the GP buss bar with the key forward, does that lean towards a shot relay? Can I bench check the relay to make sure?
By the way, thank you for the replies!
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Is that basically bypassing the stock relay?
Yes it is bypassing stock controlling of the glow plugs completely, you will control it all with a switch on the dash. Since you've already been doing it.. it won't be much different. lol
Can I bench check the relay to make sure?
Sure can! take it out.. apply 12v to one of the big spades, and a ground to the other and see if it clicks. if it clicks, then apply 12v to one of the small spades, and measure to see if you get 12v at the other small spade. if you do and this all checks out.. relay isn't the cause.. however if it doesn't click there like $50... so pimping is a lot cheaper.. and som uch easier to diagnose :P
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OK. Thanks again for the help. When I get home tonight I will start some troubleshooting and see where it gets me and I'll report my findings tomorrow.
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try giving the buss bar (that connects all four gp's) 12v's for 10-15 seconds with a jumper cable from the battery and see if it will make a difference then.
Also, if you do this, and there is not a trace of a spark as you hook it up, pretty much for sure no glows are working at all.
But arc your jumper to ground to be sure it is sound before you give up on em.
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Most online suppliers sell the same sender for both the GPs and the gauge.
My relay was bad, and I replaced it with a good relay. I'm lazy, and didn't like cycling the GPs several times with the key. I took the cover off the old relay, reinstalled, and just hold the contact closed for about 10 seconds.
I am planning on doing the correct way, though. I bought some new Duraterms, and some LEDs, to wire inline to tell me that the GPs are lighting.
-Todd
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OK tried just about everything and still nothing. Here's what I did
Fuse on firewall has continuity
Turned key forward and got the GP light, got 12 volts from GP buss to neg on Batt. Cycled GPs and tried to start, lots of cranking no start.
Jumped POS batt to GP buss for 20 seconds (didn't get a noticable spark). Tried to start, lots of smoke, no start.
Pulled easy to reach (drivers side) GP and hooked it directly to batt, glowed quickly and brightly. Cleaned connections and re-installed, no start.
Cracked B-nut on injector (same cylinder as the GP I pulled) cranked and got fuel, tightened B-nut.
Pulled fuel line from fuel filter, got some fuel from that line. Re-installed.
The GP that I pulled looked to be in very good condition as well.
The battery is less that 1 month old from Autozone and before I tried anything it showed 12 volts.
What should I try next?
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A battery can show 12 volts and still not crank the engine over. ;)
What is a b-nut?
I think jumping the buss bar should spark pretty good, after all it is like 48 amps.
Is it smoking when you crank it?
It wouldn't hurt to check the valve timing, one time I was messing with a golf gasser and in the middle of some tinkering it quit, turned out the t-belt had picked that moment to slip. Took like two days to figure it out :(.
EDIT: Just reread your first post, I think the problem is something other than the GP's. Unless your compression is really low 41F and a block heater should've started it with no GP's at all, it would've had to crank a bit though and then would miss for a little while.
Does it sound like it's got compression? I've seen at least one of those hydro lifter motors lose compression for no apparent reason, then a little while later compression comes back.
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The B-nut is the fitting on top of the injector that connects the fuel pipe to the injector. It smokes like crazy when I try to start it. I imagine I have an exhaust leak at the connection between the exhaust manifold and the down pipe, because I get smoke from under the hood and out of the tailpipe. I know the engine has blowby, 311,000 miles, no overhaul. I ran a vent tube from the valve cover down and under the body and it usually smells like an oil refinery.
I guess I will check the timing,but it seems a bit odd that I drove it home, parked it, and the next day it won't start. I will also try to check the GP amperage.
Any other ideas are very much appreciated
Thank you
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maybe the engine is simply not spinning fast enough?? ie. faulty battery. could have 12v.. but next to no cranking power.. and when these things don't spin fast.. they really suffer
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It cranks really fast and I can hold it for a pretty long time too.
