L210 Glow Plug Resistor

jwage

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Kubota L210, Kubota ZD21
Jul 16, 2017
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Bethpage
0.65 at the first glow plug wire. 0.22 at the second. What kind of voltage should I expect here?


Thanks, agree it doesn't look right based on your explanation. I will fix that next and report back.


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jwage

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Kubota L210, Kubota ZD21
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Thanks! Yes. Too much paint. I spent time the other day cleaning out every single grease nipple and greasing everything I could get my hands on.


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100 td

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B21TLB (B21, TL421 & BT751) Toyota SDK4 T116 Bobcat
Aug 29, 2015
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When you measure voltage drop, you measure ACROSS the item, meaning from the start to the finish of the resistor terminals, the start to the finish of each glow plug, so from the red/black wire to the link wire and from the link wire to the ground wire, terminals on each plug. So both probes on the same glowplug, but at each terminal
 

100 td

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B21TLB (B21, TL421 & BT751) Toyota SDK4 T116 Bobcat
Aug 29, 2015
1,776
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38
ɹǝpunuʍop
And from that later pic of the resistor, it got nice and hot and cooked the paint due to the fact there was no extra resistance in the circuit because the plugs were wired incorrectly. It will get hot end eventually burn it all off I expect, but it will probably burn out if no plugs are in circuit with it.
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jwage

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Kubota L210, Kubota ZD21
Jul 16, 2017
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Bethpage
100 td, understood. Thanks for the detailed explanations guys. I will buy a meter with clamps so I can do that.

Dave, you are the man with your annotated pictures. This is amazing help.
 

jwage

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Kubota L210, Kubota ZD21
Jul 16, 2017
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Bethpage
Should I re-route the wires to a better place that isn't hanging directly over the glow plug resistor coil cover? or will that not get as hot once it is wired correctly at each glow plug?

It got so hot and it made me nervous for a second with those wires and the diesel tank right above it.
 

100 td

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B21TLB (B21, TL421 & BT751) Toyota SDK4 T116 Bobcat
Aug 29, 2015
1,776
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ɹǝpunuʍop
It won't get as hot with the glow plugs in circuit. But general safety prevails, so tidy up wiring as you can.
 
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100 td

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B21TLB (B21, TL421 & BT751) Toyota SDK4 T116 Bobcat
Aug 29, 2015
1,776
8
38
ɹǝpunuʍop
0.65 at the first glow plug wire. 0.22 at the second. What kind of voltage should I expect here?
As mentioned the voltage drop needs to be measured across the terminal of each plug. What the actual value will be will depend on the resistance of the entire circuit, and the resistor itself, but if the plugs are rated at 1.5 volts 40 amps, and they utilized them in the circuit at that value, you should measure a drop of ~1.5 volts at each plug, if 40 amps are flowing, DEPENDING on the size of the resistor they fitted. Mainly check to see if they are similar.
 
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jwage

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Kubota L210, Kubota ZD21
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Is this wired correctly now? I took the ground off the block too and cleaned it really well.

When I try to warm the glow plugs now, it doesn't seem to do anything.






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100 td

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B21TLB (B21, TL421 & BT751) Toyota SDK4 T116 Bobcat
Aug 29, 2015
1,776
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38
ɹǝpunuʍop
The plugs could be open circuit, disconnect top wires and measure from center pin to bottom contact on each, meter set to resistance. (Does the resistor warm up?)
 

jwage

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Kubota L210, Kubota ZD21
Jul 16, 2017
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Let me try that. The resistor coil didn't get hot either.


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jwage

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Kubota L210, Kubota ZD21
Jul 16, 2017
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I'm still learning all the lingo so I don't quite understand how to do that test yet. I'm going to read the manual for my electrical meter and take a look at this again with fresh eyes later. I'll be back. Thanks!


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Dave_eng

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M7040, Nuffield 465
Oct 6, 2012
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First great work getting that resistor back in production!

With glow plugs in series, if one is burned out, none will have any current flowing and no heat including the resistor.

The connection between the two glow plugs looks like a home made item using bare aluminum wire. Is this correct? If it is, then a long term fix will be a heavy copper wire with lugs on each end. Aluminum expands and contracts a lot with heating and will loosen over time.

Checking the resistance of each glow plug with the terminal or wires disconnected will tell you if one or both are bad.

With your earlier GP wiring , the newly rebuilt resistor was the only thing in the circuit.

With your rebuilt resistor, I seem to recall some had a metal cover over the element to prevent anything from touching it. Do you have a cover?

Dave M7040
 

jwage

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I will double check the wire between each glow plug. I think you are right that it is not copper. When I was moving the wires to the correct location I noticed the color of the metal. Where could I find that kind of copper wire?

As for the cover, yes I have it. Here is a pic with it on.




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Dave_eng

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Oct 6, 2012
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Glad you have the cover, obviously it sees a lot of heat so wise to have it in place.

The non copper wire can be replaced with a heavy gauge wire like the black with red stripe one connected to the first GP. Just crimp a eye connector on each end. It is likely 12 gauge. Stranded wire is better than a solid single strand like house wiring because it stands up to vibration better. The factory used more compact methods of connecting things just to make the engine package super neat but in the field it is not necessary.

Posting pictures of the washers you found to support your resistor may help someone else in the future.

In one of your recent GP photos there was lever attached to the engine block with a broken cable. Is it for the decompression?

Dave M7040
 
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jwage

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Kubota L210, Kubota ZD21
Jul 16, 2017
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Dave, I will post pictures of the ceramic washers by themselves and all put together for other people to reference in the future. I'll also include the link to the website I ordered them from.

Great, I will get a better wire for connecting the two glow plugs and get that replaced.

To answer your question about decompression, yes I believe that broken piece was previously for the choke to open up the valves a little bit to allow the cylinders to move easier and start easier. I found the parts for that choke so after I get the glow plugs working, that will likely be my next project.
 

jwage

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Kubota L210, Kubota ZD21
Jul 16, 2017
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Bethpage
Here are some more pics.

First is the shoulder washer that I put on the bottom side of the mounting frame.



This is a regular insulated ceramic washer I put on the other side of the mounting frame. Opposite of the shoulder washer.



Here is the company I ordered it from. Super easy to order online. Ordered Sunday, shipped Monday and received it Tuesday. Company is named McMaster-Carr. They have a bunch of random parts useful for rigging stuff.



And then finally here it is all put together. I aligned all the washers to satisfy my OCD after I took this pic and forgot to take another pic and it's mounted on the tractor now soooo :)

I had to slightly increase the size of the hole on the mounting frame in order for the shoulder washer to rest inside of the hole. Other than that it was a pretty easy fix.

I double and triple checked it was mounted correctly off and on the tractor with my meter before testing it with the real deal.


Thanks again to everyone that helped me. I know more about glow plugs today than I did last week.




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