I have a 1988 V30 one ton 4wd Dually with a 1995 6.5 litre N/A in it. I think that I am having problems with the glow plug controller. Would the glow plug controller cause the truck not to start? Both batteries are fully charged but it doesn't want to turn over. It acts like the batteries are dead. I have tried two starters now and they both do the same thing. I thought it smoked the fusible link beside the starter. I tested it with a test light and it has current. Thanks for any information on the controller.Edited by: spedx

The glow plug controller has NOTHING to do with the engine turning over. It sounds like you have a high resistance in some of the starter primary wiring. When I say high resistance, I mean around 5 ohms. It could be a bad cable, starter solenoid, battery terminal connector or ground point. I would very carefully go through all of the cables and connection points and see what I could find. Make sure everything is clean and shiny and that the cables are not corroded internally.

Thanks Steven

Good luck on your testing. Just remember, testing at zero current will yeald very different results from testing under a 200 amp load. Let me know what you find. Edited by: ag4gt

Does the solenoid engage the starter clutch? What were the first symptoms of the problem? Maybe your starter solenoid is bad or else you have it wired wrong.


If your batteries (2) are fully charged and if your starter cranks your engine then yes a failed glow plug controller will prevent your engine from starting. You can by-pass the controller by putting 12 volt DC to the plus side of the glow plug solenoid for about ten seconds and then crank your engine immediately upon removing the power to the solenoid. If you don't have the GM 60G glow plugs then you must be very careful with a manual start as it is possible to mushroom the glow plug tips in the engine (and that means you would have to remove the engine head to get the mushroomed/broken tip out)!!!