I am concerned about not getting a spark when I jumped to the buss. I think I am going to connect my jump wire to a GP and secure with a nut and then vice-grip the other end to the POS and then try to start it. last time I had to disconnect, get in the car and try to start.
Also, the last day I drove the car it started at home just fine, picked up the guy I carpool with and went to work. We got to work and were talking, I wasn't paying attention and I put it into reverse without stepping on the clutch. Surprisingly, it went into gear and stalled the engine with a bang... I restarted it and back into the space. later that night (below 40F) I glowed the plugs (no block heater) and it started. I drove home, parked it and now it won't start. I don't know if that has anything to do with it, but it makes me think that it is not a compresion or timing isuue, but I don't know...
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I just removed the fuse and its all in 1 piece and looks good. I cleaned it and re-installed. I just connected a 8 gauge wire to the 1st GP and then clamped it to the POS. I got a small blue spark. Let it glow for about 15 seconds and tried to start with it all still hooked up. No start, lots of smoke.
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I just checked the timing and its good, .039". I also tighten up all fuel connections just in case of an air leak. I do have a piece of clear tubing in the return line and until I removed the timing plug, there were no air bubbles in the return.
I just pulled the relay out to check it, but I can't see that as the problem as I jumped the buss to the batt and still couldn't get it to start.
The next step, I guess is to pull all of the GP's.
I could really use some more help.
Thanks
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Did you check the actual cam timing?
These take air (the cam must be timed right), fuel (at the right time), and 12v at the stop solenoid to start.
It sounds like the 12v is there, unless your compression is terribly low it should've started, or at least fired by now, gp's or not.
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When I checked the timing I failed to install the cam lock out plate... I made sure that the intake and exhaust were closed, got my TDC flywheel marks lines up and went from there. I guess if all else fails I can pull the cover again and double check...
Last July when I did the head change I forgot to install the GP wire to the buss from the fuse and no matter how much cranking it would not start and that was in July with temps atleast n the 80's. There is no way this engine, cold, will fire without the GP's.
I guess the next thing to do is pull the injectors and look to see if they are carboned up, althoug it was runnng just fine so I doubt it and to look at the GP's through the injector holes.
I'm beging to lose faith here... Its got to be something simple.
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give it a shot of ether to see if it will even run anymore. a quarter or half second shot of ether is way way enough to get these things rattling to life if they will run.
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give it a shot of ether to see if it will even run anymore. a quarter or half second shot of ether is way way enough to get these things rattling to life if they will run.
Not directly into the intake either, just let it waft in there.
Disclaimer: If your prechambers fall out, the rods bend or the headgasket blows it's not my fault. ;D
That said ether should be the last resort and it can't be very much. 8)
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OK, I had been considering the ether but really wanted to use it as the very last resort. OK, if it fires on ether, what is that telling me? Also, I am working alone, how exactly do you go about this effectively and still turn the key? Just spray some near the air intake and then get in and try to start it or will it dissapate too much by then?
Sorry for the lame questions, I just don't want to cause more problems while tring to solve one.
Thanks for the help
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Unless I missed it, you only confirmed that one of the glow plugs is working. The other three could be burned out.
That could be why you only get a little spark at the buss bar.
IIRC ether is good at burning out GP's.
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OK. Today I did disconnect the buss from the easy GP (just that 1) and put my Ohm meter on it. This was about 10 minutes after glowing them. The meter read in the mid 20's and then quickly rolled back to 8.5 Ohms and stayed there. I was not expecting to see that, but I've never done this before. I tried the same test on a used but good GP not installed in the head and it read .02, more along what I had expected. The easy GP that I pulled glowed when removed and hooked up to the BATT making me think that it is good. Do you think I should try to Ohm the GP's while they are in the head with the BUSS disconnected or just pull the injectors, glow the plugs and look at them through the injector holes? Which is a better test?
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I would pull the GPs. Heat sheilds suck IMO and I have gotten good at removing the glowplugs without even removing the injector lines I can get to all but one. My old flat red bunny wouldn't start if I lost one GP had to have all four. A trick you can do with the buss bar is cut the holes so they have no bottom then push it onto the GPs studs. Much easier since you can leave the nuts on the GPs. ether is bad for GPs too. If they weren't bad before they probably will be bad after.
