Glow plug wire terminal fix?

[CARC686]

So what's the deal with replacements for the glow plug wire ends?
Because money's tight, I R&R'd the plugs only on the bank that was belching smoke in the cold, but the terminals are so loose, I don't trust them to stay in place. It's more wire tension holding them than a positive connection to the spades.

I've used pliers to pinch terminals to get them to make better contact in the past, but it doesn't work well and it's not a long-term fix. Just hoping to find some conventional wisdom here that hasn't occurred to me before I go cutting up the OE harness and replacing the terminals with Chinesium.

Thanks in advance.

 

[cucvrus]

Give the glow plug spade a slight twist. That will make them tighter. I have been using the AC Delco 13 G glow plugs for 27 years with the stock system. Always worked. Have I changed glow plugs? Yes, on occasion. I changed many systems back to stock after I bought and worked on customers hacked glow plug systems. Good Luck.

 

[CARC686]

Always good to hear from you. You might be the only one who doesn't know you're the patron saint of M1009s. I actually put Bosch plugs in bank one. Giving the spades a twist to help them engage is exactly the kind of thing I was hoping to hear. There really is no replacement for stuff made 40 years ago. At this point, old, NOS, and brand new probably have the same lifespan. Best to avoid disturbing things as much as possible.

 

[87cr250r]

If you do decided to replace your terminals they are still available from the OEM.

https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Aptiv-formerly-Delphi/15418891-L?qs=Z%252BL2brAPG1K4n7tNKtpd3Q%3D%3D

You don't want to use spade terminals from the auto parts store, vibration will open them up. It needs to be a spring loaded terminal.

 

[CARC686]

I don't think it'll come to that, but that's a pretty decent price in the x25 bracket where we can do three entire engines for less than three bucks apiece.

 

[87cr250r]

Don't buy too many. I'm not 100% because the dimension drawing doesn't have a width. I think it's 2.5mm. The connectors were originally made by Packard, then Delphi, now Aptiv.

The plastic holders should be available as well but I don't have time to search them down.

 

[WWRD99]

I had those terminals and plastic ends saved in my Amazon store. I went with the 60g though so I didn't replace them. I'll look for it.

Sent from my SM-S906U using Tapatalk

 

[WWRD99]

Found the terminals but the plastic ends aren't there I'll have to look for them again.

Sent from my SM-S906U using Tapatalk

 

[87cr250r]

That is the type of terminal your do NOT want to run.

The automotive terminals have springs built in to them so the resist loosening but more importantly tolerate more plugging cycles. They also have a tang to hold them in the connector body.

But, Packard 56 covers 1/4 inch wide terminals. The 13G plugs are 2.5 or 3mm which I believe uses the terminal I linked above.

Below is Packard 56 which fits 60G flow plugs.

 

[WWRD99]

That is the type of terminal your do NOT want to run.

The automotive terminals have springs built in to them so the resist loosening but more importantly tolerate more plugging cycles. They also have a tang to hold them in the connector body.

But, Packard 56 covers 1/4 inch wide terminals. The 13G plugs are 2.5 or 3mm which I believe uses the terminal I linked above.

Below is Packard 56 which fits 60G flow plugs.

View attachment 914134

They're the ones I run on everything, have for decades. If you have the proper crimp tool and do it right you'll never have a problem. They have a connector key right on the top. I found the plastic ends on digikey. They have a bunch until they are out of stock going obsolete.

 

[CARC686]

Makes sense they'd have boots on them. Wonder why mine are all naked. I'll sort this out after I get moved. Just about done buying a house.

 

[WWRD99]

Makes sense they'd have boots on them. Wonder why mine are all naked. I'll sort this out after I get moved. Just about done buying a house.

They break off from heat and get brittle. I only have a few left on all my trucks.

 

[87cr250r]

The 6.5 engine I bought for my truck has porcelain boots.

 

[cucvrus]

I used fuel line and slipped it over the entire glow plug. I packed the fuel line with dielectric grease and they lasted for years like that. I done that on CUCV plow trucks that were plowing and salting. Before I did that I I N was replacing connections and glow plugs every other year from corrosion. It looked decent also . I made sure the inner fender rubber fillers were in place also. Have a Great weekend

 

[CARC686]

I used fuel line and slipped it over the entire glow plug. I packed the fuel line with dielectric grease and they lasted for years like that. I done that on CUCV plow trucks that were plowing and salting. Before I did that I I N was replacing connections and glow plugs every other year from corrosion. It looked decent also . I made sure the inner fender rubber fillers were in place also. Have a Great weekend

I was just going to put a little heat shrink on them, but this sounds like a much better idea.

 

[87cr250r]

I used spade terminals with heat shrink in the past. The spade terminals loosened and the heat shrink continued to shrink from the heat until all of the terminals were exposed. That is why I strongly recommend the Packard or Aptiv terminals.