LJ 70 Glow Plug Override

[Mr Mule]

I am looking for some expertise on the glow plug setup in a 1986 LJ 70 with 2.4 lt turbo. The previous owner disconnected the factory glow plug timer and relay and replaced it all with a murphy switch and 7 volt glow plugs. The glow plugs were all burned out when I purchased the vehicle. I have replaced the glow plugs with Bosche 6 volt Part #19850-54071 then put in a 30 AMP variable resistor set at 6.2 volts. This has helped with starting but she still cranks hard to start. I have tried holding the switch on for about 25 seconds up to 3 times to heat the cylinders and still, she cranks hard to fire.
Any ideas on how I can make this set up work for me?

 

[goodoldboy]

hello and welcome to the club.What temperatures do yo have over there at the moment ? Unless its really cold say -10 c or - 15 c the glow plugs shouldn't make that much difference on a healthy engine.Perhaps you could source another timer ?

 

[Mr Mule]

Temperature drops to about 3 celius over night and it is 8 right now at Noon.
The previous owner bypassed the stock timer and relay. I figured it was simpler to carry on with that, particularly not knowing what has been cut out and without a wiring diagram.