[vstech]

ok. the truck was PISSING fuel... entire undercarriage is coated all the way to the drums... (ya think there might be an issue?)

anyway mechanic calls me to work on it, because he don't do diesel... and I pull the hoses, and FFM and low and behold I find this...

 

[vstech]

only the hoses were leaking, once I installed fresh hoses, there was no fuel leaking under pressure.

I'm guessing this is the fuel heater, and those exposed wires are a bad thing...:hehe:

 

[HeavyChevy95]

Correct... Faulty fuel heater and/or short circuits are known to disable glowplug and fuel (lift) pump systems in the process.

Unplug the defective fuel heater until you can afford to replace it.

For a few dollars more.. Often much easier to R&R the entire FFM housing for what it cost to R&R the fuel heater alone.. IIRC, recently saw complete 'drop in' ACDelco units posted for $120.00 or there abouts.

 

[JMJNet]

You can put heatshrink on the wires if there is no hole where the wires came out.

When I replaced the whole FFM, I put a wire loom on all the wires.
It looks more exposed than what I want to so hopefully the looms help with reducing the chance of melting wires.

I also put a dab of RTV where the wires come out just for prevention and protect that holes.

 

[vstech]

I was thinking of squirting in some liquid electrical tape as a stopgap measure if the owner doesn't want to replace the FFM... it looks new to me. very clean and no corrosion on it, unlike the entire rest of the truck...

 

[JMJNet]

Make sure the liquid tape can withstand the temp.

I will still put some other protection in addition to the liquid tape.

I take it this is not your truck, though.

 

[HeavyChevy95]

That fuel heater appears to be constructed like a new one. OEM units often had a metal base with a rubber gromet protecting the wires where they exited the housing.. could of been replaced recently. :confuzeld

If the fuel heater is leaking fuel from the area where the electrical wires exit the heater body, its not just a malfunction, its actually busted (cracked somewhere) and should be replaced asap to avoid further driveability complaints stemming from potential fuel/air leaks.

 

[JMJNet]

I agree, my replacement looks like this as opposed to the old one.

That is why I put a whole bunch of reinforcement in earlier post.
My FFM is also raised to reduce the heat from the engine valley.

 

[vstech]

yeah, this one looks nothing like my spares or other truck's ffm's...

like I said, it's NOT leaking at all, and the aluminum body is TOTALLY clean. zero corrosion. I'm going to suggest replacement, but expect him to reject it as it's just been replaced I bet. if the liquid tape isn't heat capable, I'll see about RTV or cut the wires, and install heat shrink on the uncovered wiring.

 

[JMJNet]

I got the feeling that those wires were rubbing into hot metal parts.

 

[vstech]

there isn't any arc burns on the wires, but with no grommet, or anything to keep the wires from touching, I'm sure the heater circuit has popped. doubtful the glow plug controller would work...

 

[HeavyChevy95]

FWIW. the wires look as if they were possibly snatched out from the heater base, exposing the wires. Not doubt that would greatly affect other systems with shared power and/or common grounds (splices or otherwise) when the ignition is first turned ON.... Was it plugged in when you discovereds it, if so find any popped fuses?

Given the growing evidence that FFM housing has been worked on recently, wouldnt surprise me if the last buckaroo missed the FH plug after unplugging the WIF sensor asuming that was it and snatched the pooh out of it after getting impatient as there back started to buckle. :hehe:

 

[vstech]

I spoke with the owner and the motor is a swap before he got the truck. He has no info on the FFM. he says he's never had issues with glow plugs or starting issues order than the fuel leak... But sometimes the glow light doesn't come on.

He's not familiar with diesel, so he may not know what glow starting is supposed to be like.

Hopefully I'll get everything sorted on this truck and he'll be amazed!

 

[HeavyChevy95]

short vid of old style fuel heater w/ metal base and wire gromet, leaking fuel no less..

 

[HeavyChevy95]

I know when my fuel heater went on the fritz, and was entering its death throes, it disabled my GPs, the WTS lamp never would light up.. Found ECMB or ENG1 fuse (cant recall without looking) popped everytime the fuel heater would try to kick on.

Could explain the intermittent WTS lamp... Good Luck..

 

[Paveltolz]

I called 'The Diesel Store,' an online parts supplier, to get just the heater element when mine had a similar issue. They don't show the part on their web page, just the whole FFM assembly but, they did source just the element for a reasonable price (as I recall).
877-375-7867

 

[vstech]

short vid of old style fuel heater w/ metal base and wire gromet, leaking fuel no less..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=is0c95qn7sE

how much trouble do you have changing the filter with it raised up that high?

I raised his up 5" and offset it to point the hoses at the driver's side of the manifold to keep it from sitting on top of the intake hat.

 

[JMJNet]

I called 'The Diesel Store,' an online parts supplier, to get just the heater element when mine had a similar issue. They don't show the part on their web page, just the whole FFM assembly but, they did source just the element for a reasonable price (as I recall).
877-375-7867

Just FYI, I got the whole FFM for around $120 from Amazon (including tax in TX).

So I did that instead of just the heater for around $100.
It comes with a new filter already so I just have to replace the old one as a whole.

 

[HeavyChevy95]

how much trouble do you have changing the filter with it raised up that high?

I raised his up 5" and offset it to point the hoses at the driver's side of the manifold to keep it from sitting on top of the intake hat.

Thats not a picture of my trucks FFM. I tried to raise it like that and like you, I discovered the outlets were resting on the intake and to raise it any further pushed the top into (contacted) the hood insulation.
Simply put, I didnt like it so I quickly fabricated an aluminum bracket (pictured below) from an old pooper scooper to relocate the FFM forward and off to the side with no fuss AND I can keep both feet on the ground when servicing the FFM now.. No more back breaking bulls'it..
OEM electrical harness and WIF/FH pigtails provided plenty of slack so no electrical alterations or extensions were necessary.

 

[prichmon]

I recently went through this. Heater was popping dash 20 amp fuse. When I was doing the ftb mod I found the damaged grommet.

I opted for a wolverine 100w heater on my auxiliary filter and reused the plug to the ffm. Heater was about 60.

Good luck