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Manifold Heater Problems

Maxwell1815

New member
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0
0
Location
Lima/Ohio
check everything. Do you have power to the pump? or the igniter? restricted injector nozzle? power to the switch or out of the switch? check resistance at the switch, and in all of your wiring. Check the spark plug for build up of carbon/dirt. What have you tried so far?
 

rolling18

Active member
624
77
28
Location
Portland, OR
The flame heater parts can be tested individually or together.
The nozzle must atomize the fuel in a funnel like pattern, test by installing it in a clear plastic bottle and observe the spray.
The igniter produces a continues spark for as long as the switch is turned on. The cable sheathing is grounded to the spark plug and it should fire when held up (doesn't need to touch metal (=ground)).
Test both together as shown in image below.
There is no good way of knowing if it is working when installed on the engine and running it without ignition will put raw fuel into the intake manifold. I put together an optical sensor to monitor the operation, but that is another story...
guessing the flame manifold flame heater wouldonly work with nearly "pure diesel"
and not very well if at all using WMO waste motor oil???
would you know the % of wmo it would still fire to?
 

rolling18

Active member
624
77
28
Location
Portland, OR
check everything. Do you have power to the pump? or the igniter? restricted injector nozzle? power to the switch or out of the switch? check resistance at the switch, and in all of your wiring. Check the spark plug for build up of carbon/dirt. What have you tried so far?
found the problem in mine.. of all things, when they installed the pump/ motor on top of the engine, the clamped the mounting peice over the plastic fuel line, it was flat as a pancake!! i opened it up and now have the fuel flowing again, further trouble shooting
showed a plug with lots of ceramic cracked and broken falling out of the plug itself..

other than those i got fuel AND good spark from the plug attachment :)
 

Chuck76

Member
90
1
8
Location
Salisbury. NC
Am I looking at the right part? Manifold heater sits under a cover atop the engine, foward to the right side? If so, mines pouring fuel out of a "weep" hole..... bad injector maybe?
 

Commander5993

Active member
Steel Soldiers Supporter
Now that it's getting cold outside, I now know for sure my manifold heater isn't working :sad:

I can 'bump' the switch while not cranking the engine (yeah I know I'm not supposed to do that) and hear the pump kick in, but no "explosion" or ignition sound as others say you should hear.

I did pull the plug & injector this summer and clean them, although they looked pretty good. Also replaced the plastic fuel lines, as for reasons that are beyond my understanding, they looked like a dog chewed on them...?

After reading this thread, either I'm not getting fuel (even though the pump sounds like its running), or I'm not getting spark (which is what I think is the problem).

Going to pull both in the morning and test.

 
Last edited:

AceHigh

Well-known member
2,176
31
48
Location
Lake City FL
I pulled my manifold heater off and replaced it with a Kitts ether injector. I think that is a great upgrade and not too expensive either. or ether. :D
 

Commander5993

Active member
Steel Soldiers Supporter
Well, I found the problem with my manifold heater today.

I pulled the plug laid it up on the air filter housing, had my Dad flip the switch while I watched the plug, and it had a good continuous spark. So that wasn't the problem after all.

I took the lines off the "injector" put the supply line into a glass jar, hit the switch had good fuel flow.

Took out the "injector", removed the nozzle tip, and realized that I hadn't totally disassembled the injector the last time, like I thought I had. I had removed the nozzle tip, and had removed the rear snap ring before, But I never was able to get the plunger to come out.

So I once again, took the snap ring off, hit it against the workbench, nothing. Beat on the plunger, nothing. Put the "injector" in a vise, took an old blunt bolt and placed it on the plunger, tapped it with a hammer, still no movement. Hit harder, still nothing.

Kept hitting it thinking it would eventually knock it loose, but instead the bolt actually punched through the metal end of the plunger. And ever after that, it still won't come apart. :shock:

I gave up and started calling the places that DieselBob had suggested in post #19 (thanks DieselBob), and of course I started at the bottom of the list...

In the end Memphis Equipment (ph#
901-774-0600) and they had the "injector" in stock. They have new ones, which are the new style which means you may have to move or change one of the fuel lines (at least that's what they told me). And they have take off's, which are the old style. Either way, they are $62 each.

