I must be dumb as all get out. I've had my TYM HST330 for 12 years, put 600+ hours on it, and never seemed to need the glow plugs to start it. It has the Kubota D1503 engine, and it's my first diesel engine product.
Sometimes it has been slower to start than others, but this year it has gotten harder to start as the weather has cooled and that got me thinking that something was wrong or I was doing something wrong. and that got me deciding to learn about glow plugs.
Well- the manual is all but useless in explaining how they are supposed to work. It says turn the switch to the left (doesn't say how long to hold it there) and release it. If I turn it to the left, the glow plug indicator will flash for as long as I hold it in the glow position. But if I release it, the indicator immediately goes out. Does anybody know how this is supposed to work? Should the indicator stay on solid until preheating is complete? Or should it flash until preheating is complete?
I will also point out that the schematic in the manual is nearly useless- it's low resolution so zooming makes it illegible.
What I notice is that if I hold the key to the left in order to get the glow plug indicator light to flash and hold it there for 5 or even 10 seconds, the engine still doesn't start any easier which suggests to me that the glow plugs are not activating.
My surmise is that there's a relay that should have latched when I turned the key to the left and keep the glow plugs on until the combustion chamber is warm enough to start. Is that correct? And if so, where is that relay mounted? (The manual does not provide a callout of things under the hood) I see in the parts catalog that there is a glow "timer." Is that the same thing as the relay or something different?
Any insight on how this is supposed to work and where to locate the relay/timer would be gratefully received! Thank you.
Sometimes it has been slower to start than others, but this year it has gotten harder to start as the weather has cooled and that got me thinking that something was wrong or I was doing something wrong. and that got me deciding to learn about glow plugs.
Well- the manual is all but useless in explaining how they are supposed to work. It says turn the switch to the left (doesn't say how long to hold it there) and release it. If I turn it to the left, the glow plug indicator will flash for as long as I hold it in the glow position. But if I release it, the indicator immediately goes out. Does anybody know how this is supposed to work? Should the indicator stay on solid until preheating is complete? Or should it flash until preheating is complete?
I will also point out that the schematic in the manual is nearly useless- it's low resolution so zooming makes it illegible.
What I notice is that if I hold the key to the left in order to get the glow plug indicator light to flash and hold it there for 5 or even 10 seconds, the engine still doesn't start any easier which suggests to me that the glow plugs are not activating.
My surmise is that there's a relay that should have latched when I turned the key to the left and keep the glow plugs on until the combustion chamber is warm enough to start. Is that correct? And if so, where is that relay mounted? (The manual does not provide a callout of things under the hood) I see in the parts catalog that there is a glow "timer." Is that the same thing as the relay or something different?
Any insight on how this is supposed to work and where to locate the relay/timer would be gratefully received! Thank you.
