wait light operation

[Jmeggz89]

Hi I was wondering if my glow plug circut is working corectly. My wait light comes on when I turn key to on position but it is usually not on for more then 3 to 4 seconds then goes off. I have no issue starting my truck but it is summer and I just got it. It is an 86 and I hear they were supose to cycle the wait light for a while. I do hear the relay clicking on and off so I didn't knw what exactly was normal or not for these. Also what is the starting procedure for these? And will I need to use the heater in winter? I live in south new jersey.

 

[Barrman]

Welcome to the fun of green iron. It sounds like your truck is working like it should. The 6.2 needs glow plugs to start anytime the engine is below around 130°. So, year around operation of the plugs is normal.

There are some great manuals the military made to go along with the trucks. If you go to the CUCV forum, one of the sticky threads is the manuals. Download them, study them and learn to refer to them. They are THE source of information. The one ending in -10 tells you how to work everything. Basically, a military owners manual. The -20 tells you how to look for trouble spots, take some stuff apart and has all of the wiring diagrams. The others get more in depth for specific areas.

 

[Jmeggz89]

Thanks. Yeah I have been trying to catch up am a mech but diesel is a lil different the gas so am trying to fill in my blanks on these vehicles lol.

 

[Barrman]

They are just a 28 year old Chevy truck with a little different wiring added.

Oh, if you get below 0° in the winter, a block heater would be a good idea. Lots of threads about that subject. I have had mine down to 17° and it fired up like normal.

 

[Warthog]

One of our members wrote this.

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/cucv/62477-gp-module-theory-operation.html

It is one of the stickies in the CUCV Forum

 

[doghead]

If your only getting a 3 to 4 second GP time, you may have some bad glow plugs.

10-15 seconds is more normal. The controller "short cycles" when it senses high voltage(incorrect voltage drop).

Read up on how the voltage drops from 24 to 12. I personally choose to resupply the relay with 12 volts. This eliminates unneeded failures of the glow plugs.