Glow ignitor

[vbgagnon]

I have a D cell glow ignitor and was wondering if I could just use power from my starter box (12v) and hardwire it to the d cell ignitor. because whenever I go run the first time i use a glow plug it starts right up, but after I stop the engine and go to restart it I have a hard time. I take out the plug and it only glows 3/4 of the way down. I don't now why its doing this but I'm thinking that it might not have enough power? What do you guys think?

VB

 

[bill61]

Do not hardwire you glow ignitor to your power panel unless the panel steps the voltage down to 1.5 volts. If you go much over that you will burn your glow plug out as soon as the voltage is applied.
Check that your ignitor is fully charged and try changing your glow plug.

 

[cbreaker]

I suppose your engine could be tuned wrong and it's fouling the plugs? Maybe too rich and there's fuel residue at the end of the plug. It might work again once the engine completely cools down and the plug has a chance to dry off.

I could be completely wrong.

 

[Rolex]

Are you using a cheap battery, or alkaline? If you want to hardwire to a battery that will actually last a couple of years, go to your LHS and get a 1 1/2 Dry Cell. They are about 6 to 7 inches high, and have screw terminals on top.

 

[cbreaker]

They make big 1.5 volt batteries like that? Hmm, pretty neat.

I have a sub-c dynamite igniter and I have a couple charged batteries in the bag in case I end up using the thing a lot or if other folks use it at the track.

 

[SkyMaxx]

Here's my glo-ignitor. Works like a charm.

 

[chrisexv6]

I had all sorts of issue with my D-cell ignitor. Kicked myself for not buying the right piece to begin with.

Picked up a rechargeable ignitor, night and day difference plus I dont have to worry about batteries dying.

Oddly enough, I measured the voltage on the D-cell, and I was getting very good voltage (1.48V), but the plug was only glowing 3/4 (like you said). Hooked up the same plug to the rechargeable ignitor, and it looked like the surface of the sun!!! Definitely made a difference, and of course the truck started faster.

-Chris

 

[AaronBall]

Glow plugs require 2 to 3 amps of current to glow properly. NiCd and NiMH batteries are much better at delivering that kind of amperage than even a good alkaline D cell. Another problem is that all contact points between the battery, the igniter terminals and the glow plug must be clean or they can offer too much resistance to current flow.

Also, just because your glow plug does not glow along the entire coil does not mean that it will not work.

 

[cbreaker]

Hey that battery isn't so big. And you said they last a long long time? I'll definately consider getting one.

 

[Rolex]

There's also the tall one I mentioned. It's round, not square like the one pictured above. They are both very good.