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Thanks for the tips. I just ordered 8 heat shields from GAP. I think I am going to pull the injectors because I want to be sure the spray pattern is right as well as looking at the GPs. I am hoping to find some bad GPs and hope its not a compression issue.
Its kind of hard for me to believe that it could be GPs though. I just install brand new ones in July and the 1 I pulled looked great, but I guess if I have a leaky injector it could have burned the GP tip off...
If/when I pull the buss I will cut out the bottoms like you mentioned.
What is the exact amount of Ohm I should be looking for on the GPs if testing them while still installed?
Thanks
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I don't know, but if you hook power to them and they glow red rather quickly I would say they should start that beast.
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Well, tonight when I get home or tomorrow morning I will pull the injectors and have a look. If they all glow red and fast, I will double check the timing (cam), if that is good, I will be really stumped. I can't see an engine running just fine, shut off and then compression dropping off in less than 24 hours of not running...
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It really sounds like you have some glowplugs burnt out. Check them all and report back. If they are all good, then do a voltage drop test. Actually you may as well do a voltage drop test anyways...
Lots of people are lazy and only replace the 2 that are easiest to get to. So checking those 2 is almost pointless if you aren't checking the other 2
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I think the bentley says to put the ohm meter on the beep setting and see if the gp has continuity, if it does it's good and if it doesn't it's bad.
However I had one that tested good using that method yet it failed to glow when hooked directly to a battery.
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It really sounds like you have some glowplugs burnt out. Check them all and report back. If they are all good, then do a voltage drop test. Actually you may as well do a voltage drop test anyways...
Lots of people are lazy and only replace the 2 that are easiest to get to. So checking those 2 is almost pointless if you aren't checking the other 2
I will check all 4 tonight when I get home, but if I only had 2 working wouldn't it bang on the other 2 cylinders while cranking? Giving me some sign of life... Also, I replaced all four this past July when I swapped heads, but I will still check.
Thanks for all of the help.
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It really sounds like you have some glowplugs burnt out. Check them all and report back. If they are all good, then do a voltage drop test. Actually you may as well do a voltage drop test anyways...
Lots of people are lazy and only replace the 2 that are easiest to get to. So checking those 2 is almost pointless if you aren't checking the other 2
If I can get a helper tomorrow I will do the voltage drop test, otherwise I will have to wait until Friday morning, I work swings and the wife has to watch the girls...
I am really hoping to find some bad plugs tonight... I guess if I do the injectors with need some work.
Also, last month I installed a new battery and in the process I replaced the cable from the starter to the POS terminal. The old one was fraying at the battery connection.
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How tight did you put the new glowplugs in? If you crank them down too tight they crap out very quickly. I forget what the torque spec is off the top of my head...
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I used the Bentley specs, I think it was something like 40 or 50 in/lbs. I can't remember off hand.
Out of curiousity, why does over-torquing them cause them to burn out? Do they contact the other side of the camber?
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Out of curiousity, why does over-torquing them cause them to burn out? Do they contact the other side of the camber?
My understanding is that it cracks the internal insulation so that the element overheats.
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I CAN tell you with some grim experience, that too much torque on a Glow Plug can crack the boss that it screws into.
That little experience cost me a cylinder head. And too much time twisting a wrench in an unheated garage at 20 below.
I thought I had a glow plug issue at the time, and it turned out to be a hole in the fuel line, sucking air. Dumb dumb dumb.
The best mod I've seen around the glow plugs, was to run separate wires to each of them from a terminal strip on the firewall. Vince Waldon's, IIRC. Nice.
Smoke is usually a good sign. It says that something is trying to burn, hopefully fuel.
Gotta be something simple. All the wire to the shut off solenoid intact? Solenoid clicks on power on/power off?
