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glowplug ignitor improv

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grgbulldog

grgbulldog

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well i used alll my money on the engine and gas and some other spares, and when i went to start it i found out my glow plug ignitor doesn't work anymore. is there a way to improvise? maybe with a battery or something?
 
what kind of igniter is it? Can't you recharge or change the battery? Make sure it's the igniter, and not the glow plug.

Two alligator clips, one to the tip of the plug, one on a fin or good ground.
 
its a rechargeable one, but its not charging, and yes I'm sure.

so one to the fin and one to the tip of the plug, now where does the power come from?
 
A good battery that will cost about the same as a new igniter. You can also get a cheap igniter that takes a D cell. Always good to have one of those in a pinch.
 
ill prolly go to hobbytown in a few minutes and get a cheap ignitor
 
You might also want to look at the igniter that takes a regular C cell as well as a rechargeable sub C. Problem there is you'll also be paying for the charger.
 
Go for the one with the D cell. I always had one of those kicking around. When the others go flat, you can always get going with a battery you can get anywhere, even out of a flashlight in the car.
 
i went and i bought a rechargeable one for like $18 it works. now if i can get the engine to run...
 
an aligator clip on the glow plug and another on the cooling head? how does that make the plug glow, it would just earth it wouldn't it?
 
There's an insulator between the tip and the threaded base. Just like a spark plug. You need an insulated clip on the tip so it doesn't ground out by hitting the inside of the cooling head.
This was the old method of starting airplane engines before there were clip on igniters.
 

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