TC33DA glow plug light stays on after engine starts

[Hughman]

I started seeing an issue where my glow plug light stays on for several minutes after the engine starts. It doesn't happen all the time. Maybe a bad relay, weak battery, ???

It has the original battery which is about 9 years old now. The temps have been in the 80-90's so its not that it's cold.

Any ideas what I should look for?

 

[BeezFun]

First see if the glow plugs are really being energized when the light stays on. Be prepared with the hood up and a meter, and check for voltage at the plug when the light says they are on. If they're really energized, it's probably the relay. You could pull the relay to know for sure, but it's common to have other relays together on a "controller", so you might cause other things to stop working, like the fuel solenoid or something important. Do you have a schematic?

 

[Hughman]

No schematic. I'll do some testing with a meter this weekend.

 

[jinman]

Replace your glow plug timer relay. That will fix your ptoblem.

 

[mwman2]

I read the glow plug problems that were posted and found one post that mentioned wiggling the connection at the glow plug timer( NGK lamp timer S82NF) which would get the circuit to work.
This worked on my tractor. Also saw posts that mentioned ignition switch problems and replacing OEM switch with a universal 4 pole ign switch. Just replace the NGk timer with factory part($106)and that cured the glow plug problems. Working on getting a NAPA KS6600 and replacing the ignition switch which also seems to be tied to the start problems. I Wonder if the low voltage coming off the ignition switch is taking out the timer or if it is a case of cheap parts in the circuits breaking down. NAPA switch is $30 and China switches are $10-$12. Ebay has a Kubota NGK S81NL timer for $25 w/terminals. Good luck. Schematic in owners manual shows the wiring harness wiring numbers and this should help you track which relay is which. The glow plug system has the NGK lamp timer which is linked to the glow plug power relay and the glow plug lamp relay. It is nice having a tractor that starts quickly in cold weather.

 

[Hughman]

Just a quick follow-up. I finally got around to ordering the $10 kubota timer off ebay. When I realized I was clueless where to find the existing relay on the tractor, I went back to ebay and bought a service manual. (That was quite a bit more than $10, but a purchase that was way over due.) The problem seems to be all better now with the new timer in place.

 

[Roy Bean]

Just a quick follow-up. I finally got around to ordering the $10 kubota timer off ebay. When I realized I was clueless where to find the existing relay on the tractor, I went back to ebay and bought a service manual. (That was quite a bit more than $10, but a purchase that was way over due.) The problem seems to be all better now with the new timer in place.

Did the kubota timer work on your Ford tractor and what was the model number on the kubota timer. I have a Ford LGT 16D. The ford timer for it is 385870300 model S81NF. Ford price is $116.

 

[Hughman]

Did the kubota timer work on your Ford tractor and what was the model number on the kubota timer. I have a Ford LGT 16D. The ford timer for it is 385870300 model S81NF. Ford price is $116.

It's been working great so far.

 

[Roy Bean]

I just installed the new timer and it seems to be working fine. How long have you had yours installed?

 

[Hughman]

I just installed the new timer and it seems to be working fine. How long have you had yours installed?

Since September of last year.