My uncle told me to never trust a glow plug light on a 7.3 Powerstroke

This was back in 2005 when I was just starting out. He said to always pull one and check for actual heat, because the dash light circuit is separate from the relay. I ignored him once on a cold morning in Billings, cranked it for a solid minute, and killed two batteries. He was right. How many of you still physically check glow plugs instead of just watching the light?

3 comments

3 Comments

grant_torres1mo ago

Man, @roberts.diana is right about those lights just being decoration. I got a test light permanently clipped to my glow plug relay wire under the hood. That dash light lies, but hearing that relay click off is the real signal. Saved me so many cold morning headaches.

hugo3710d ago

Bet on that, @roberts.diana. That dash light is basically a suggestion, not a fact. I've seen those things go out while the relay was still feeding juice to the plugs, leaving you cranking till the batteries cry. I still pop a plug off and touch it to a good ground before I even think about starting.

roberts.diana1mo ago

Killing two batteries in Billings" is a whole mood lol. My cousin's old 6.0 had a glow plug light that was just for decoration, swear to god.