Question
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The text above is a follow-up to ...
-----Question-----
DEAR VAN WE HAVE A MILITARY 4X4 THAT DOES NOT START IN THE MORNING. WE FOUND AN ENGINE BLOCK HEATER THAT PLUGS TO THE FREEZE PLUG NOT SURE HOW TO OPERRATE ALSO THERE IS THIS BIG COMPRESSOR/PUMP THING THAT WORKS OFF OF A BOX LABELED ENGINE HEATER/INTERIOR HEATER ALSO NOT SURE HOW TO USE BUT OUR MORNING START PROBLEMS STARTED AS THE TEMPETURES DROPPED. PLEASE HELP
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Hello Trisha,
I am familiar with the trucks, but not that heater pump thing.
I would guess that it was rigged for Alaska, or North Dakota, so it would be ready to run at a moments notice.
The block heater should just plug into any outlet in your house.
See if you can find what looks like a plug somewhere on the truck, like under the hood, or near the bumper.
You can probably connect an extension cord to it and plug it in, and the engine will be warm in the morning.
If you live up North, I would say the heater will be ready to blow heat as soon as the truck starts.
It may be something you would want to plug in just a few hours before you are ready to leave for work, just to save electricity.
Normally those trucks have a 6.2 diesel engine, and use glow plugs for starting.
dear van got your answer thank you and yes we found the plug but now we think the glow plugs are bad as a result of 40 starts without engine turn over. we are scared to take plugs out cause weve been hearing all this stukk about the tips breaking off. any advice. ps we have no manual on truck we are not even sure what it is
AnswerHello Trisha,
It's a 6.2
If it was just a pickup truck for the military, they called it a 1008.
If it was an ambulance, it was called a 1010.
The alternator/charging system is the biggest difference.
The 1008 has a 100 amp Delco alternator on each side of the engine.
The 1010 had two large Leece-Neville alternators on the passengers side of the engine.
Just exactly what do you mean by 40 starts without engine turn over? Did the engine start? or was it 40 attempts without the engine starting?
Turn over, as normally used, means the crankshaft turns, or rotates with the starter.
Have you ever had it running?
If you are sure the glowplugs don't heat up, you can use starting fluid. I normally unhook the wires at the glowplug relay if I am going to use either, just to make sure there isn't one hot plug. That could ignite the either prematurely, and send some fire back out through the intake.
That glowplug relay is on the firewall, inboard of the brake master cylinder.
If it was previously operated with the block heater, they may have disconnected the glow plugs.
Or, like you think, they may be burned up.
I have removed burned glow plugs from those trucks many times, and I have never run into the twist off problem. They have always come out fine.
But, before attempting to remove them, test them in place.\
The easiest way is to get a 12 volt test light, and connect the alligator clip, which is normally connected to ground to test a live circuit....connect that alligator to 12 volts pos.
That would be the positive post of the front battery, or to that diamond shaped plastic terminal block on the firewall.
When you touch the tip of the probe to ground, it should light up.
(Be sure to not touch that test light from ground to the pos of the rear battery. It will blink one time, and blow that little bulb, unless it is a 24 volt tester.)
OK...Got the test light connected, and it lights when you touch the block, etc.
Now, remove the wire connected to a glow plug, and touch the test light probe to the tip of the glowplug. If it lights up, but not quite as bright as touching ground, then the glow plug is ok.
Test each of them that way.
Normally, they will all be good, or they will all be blown.
You can check them with an ohm meter also if you want.
If the plugs test good, I would check the glowplug fuse, under the dash near the brake pedal.
You could also test the glowplug system by connecting that test light to ground, and touching the wire terminal at one of the glow plugs, and turn the key on. It should light up.
But if that block heater and circulating pump work, you shouldn't need the glowplugs, as long as you have a place to plug it in.
Van
