12 V glow plugs in a 24 V 2H?

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Nov 1, 2006
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I bought this 2H off a sketchball on eBay, and there were some definate issues with it. First of all, it was missing the bellhousing and starter, but that is a seperate issue. I asked the seller several times if it was 12V and he assured me yes it was. The guy who helped wire up the rig also said this was a 12 V engine, which was fine since it was being transplanted into a 12 V vehicle.

Recently, my alterntor died, and the shop I took it to was pretty puzzled until they took it to see their buddy at a shop that specializes in such things. They cracked it open and lo and behold inside there it was, stamped 24V. WTF? So, we replaced it with a Hitachi one wire alternator, works fine.

So, did I get a 12V engine that someone slapped a 24V alternator on to make it look ok, or was this originally meant to be 24? Does it matter? The reason I ask is I think my glow plugs are getting tired and I am learning that research ahead of time makes these projects easier. My thought has been that 24V glow plugs with only 12V means I just have to keep the manual glow plug switch activated for twice as long.

So, the question is, would I be best served trying to track down 12V plugs or 24's?

Thanks!
 
I would just change all the glow plugs to 12 volt and be done with it.
My 2h had a split system with a series/parrallel dual battery switch - glow and charge 12 volt / switch to 24 volts for the starter.
 
The correct glow plugs for a 12V engine with a manual glow switch is 10.5 V.

A 24V engine may have 20.5V plugs or 14V plugs depending on the system - manual or super-glow.

There are no real differences between a 24V engine and a 12V engine per se, it's just the electrical items that are different. The 2Hs that were available in Canada were 24V, and not 12V.


hth, John
 
If the alternator was 24V you would have cooked your regulator and single 12v battery by now I would think.

What voltage was the starter motor? If it is needing 24v I suspect you never would have got it to turn anything over only using one battery on 12V.


Oops, sorry just re read your post - it didn't come with a starter :doh:

However my first point still stands. If the alternator was rated at 24V, I cannot imagine your regulator coping with it for long.

Tim
 
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