The Toyota Landcruiser Owners Club

[jas-E]

hey guys,

I had an issue a few weeks ago where my glow plugs didnt have any power to them. On close inspection i noticed that the wiring harness that the previous owner of my car had put in place was a complete bodge and had a huge washer where all the wires branched out from the main feed to the plugs that was grounding out anything goin to the glow plugs. As a temp fix i just insulated the washer and the plugs were working fine - till friday last week.

The problem im having now is when the car is cold in the mornings the glow plugs dont work at all. I tried wiggling the wires incase the insulation wasnt enough, but no luck. But when the car has warmed up, they work ok.

Correct me if im wrong, but i understand that with the older toyota landcruisers you dont wait for the glow plug light to go off, but wait for a click sound from the engine bay - thats when they are fully heated.

I hear the click only when the car is warm, and even only sometimes. Otherwise there is nothing going to the plugs.

Is the relay knackered?

cheers

[Google]

[lord lucan]

how is your battery, sometimes if your battery is that low it wont trigger the relay, try it in the morning with a jump start and see if they click in then.

[roscoFJ73]

The old landcruisers keep glowing for a few seconds after the engine starts but thats irrelevant to your position.

The only thing I can suggest is to fix it by either returning it to normal,or putting an aftermarket relay with an adjustable timer.

On mine,after an engine swap,I found a power source in the engine bay that come alive when the engine lights come on. I hold a button for 10 seconds and Im away.

Bad wiring like you described is a fire risk and the pox on previous owners that do this.
I nearly lost one of my landcruisers to dodgy wiring last year
_________________
1995 HZJ75 troop carrier
1988 FJ73 with 1HZ diesel conversion.
1995 HZJ75  cab chassis
Holden Commodore V6
YAMAHA TT600R Belgarda
Triumph Rocket3 08 with Jardines and Tuneboy
Honda XR650L
1988 HJ61 turbo diesel with windas that slide  

[jas-E]

Thanks for your replies guys, lucan the batteries seem to be fairly new.. Il check the volts they are pushin out with a multimeter later..

Rosco do you recon i have a dodgy relay then. Il try source a new one and see what it does. Is there anyway of by passing the relay thats already there to see if it actually is the problem?

[Grimbo]

If someones bodged your wiring then do a resistance check and voltage drop test on all the wires to your glow plug system, if you have high resistance then your 12 volts may be less than 9 by the time it gets to the plugs themselves. A simple beep type test with a multimeter shows nothing other than 1 little strand of wire runs from one end of the wire to the other, the rest of the 99 strands may well be broken.Also make sure the wire section is good enough for the current draw you have .Glow plug systems have a very high draw and all wires and connectors need to be good to get the best from them, if there are any of those nasty crimp type fittings cut them off and solder on proper one's. If Rodger the Bodger has been about all things are poss.

[roscoFJ73]

[jas-E]

thanks for your replies,

Yesterday i had enough of it and tore out everything to the feed wire - including the inlet manifold from the turbo that goes across the engine.

I made a new loom, fitted proper connectors, soldered everything on and made sure everything was properly insulated by using loom tape on the harness. Turns out i had blown a fuse - i dont see how though as it used to work when warm!!

Anyway it all works properly, and looks good aswell..

Thanks for all your help guys - really appreciate it...