grid heater/voltage
 

is there a way my grid heaters can be stuck on 24/7?
when im running down the road my voltage guage is right below 14v not right after it like it usually was. its in the position now that it was when the grid heaters cycled on.
and when i turn the key on the guage goes to the position when the heaters are on, but when the wait to start light goes off, the guage doesnt go up like it should/used to. it seems to me that the heaters are on all the time. what should i do?

maybe you could try disconnecting the leads at the heater and wrap em up and then try it and see if the voltage changes

i doubt the heaters are on if the "wait to start" light goes off. i think the volts are going elsewhere. did your tourgeshift involve a lot of wiring?

yeah, but the voltage was fine after i started it after the swap. its just now after i accually got out and ran it

The grid heaters operate from a pair of solenoids on the driver's side fenderwell. They can and do fail. Yours could have failed in the on position (welded the contacts). That would suck a lot of juice!

Replacement with factory-type parts is fairly expensive, but a cheaper alternative exists. Find Ford or Jeep starter solenoids that are NOT case ground units (no direct grounding of the case or hot leads in on or off position). They will work fine as replacements and the wiring is virtually identical. A pair of hot leads and a pair of switch leads to make them work.

I went through the catalog at the parts store to find the ones I used. I'd give you a part number, but they're at home and I'm not. I think cost was about $8 a piece. I believe from a 77 Jeep CJ wa the application. Just make sure you get a plastic case, not a metal one and you are mostly on the right track.

thanks for the info, im sure this is my problem. im gunna disconnect them and if voltage reads fine i found the culprit. ill have to replace them before winter comes around

Thr grid heaters are nearly worthless in a really cold situation. Think about it a bit: Engine cold, air cold got me so far? Crank engine, heated air gone right away, correct?
Then the engine is pulling cold air without the ability to be reheated.

Plug it in= hot start, instant warm air from the heater and the B/S about cycling the grid heater is eliminated. I havn't run the grid for almost 12 years and have been in N. Pa. when the temp. was nearly freezing. Don't get me wrong, it was not an instant start, it cranked a few times but started after a few try's.

Just my opinion, of course your's may vary.

yeah that makes sense

That sort of makes sense, in the way that using an electric heater under your desk makes sense if you just heat it up, then shut it off and then run the fan...

But of course, you are running the fan -- across the heated terminals -- which continuously blows heat, right? :humm:

I am sure that a good many people across the USA can get away without the intake air heaters. It just doesn't get cold enough in most places to really warrant such a device. But they are all we have as far as cold-weather starting. No glow plugs, no enrichment circuit, etc., just air heaters, so if it gets cold enough wherever you live, I'd make them work. They do help. I've seen the difference on my own truck on a cold start.

If I just twist the key, bad start with lots of smoke. Light the heaters for a bit, even twice sometimes, and the start is much better, and much less initial smoke.

So, I'd take into consideration where you live and act accordingly.

Point taken. :tu: