5V glow plugs on 7V programming

casm · **Joined:** Sun Jan 29, 2006 5:05 pm **Posts:** 694

Question for anyone who has already done this: what's the approximate life expectancy of 5V glow plugs when running on the stock 7V programming?

We've had our first serious Winter cold snap here (12degF) the past couple of days, and it seems to be showing up the age of the glow plugs. My suspicion is that they're the original ones with 112,000 miles on them, so they're probably starting to feel the effects of age. Battery's not even a month old and definitely up to the job (850CCA), so it's doubtful that that's the issue.

I'm not keen on having the stock ECU reprogrammed for 5V plugs right now - a GDE tune is planned for sometime in the spring, so I'd rather not spend the $150 the dealer wants to reprogram the stock ECU when I can have it done as part of the GDE tune. But I'd also rather not end up buying another set of glow plugs four or five months down the road because they were run at 7V instead of 5V.

So, for anyone who has done this... Any problems involving premature glow plug wear?

geordi · **Posted:** Sat Dec 09, 2017 9:57 am

Using the 5V metal Bosch plugs on the original 7V programming is now the preferred option for better stating performance. The lifespan is not yet known because nobody has reported them failing yet, even into the second or possibly third winters.

mass-hole · **Posted:** Sat Dec 09, 2017 11:36 am

I’ve had 5V plugs since I bought my Jeep at 42k. Got my GDE tune ~50k and later found out it was 7V. It’s now at 105k and 3-4 Year’s and I think I’ve replaced 1 in that time.

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bugnout · **Posted:** Sat Dec 09, 2017 2:27 pm

geordi wrote:

Using the 5V metal Bosch plugs on the original 7V programming is now the preferred option for better stating performance. The lifespan is not yet known because nobody has reported them failing yet, even into the second or possibly third winters.

Wow, that is the first I've heard of that. I have a set of 5v, but never installed them, instead went with Etecno plugs. I've replaced 2 Etecno's on Cylinder 1 and 2 that each lasted a year. No failures over last winter. Next time I have a reason to replace them, I'll go with the 5 volt plugs

casm · **Joined:** Sun Jan 29, 2006 5:05 pm **Posts:** 694

mass-hole wrote:

I’ve had 5V plugs since I bought my Jeep at 42k. Got my GDE tune ~50k and later found out it was 7V. It’s now at 105k and 3-4 Year’s and I think I’ve replaced 1 in that time.

Thanks - that's pretty much exactly what I was hoping to hear. We seem to run fairly similar annual mileages (inasmuch as I can estimate that after two months' ownership), so that gives me a decent yardstick to work from. Thinking I'll do the Bosch glow plugs and just keep them at 7V.

GordnadoCRD · **Posted:** Sat Dec 09, 2017 11:30 pm

casm wrote:

Question for anyone who has already done this: what's the approximate life expectancy of 5V glow plugs when running on the stock 7V programming?

We've had our first serious Winter cold snap here (12degF) the past couple of days, and it seems to be showing up the age of the glow plugs. My suspicion is that they're the original ones with 112,000 miles on them, so they're probably starting to feel the effects of age. Battery's not even a month old and definitely up to the job (850CCA), so it's doubtful that that's the issue.

I'm not keen on having the stock ECU reprogrammed for 5V plugs right now - a GDE tune is planned for sometime in the spring, so I'd rather not spend the $150 the dealer wants to reprogram the stock ECU when I can have it done as part of the GDE tune. But I'd also rather not end up buying another set of glow plugs four or five months down the road because they were run at 7V instead of 5V.

So, for anyone who has done this... Any problems involving premature glow plug wear?

I Have
https://www.idparts.com/glow-plug-5v-steel-etecno-liberty-crd-p-6012.html
Over 1 year.
HUGE performance improvement over the 7V model.
No Failures.
Would do it again in a heartbeat.

5V glow plugs on 7V programming

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