Will L.
Well-Known Member
What is the amperage draw supposed to be for the glowpugs and relay (or controller/solenoid) when on? I can't find my manual at the moment. Bosch gps. GM relay.
Storybook time for the interested type...
So, this morning brought a no-start. With the key in on position, I pop the hood to check my battery cut off switch and test for dead batteries when see a bit of smoke coming from the 4" long 10 gauge wire that goes from my battery to the fusible link. There is the main battery cable that goes to the starter main lug and the fusible link that feeds everything else in the truck. Kill the main switch and look for anything obvious-no luck.
A minute worth of head scratching and realize the only things powering up are glowplugs and the relay for them, fuel shut off solenoid, and cold advance for the db2. I unplug the gp relay and retry- no smokey. get an inductive ammeter from the garage and reconnect the gp relay and it is pulling somewhere between 100-125 amps. Of coarse wire starts getting hot enough to put a burn mark into my finger in less than a second.
INTERESTING FIND BTW
With the relay unplugged everything else in the truck is normal, including cranking----which is when I see my IP wiggling back and forth while cranking! Lost the top nut and the 2 lowers are lose enough to see air gap under them. All I can figure is I didn't torque them after adding the turbo and new cam bearings etc. way back when. I remember playing with it a little, just went stupid on finishing the job I guess. The thing was moving about 1/4" side to side with only cranking- no gp so too cold to start. Had to have been like this for last couple thousand miles at least.
Going out in a couple minutes to disconnect the harness from relay to plugs themselves, see what happens next. After tightening the 2 nuts and a more thorough quest for the 3rd nut.
Storybook time for the interested type...
So, this morning brought a no-start. With the key in on position, I pop the hood to check my battery cut off switch and test for dead batteries when see a bit of smoke coming from the 4" long 10 gauge wire that goes from my battery to the fusible link. There is the main battery cable that goes to the starter main lug and the fusible link that feeds everything else in the truck. Kill the main switch and look for anything obvious-no luck.
A minute worth of head scratching and realize the only things powering up are glowplugs and the relay for them, fuel shut off solenoid, and cold advance for the db2. I unplug the gp relay and retry- no smokey. get an inductive ammeter from the garage and reconnect the gp relay and it is pulling somewhere between 100-125 amps. Of coarse wire starts getting hot enough to put a burn mark into my finger in less than a second.
INTERESTING FIND BTW
With the relay unplugged everything else in the truck is normal, including cranking----which is when I see my IP wiggling back and forth while cranking! Lost the top nut and the 2 lowers are lose enough to see air gap under them. All I can figure is I didn't torque them after adding the turbo and new cam bearings etc. way back when. I remember playing with it a little, just went stupid on finishing the job I guess. The thing was moving about 1/4" side to side with only cranking- no gp so too cold to start. Had to have been like this for last couple thousand miles at least.
Going out in a couple minutes to disconnect the harness from relay to plugs themselves, see what happens next. After tightening the 2 nuts and a more thorough quest for the 3rd nut.