It does have diesel in it, not gasoline? Camshaft timing checks? Air filter is not full of snow? Grasping at straws here. Tough to tell, without being there and seeing it.
Cheers
Trev
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This really sounds like a glow plug issue to me. Your mistake in diagnosing the problem is not checking all 4 glow plugs and going off on a tangent. You probably have 1 or 2 bad glow plugs and the smoke is from the cylinders with good glow plugs partially combusting the fuel. Did you put in AC Delco or Champion glow plugs by chancet? They are junk and don't last. One of the best tool I have to diagnose glow plug problems is a non contact ammeter. It takes seconds to check if all glow plugs are working. I'll post some pics of it later
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Here is the update
I got home at 1am and it was about 15F so all I did was plug the block heater in. This morning it was about 20F and I was reluctant to pull the injectors to look at the GPs, so the first thing I did was stick a hair dryer into the inlet of the air box and then I hooked up a small container of diesel fuel to the line that comes out of the fuel filter. I was begining to think it might be a fuel problem. The hair dryer was in and blowing for about 5 minutes while I hooked up the fuel. I re-installed the GP relay (had it out to test it) and glowed the plugs for about 15 seconds, cranked it and on the second crank it fired up like there never was a problem...
So I am thinking that either the fuel filter was clogged or the fuel line (which was a little loose) was letting some air in. So I let it run for until the fuel in the bottle ran out and I changed the fuel filter and installed a better clamp on the hose and got it good and tight. I used a Mity Vac hand vac pump to prime the filter and started it again without the hair dryer and it started and ran just fine.
I shut it off cleaned everything up and let it sit for about 3 hours without any heat. I went to start it up to go to work and it was just cranking again without starting. After about 10 seconds of cranking it began to fire on a couple of cylinders and then came to life.
So, I am begining to think it might be the GPs again. I guess there could have been some air still in the system, but I not sure. I did drive it to work to today which consists of about 40 minutes on the highway and I am going wait 3 hours and try to start it in the parking lot. If it was air then it should be out of the system by now. If its the GP's I imagine I will have a hard time starting again. I brought the hair dryer and an extenion cord with me!
Off hand I don't know the brand of GP I have in there, but they are from Prothe. My first set from him worked just fine all last winter so I figured a brand new set installed this last July would be fine too. Maybe not. I am going to order a set from GAP tonight or does anyone have a better sugesstion as to whom I should get them from?
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My money is now on junky gp's ;D.
I bet the hair dryer did the trick. I had one gp burn out and it started ok and then missed for a little while, about a week later another gp fryed and then it would crank and crank and finally start and then miss real bad.
I changed 'em and it fixed it.
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Glow plugs from Prothe huh? Don't use anything except Bosch. If you can find Bosch Duraterms get them. It's not worth screwing around with junk with a critical part like a glow plug. Burning out prematurely is easy to stomach but if the tips fall off (this does happen with cheap glow plugs) you stand to blow up the engine. Hey, I have $80 worth of parts I bought from Prothe which I will never use. Do you want to take them off my hand at a discount?
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Are the GP's from German Auto Parts good? They don't say what brand they are.
What parts are looking to get rid of.
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This really sounds like a glow plug issue to me. Your mistake in diagnosing the problem is not checking all 4 glow plugs and going off on a tangent. You probably have 1 or 2 bad glow plugs and the smoke is from the cylinders with good glow plugs partially combusting the fuel. Did you put in AC Delco or Champion glow plugs by chancet? They are junk and don't last. One of the best tool I have to diagnose glow plug problems is a non contact ammeter. It takes seconds to check if all glow plugs are working. I'll post some pics of it later
Can you tell me more about this non-contact ammeter? I think I have one but I didn't think it would work with DC except for a momentary spike. How are you using it?
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Glow plugs from Prothe huh? Don't use anything except Bosch. If you can find Bosch Duraterms get them. It's not worth screwing around with junk with a critical part like a glow plug. Burning out prematurely is easy to stomach but if the tips fall off (this does happen with cheap glow plugs) you stand to blow up the engine. Hey, I have $80 worth of parts I bought from Prothe which I will never use. Do you want to take them off my hand at a discount?
