Glow plugs system question?

[imgifted86]

When starting the truck from cold there is a tonne of white smoke out from the exhaust, but when starting from hot its fine.
I have already checked the plugs for continuity and all four are also fine.
All four plugs are getting the 11 volts or so when starting and after a few seconds when the little light on the dash goes out my volt meter reads 0 volts on the plugs.

now im sure the second glow plug relay is working because ive checked that for continuity too, is there anything else between the second plug relay and the plugs them selves that controls the voltage drop to 6 volts or whatever it suppose to drop to?
Also i remember from my last Surf before it died there was a beep from behind the dash if you leave the key in the ignition too long before turning the engine over, i dont get that anymore in this one.

It has become harder to start the car as i have to turn the key 3-4 times to get some heat into the engine before i turn it over and even then its still lumpy until its warmed up.
I hope ive explained it alright.
Any help you guys have is most appreciated
Thanks Jason

[Koi]

You can test glow plugs and timer .
You will need a volt meter and connect it to the buzz bar and to a negative ie engine block or such . Turn on ignition and 12v should appear on gauge . It should go off after a pre set time.
This will tell there is a supply to plugs whic you have done, it wont tell what condition each plug is in.

The proper way to test them is, remove them all and test continuity with a multimeter. Resistance should be less than 1 ohm.

[legendgamesmaster]

When I took mine out they were not good - obviously long in the tooth. I replaced them and it was fine for a while. THEN it started starting roughly again, and it turned out to be a duff battery - changed both batteries and never had a problem starting again. until i broke it proper...... I'd got to Halfrauds and get them to check your batteries for free just so that you know if they are OK.

[imgifted86]

Right here is an update to what i have done so far. As with my previous post i have taken the buz bar off and taken each plug out individually and tested them and all are ok, when its all back together ive got my volt meter on them it shows 11v for 3-5 seconds then 0v.
i can hear the second plug relay activating and once again it is checked for continuity and also appears to be working fine.
After firther investigation there appears to be some kind of resistor to drop the voltage to 6v after the second relay activates,
with me so far???

now for the life of me i cant find this resistor to test it, anyone know where it may be hiding?

the batteries are a couple of years old and will prob need replacing too but i dont think they are the problem, will get them tested to be sure anyway.
thanks all for the help so far

[NiftyNev]

It hides under centre of intake manifold.

Nev

[rainmaker]

Hi, just a thought, but have you checked the 80 amp(?) fuse? I replaced the head on my (now sadly departed to a new home) Surf and rebuilt the post and insulators to the the glow plug rail wrongly. The upshot was that for 18 months my glow plugs were along for the ride until I thought that they were the cause of a starting prob.

Turns out the fuse was blinking-flipped and easily replaced to the joy of all...that being me.

As I said, just a thought......

[NiftyNev]

Hi, just a thought, but have you checked the 80 amp(?) fuse?

Can't be fuse if he gets 11V to the glow plugs.

Nev

[NiftyNev]

so nev WTF is it grr im sort of lost...

Did I mention the ECU Coolant Sensor. The one in block under manifold. If this don't work the I don't think secondary glow works.

Nev

[NiftyNev]

Pull the plugs on the back of the ECU. Find and bridge the two terminals for the Coolant Sensor on the plug. THW and E2. Check resistance measurements with the chart at botom of this document.

http://www.autoshop101.com/forms/h32.pdf

Really should be done with sensor out, but if you do it when engine is cold and you know the ambient temperature then you should get some idea.



Nev

[imgifted86]

i am really lost with all this now, just got back from my holiday so haven't done much about it at the mo. i have to sort it out now the weather is starting to get cool off and nights draw in sooner. this morning it wasn't foggy until i started my car.
Right my Toyota repair manual tells me to check the connectors on the ecu for the temp sensor so that's what i will do next as nev also say's.
i still cant find the stupid resistor under the inlet manifold, do you have to take the manifold off to test it? i hope not.
here goes, back in a bit with an update.
cheers Jason

[red barron]

White Smoke

White smoke during start up can be due to the following causes:
Burnt glow plugs
Incorrect Ignition timing
Compression problems - If a cylinder has significantly lower compression pressure than others. Minimum compression pressure should be 275 psi at cranking speed.
Blown Head Gasket
Poorly sealed piston rings
Leaky valves
Cracked Head
Cracked Block
Injector is stuck or not working
Clogged air filter
Defective waste gate such as an actuator, vacuum line etc.
Poor fuel quality
Low coolant temperature