Hi folks, I want to see if any of you guys running the GX3123's have had hard start issues this past cold season. We were on VAC down in Nashville this past march and I had 2 VERY hard start issues in the early morning while leaving the hotel. It was in the 20's F and the glow light lit for about a second or 2 and then it was all up to the starter. I thought I was going to burn out the starter! We never had this issue befor with the old plugs. sure it would need some cranking time if not pluged in but nothing like now with the ETECNO's. I have both the ECM and trans tuned with GDE for economy and otherwise the Jeep ran great getting 27-28 mpg holding to 70 or just over on winter snow treads. I see the controllers on these plugs are supposed to pre-starter light the plugs for only 1 second unless it hits 14F. then the light should pre heat for 10 seconds on down to any colder temps. From what im seeing 1 second glow on these plugs pre starter is just not enough. Do any of you guys know if there has been a better controler? There is also a up to 21 second pre-glow that happends after you start up when temps call for a 1 second wait to start lamp on. If there are not any recalibraded 7v controlers available, I guess I'll swap in a better battery than the 3 year old optima thats in there now. It seems a bit weak in the cold and that certainly can be part of the problem. GDE's web sight claims they found the early GX3123's were hard starters compared to OEM's. I will try to get Ecotec to give me a bosch PN that is the best replacement controler for their GX3123's. With 3 TDI's & a CTD, I just flat out DO NOT have these issues with those rides. I want to be ready this winter.....now.

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05 CRD Sport
01 Dodge QC CTD
Ford New Holland 555E BH
Massy 1010
8 KW DI Diesel Gen set
My beloved oil hammers....

I thought it was Etechno?

Regardless, I'm in Nashville and have lived here all year. I also visit indianapolis, cleveland, and albany, and have had 0 issues from these plugs.

Sears P-1 is the battery to get btw.

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Silver 2006 KJ 2.8L CRD Limited:
GDE ECO Tune / Fumoto Valve / E-Tecno GX3123 7v Glow Plugs / 2nd Gen Fuel Head / Mishimoto RED Hoses / Rockers/Lifters @ 114k / Hayden FC + 11 Blade Nylon / Sears P1 Battery / Transgo 45RFE-HD2 Reprogramming Kit / Timken Front Bearings

Actualy, its ETECNO ... see how easy it is to screw that one up from memory? Anyway, I just sent an Email to them to see if they could give me a lattest n greatest Bosch controller PN for these 7v plugs. I will definately look into the sears P-1. Iv had a few Optima's & was not happy with them. This one was in the Jeep when I bought it a couple of years ago.

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05 CRD Sport
01 Dodge QC CTD
Ford New Holland 555E BH
Massy 1010
8 KW DI Diesel Gen set
My beloved oil hammers....

Hell I even had it spelled right in my signature...

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Silver 2006 KJ 2.8L CRD Limited:
GDE ECO Tune / Fumoto Valve / E-Tecno GX3123 7v Glow Plugs / 2nd Gen Fuel Head / Mishimoto RED Hoses / Rockers/Lifters @ 114k / Hayden FC + 11 Blade Nylon / Sears P1 Battery / Transgo 45RFE-HD2 Reprogramming Kit / Timken Front Bearings

He may use the mobile version, that doesn't show signatures :p.

Joke aside, so far I like optima, but I'm only on my 3rd year, so time will tell. I hear though many people having issues with them, which definitely means something. For offroad, I'd say the spiral elements optima has are best.

Regarding etechno, I barely start using them, it is summer, so jeep starts in less than a sec. I'd try to turn the ignition on more than once in the winter if there is an issue though, so they are hotter when you crank up. Even keith suggested that.

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2005 kj CRD, samco, suncoast tc, provent, Kennedy lift pump, GDE ECO full torque, 2nd gen filter head, 245/70/16 a/t tires, mopar light bar, fumoto oil valve, OEM Skid Plates, ARB Front bumper and HD OME, tru cool LPD47391 40k GVW tranny cooler (stock cooler delete), FF Dynamics e-fan and shroud, rocker arms replaced, HDS2 190F thermostat.

turning the key on n off a few times is the first thing i tried in the parking lot. no dice. once it did start, it was loaded up and i smoked that parking lot up ...big time! I was surprised because the thing runs like a clock, so, this glow plug/battery/controler combo is not going into another cold season.

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05 CRD Sport
01 Dodge QC CTD
Ford New Holland 555E BH
Massy 1010
8 KW DI Diesel Gen set
My beloved oil hammers....