I wouldn't trust anything prothe sells. I have a prothe turbo and injection pump that I would sell for next to nothing if anyone wants them for parts (or something to target shoot). They were used for only 6 months but neither lasted. I tried to return them but that is another story in itself.
In my experience with glow plugs, I burned out the ceramic plugs that came with my new long block this past summer (I think VW did recall the ceramic plugs?). Less than 3 months later, one of my new glowplugs (an Autolite plug) snapped in half. This was the only plug that turned out to be bad but my van really started hard even though I had three good glow plugs. I replaced all the glowplugs at once with the Bosch Duraterm last week so hopefully these will outlast the others. I know you can get the duraterms online for $9.xx but I was able to get mine locally at NAPA for only $11.xx per plug.
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Can you tell me more about this non-contact ammeter? I think I have one but I didn't think it would work with DC except for a momentary spike. How are you using it?
Most clamp-ons use a simple loop pickup and so can only measure AC amps in "clamp-on" mode, but there's a more expensive version of the clamp-on ammeter that uses an internal Hall effect transducer to measure DC amps when clamped around a conductor.
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Can you tell me more about this non-contact ammeter? I think I have one but I didn't think it would work with DC except for a momentary spike. How are you using it?
Most clamp-ons use a simple loop pickup and so can only measure AC amps in "clamp-on" mode, but there's a more expensive version of the clamp-on ammeter that uses an internal Hall effect transducer to measure DC amps when clamped around a conductor.
The one I have I inherited from my grandfather and its pretty old. I would assume its only for AC.
Is there anyway of telling one from another?
Thanks
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Most clamp-on-ammeters work on AC only by "transformer" action. The one that I have works on DC. I think it works on the principle that a current flowing thru a wire produces a magnetic (B) and electric (H) field around the wire (90 degrees to each other) that is proportional to the current. I think it is just a piece of ferrous metal or magnet that senses the magnetic field and pushes on a meter movement. It does not have a battery so it definitely does not have a Hall effect sensor in it and is not expensive. I want to take it apart to have a look inside to see if it works the way I think it does but haven't gotten around to it plus I don't want to break it since it is such a useful tool for checking glow plugs.
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Are the GP's from German Auto Parts good? They don't say what brand they are.
I have found German Auto Parts to be very good. I have not purchased glow plugs from them so I can't comment on that. Never had to return anything either for that matter...
Talk to Myke_W He should be able to hook you up. www.thedubdoctor.com (http://www.thedubdoctor.com)
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Germanautoparts do not list manufacturers but will tell you if you ask. Get a Continental timing belt from them also to replace the Prothe belt (I think you have one). I know Prothe will give you a new timing belt if it breaks prematurely but is it worth it to take that chance?
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I replaced my T-belt last July ehrn I swapped heads and got one of the Italian belts, I forgot the brand name but it wasn't from Prothe.
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Is there anyway of telling one from another?
If it doesn't have a high current DC amp scale then it's not able to read DC amps by clamping on.
IE... a multimeter that can read DC amps passing thru the test leads usually has a maximum scale of 2 or 20 amps. The clamp-on part will likely extend it to 200 or 2000, if it exists.
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The FED EX guy just delivered my GPs from German Auto Parts. When I opened the box I was very happy to see that they sent me BOSCH DURATERMS! If anyone needs a se,t GAP is selling them for $9.75 a piece!
So hopefully tomorrow I will be reporting back with the good news of an easy starting 1.6 with a fresh set of Duraterms lighting it off!
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I pulled my old GP's out and as much as I tried to not remove the fuel pipes, I had to to get the 2 hard GPs out. I didn't want to pull the pipes because that will give me a hard starting the first time to purge the air out and I want to be sure the new GPs are the fix, but I had to. So, I got all the old ones out, put the new ones in with anti-seize, cleaned the buss bar, hooked it all up and went for a start. Naturally, it took some cranking but it did start. I was about 45F in my barn with the woodstove burning but I did not use the block heater. So I pulled the car outside, about 25F and let it sit for about 5 hours. I came back, glowed the plugs for about 15 seconds and it started up!
