Glow plug light will not go off

[davidathomas42]

Reviving an old thread

I have a similar problem that my starboard glow plug light remains on after start (TAMD63)

I tried walking back the ignition switch slightly and it turns it out but also all the instruments too.

I guess that means it’s not the ignition. It also does the same fault on the flybridge ignition switch too so that confirms for me it’s a deeper issue.

Next to try is the relay I guess. Just got to find where it is first and then buy a replacement.

I assume if I run the engines with the instruments off that will be ok and just periodically turn them on to check oil temp etc? Assuming they are just indicators and don’t turn any systems off?

[noelex 77]

Originally Posted by davidathomas42

Next to try is the relay I guess. Just got to find where it is first and then buy a replacement.

Welcome to the forum David.

The glow plug relay/solenoid has to carry a significant current so is typically reasonably large and should not be hard to find. You can usually substitute any solenoid with a suitable or higher rating so replacement should not be expensive or difficult.

[davidathomas42]

I just tried swapping the starter panels over on the flybridge as I was only getting an indication on the flybridge not the lower helm so thought it was possibly a panel failure but it wasn’t and the same side was lit up. But not downstairs ?

I did winter about adding a switch to the glow plug wire so I can just remove the circuit after starting. But I guess that wire likely earths other stuff too?

I’ll have to move on to the relay first I guess and hope that is the problem

[DougR]

Hello David,
Here’s the thing, while most of the 6 and 7 liter engines from VP of that era had inlet air heaters (not glow plugs) the TAMD 63 engine did not, so you aren’t going to find a relay.

The way the wiring was setup was that there was an orange wire coming from the ignition switch on pin 19 (glow position) that went into the harness and ran to the engine. On the 63 engine that wire was never connected to anything on the engine end. The return wire from the engine to activate the “glow” light was red green and went from the engine back to the alarm module to turn on the light. It is also not connected at the engine end.

Because you have two stations, the orange wire from the upper station also connects to the orange wire at the lower station via a “Y” connector somewhere in the wiring. The “Y” connector could be at the engine, or maybe at the lower station.....
Same thing for the red/green wire.

Potential problems could be wire chafe somewhere putting B+ on the red green wire when the engine is running. Or possibly an internal fault in the alarm module which houses the light array.

I think the place to start might be disconnecting the upper panel harness and running the engine on the lower panel and see what happens, then do the opposite and run it on the upper panel.If you can isolate it to one station, then swap panels port and starboard and try to isolate to a given panel.

[davidathomas42]

Originally Posted by DougR

Hello David,
Here’s the thing, while most of the 6 and 7 liter engines from VP of that era had inlet air heaters (not glow plugs) the TAMD 63 engine did not, so you aren’t going to find a relay.

Thanks for that. Very thorough info.

I’ll start by apologising as it’s my first boat and I got a little confused as looked at a few in the buying process and I’m only a couple of weeks into ownership.

But I have TAMD 62’s (whoops)

Does that info stand the same? I had as much of an investigate as I could yesterday with no success. What I did notice is also the port engine glow light is also very faintly on too. And it’s upstairs and downstairs. It was so faint I can’t see it in daylight unless I cover the glare coming in. Starboard is the brightest but not by much. I have wondered if it was instrument panel glow but it’s still there when I turn off that feature.

The light is brighter when just switching the ignition on and not starting the engines when it’s in what I call test the bulbs position. They then all go out except the glow light which dims a lot but remains.

My next step was to test if the glow plugs are still showing a current when running. Not sure how easy that would be to do. I was then wondering can I fit a manual switch closer to the engine that I can simply flick them off after starting so effectively removing them from the wiring loom.

[DougR]

So, inasmuch as you have tamd 62 engines, the situation changes a good bit!

The 62 was equipped with an air heater to warm the intake air when cranking the engine, and it had a timer to keep the heater on for a period of time after startup to reduce white startup smoke. It also had a turbo pressure controlled "bypass" valve in the inlet air tract to route the intake air around the aftercooler when running at idle or low boost conditions. At high load the turbo boost activates the bypass valve and directs air thru the aftercooler instead of around it.

So typically you turn the key to the "glow" or thru the glow position to the start position to crank the engine, and that sends current from the key to the timer on the orange wire and starts the timer running. The timer keeps the orange wire energized, and that engages the large relay located between the turbo and the inlet manifold, and the relay sends current to the heater. After the engine starts you release the key to the run position and the timer keeps the relay and heater energized for a period of time. When the key is in the glow position and also when the timer is on, current is placed on the green/red wire and sent back up to the panel to light the "glow" indicator light.

So, that's how it is supposed to work..

If I were to guess, you have a timer on the one engine that is not functioning correctly, and is keeping the heater relay engaged all the time. Also from memory (its been a long time) you can disconnect the timer and just manually manipulate the key switch to activate the heater, though it may result in more startup smoke. Disconnecting the timer should cause the glow light to extinguish if the relay is functioning correctly.

Attached are several wiring diagrams for you to study. One of the main station panel, and one of the engine. Also two pics from the parts book, one showing the timer in the electrical box at the front of the engine, and one of the heater, relay and bypass valve at the turbo end of the engine. (Your flybridge panel is similar to the main station panel just without the extra gauges)

Hope this helps!