But I did get transferred a couple of times, because the person didn't know what the heck I was talking about. Finally I got a guy, who knew what it was, and He called it a "nozzle" instead of an injector. So if you call you might ask for a "manifold heater fuel nozzle" or "manifold heater fuel injector nozzle".

In the end, I just ordered the new one/new style, and it should be here monday.
I hated the old style anyway, because the lines are a real pain to take loose and re-install, because they are so close together. But hopefully after this, I won't have to remove it anymore.

I'll report back when repaired, might even take a pic or two.
~Peace
 
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JasonS

Well-known member
1,656
167
63
Location
Eastern SD
What has been called the "new" style here and by several vendors is actually the very early flame heater nozzle and requires the solenoid valves to prevent the fuel from constantly leaking out.
 

Commander5993

Active member
Steel Soldiers Supporter
What has been called the "new" style here and by several vendors is actually the very early flame heater nozzle and requires the solenoid valves to prevent the fuel from constantly leaking out.

ah man, are you serious! auaauaaua


Even the guy at Murry Equip told me it was an "updated" version.

So now, I have to try to call early in the morning, and see if I can change my order to a "take-off" nozzle, befor they ship it.

If they have already shipped it, then I'll have to now figure out how the solenoid works, how and where to mount it, and where to find one :|

This just isn't my day...:doh:

Thanks for the info Jason, I would rather find out about this now rather than later.
 

Commander5993

Active member
Steel Soldiers Supporter
Went ahead and called tonight, of course they were already closed but I left a message. Hopefully they will get it before they ship the so called "updated" version...

Getting ready to move out of state in just a couple weeks. And I really can't afford to have any more "projects" right now. I got to have this truck in full running condition, as we have about a 2000 mile drive, and its getting colder. So I need the manifold heater working.
 

saddamsnightmare

Well-known member
3,618
80
48
Location
Abilene, Texas
November 1st, 2012.

I had an M35A3 with leaking manifold heater that wasn't doing the job when I needed it to, and it was throwing the idle off significantly. Put in a new unit from White Owl and I believe the truck will start when needed. If your batteries are good, the truck should crank and fire at 15 to 20* F (above zero) and below that the manifold heater will fire your truck up everytime if it is maintained. It works something like the burner in a home oil furnace and the object is to pre heat the combustion air.

I have always been leery of ether in diesels, as they are very sensitive to it, and can become dependent upon it to start when they should not be so. The Germans traditionally design their diesels to start in adverse weather conditions, but we have not learned yet that winter does rule the battlefields. I have an air-cooled Deutz diesel that would start at -10 to -20*F without ether or glow plugs regularly on a railroad car generator set.:razz:

Maintenance, Maintenance, Maintenance should be your mantra....
 

Commander5993

Active member
Steel Soldiers Supporter
I have always been leery of ether in diesels, as they are very sensitive to it, and can become dependent upon it to start when they should not be so.

Maintenance, Maintenance, Maintenance should be your mantra....
Lot of good points.

Our deuce starts fine right now, but we're moving further north, and winter is fast approaching. So just want to have the manifold heater in good condition. As I too don't like using ether.

Maintenance is what we have done to this deuce and an 86 m1008 since we got them last jan. Well, maintenance and some add-on's/updates.

I've been going to post a project thread for months, and post the pics. But just been so busy, haven't had time to do much else besides working.
 

mark salanco

New member
Steel Soldiers Supporter
330
3
0
Location
greenville sc
I've had my truck for 2 winters now and it's always started right up without a manifold heater or starting fluid, even at 0 degrees out.. Guess I'm just lucky.
 

JasonS

Well-known member
1,656
167
63
Location
Eastern SD
ah man, are you serious! auaauaaua

Even the guy at Murry Equip told me it was an "updated" version.

So now, I have to try to call early in the morning, and see if I can change my order to a "take-off" nozzle, befor they ship it.

If they have already shipped it, then I'll have to now figure out how the solenoid works, how and where to mount it, and where to find one :|

This just isn't my day...:doh:

Thanks for the info Jason, I would rather find out about this now rather than later.
There is a thread somewhere which describes someone trying the hexagonal "old" version.
 
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