Then I tested my old plugs by hooking them up, 1 at a time to the battery. Amazingly, the only plug that worked was the 1 easy one that I pulled during troubleshooting. The other 3 did absolutely nothing. So, I got burned on some Prothe GPs... Oh well, its fixed now and I know better for it. I guess I got lucky with the last set Prothe GPs that I had that lasted through last winter.
Thank you all who helped me out with this, I really appreciate the assistance.
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Unless I missed it, you only confirmed that one of the glow plugs is working. The other three could be burned out.
So, what did I win? ;D
It seems you chased your tail for quite some time after testing that one glow plug. FWIW, that's why I don't like inconclusive tests.
If you loosen the unions at the injectors and crank until the fuel starts flowing from there, then it takes less cranking overall and once the unions are tightened it starts right up. It does make a bit more of a mess, tho.
Yes you were right on and a few others too. And yes I did chase my tail a bit too. I just could not fathom that the 3 hardest plugs would fail and the easy one didn't. Especially since I replaced all of them at the same time last July. And I am seriously considering pimping them.
AND, everbody bashes Prothe for his cheap crappy parts, but the last set of plugs I bhought from him lasted much much longer and were still fuctional when I pulled them during the head swap. Maybe I got lucky on the first batch oir unlucky on the second... I may still buy certain things from him, but I won't be buying GPs from him again, especially when I can get Bosch ones from GAP for less than $10.
Anyway, all is well and the started right up this morning in 20F temps after sitting for a couple of days and no block heater, so thank you all once again for your help.
Steve
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Good to hear! Weird that it didn't burn 'em out one at a time though ???. I also thought it would've started without all of 'em haha, mine started at freezing temps with two fried gp's and no block heater, it took some cranking though........I guess every engine is different, any idea what your compression is?
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Well, as it started to get colder it did become a little harder to start, but it wasn't real bad. Maybe 1 died and then another and by the time the 3rd one dropped off, that was it, it didn't even kick on the 1 cylinder. At one point I did have to give it a little wiff of ether (during my "troubleshooting" phase) which made me pretty nervous, but I do have a home built cold air induction which consists of about 5 feet of 2" PVC. I am hoping there is enough air in the tube to have diluted the ether a bit!
I don't have a compression tester (yet) nor do I know of anyone local that has one that I could borrow. I will wager a guess that the compression is less than optimal. It does start in the cold and runs pretty well. The previous owner changed the oil every 3k and I do it every 2500 so maybe its better than I think, but there always is a light stream of blowby exiting my draft tube...
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This really sounds like a glow plug issue to me. Your mistake in diagnosing the problem is not checking all 4 glow plugs and going off on a tangent. You probably have 1 or 2 bad glow plugs and the smoke is from the cylinders with good glow plugs partially combusting the fuel. Did you put in AC Delco or Champion glow plugs by chancet? They are junk and don't last. One of the best tool I have to diagnose glow plug problems is a non contact ammeter. It takes seconds to check if all glow plugs are working. I'll post some pics of it later
Can you tell me more about this non-contact ammeter? I think I have one but I didn't think it would work with DC except for a momentary spike. How are you using it?
Here's a video of the non contact DC ammeter placed on the positive terminal of the battery. The black triangular tape marker was put on with 4 good glow plugs. When I suspect glow plug problems, I place the ammeter on the same spot and see where the needle moves to. If it is 1/4 less than the mark, I have one glow plug out, 1/2 less 2 glow plugs out, and so on. This is a conclusive test, quick and easy! I have used this ammeter on my diesels for many years! You can even see the needle slowly drop during the after glow, when the glow plugs are max hot, raising its resistance and lowering the current draw.
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(http://s574.photobucket.com/albums/ss184/EcoDiesel/?action=view¤t=Video_122309_002.flv)