The Cummins is a direct injected engine. The fuel is injected directly into the combustion chamber swirl.

The other 2 are IDI (indirect injected) where the fuel is injected into a prechamber swirl and the combustion blows out into the main combustion chamber.

Glow plugs in a direct injected environment have a very short life as temps and pressures are very high. They last better in an IDI engine as the main heat source is not diectly on them, but, it doesn't stop the Dmax's from spitting glow plugs out occasionally.

Direct injected engines are much cleaner, less prone to failure to start, more efficient, and less prone to failure due to glow plugs destructing. Just about all the advanced diesels for light trucks and cars are now DI. It really makes you wonder what GM and Ford are thinking.

 

So how long do I to turn the key on before I start it. I know in my buddies ford he has to wait for the light to go off. Do we have any wait time?

You can turn the key anytime. You can wait for the light or just crank it over. In the summertime, I don't wait for the light, it gets started just like a car, key in, turn for ignition. The grid heater is away from the cylinders, and the usual wait in winter is 3-10 seconds. The last time I waited was in the cold early mornings.

So the wait is up to you. It should start and if it's cold enough, the grid heater will cycle on/off to warm the engine.

 

Just watch your "Wait to start" light (it looks like a coiled piece of wire) in the dash. If it's on, wait til it goes out to start. If it's not on, it's warm enough to start without waiting.

 

Wait until the light goes off, below 50F.

 

I don't believe the fords and gm's are indirect injection. There was a 7.3 IDI that gave way to the powerstroke, which is DI. That was back in about '94. The powerstroke has stayed DI to my knowledge. The duramax uses the cp3 pump in a common rail setup just like the cummins, so it's definitely direct injection too.


http://www.duramaxdiesel.com/02_bosch/index.htm

 

The grid heaters are not a new idea, back in the fortys and fiftys in the cold winter time when my dad had to go to town, he would heat a tea kettle on the wood stove and when it boiled he would take it out to the old International pickup and pour the hot water on the intake manifold, jump in and it would start right away. Always worked............

 

The wait to start light is also for the ECM to run its self diagnosis and check for proper fuel pressure at the CP3. If you start it like a gasser the truck will run like crap for about 5 to 10 seconds until all the ECM work is done... I don't have gridheaters in and I still get the wait to start and it still stays on 3 seconds minimum.ks

 

Does the fuel heater make that much of a difference? When I installed my FASS,I completely bypassed the old system, including the heater....and have mulled over getting some kind of a heat-tape wrap for the fuel line, or a "heating pad" for the tank (for those balmy -5 deg. mornings in elk camp), something that could either be temperature or manually activated, perhaps from a separate deep-cycle battery...?

Anybody try something like this?