Hiace Glow Plug Relay removal

Hey there folks, first post sorry if this is the wrong place or if this has been covered elsewhere.

My van (96 hiace scl 4wd 1kz-te) is having an issue starting after an unusually cold 3 day weekend sitting in front of my house. Cranks but wont start up, glow plug light doesnt turn on anymore when key is switched to ON and also i dont hear a relay click after several seconds anymore so im assuming it has to do with the glow plug fuse or the glow plug relay so i am starting there.

I had a really hard time finding the glow plug relay to test it, (im not even sure if i actually found it). I found a relay titled “SPL (diesel)” in the fusebox and im assuming thats it. BUT I CANT GET IT OUT! Most of the other relays are easy to remove but some have these white plastic tabs that seem to be holding them in place and i cant get a flathead screwdriver in between to pry them out. (See photo)

Does anyone know how to remove it?

Or does anyone know if this is even the right relay? Ive looked in the fusebox under the steering wheel, the one on the passenger floorboard side, the fuses by the batteries (where i found the 80a glow plug fuse) and behind the glove box.

Thanks everyone!

Glow plug sub relay should be up behind glove box on a bracket.
28610A on diagram 4, bottom right of picture.

http://jp-carparts.com/toyota/partlist.php?maker=toyota&type=711140&cartype=143&fig=8401

Page 373 (approx) of the pdf of the 1KZ-TE service manual covers testing of the relay. It may be marked SUB-GLW-RLY

This is great thank you so much. I will dig around more tomorrow in the daylight and see if i can find it. I will respond with photos for future reference if i have any luck

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The fuse is near the battery.

Thank u i was able to locate the fuse. Got pretty damn discouraged looking for the relay the other day. Taking a break going to look again tomorrow and also test the ECU because thats what it says in the 1kz service manual

i still havent been able to resolve this. i have used the 1kz service manual and users replies in this forum to look for the glow plug relay as well as taken it to a shop in town and we cant locate the glow plug relay.

we were able to locate the glow plug SUB relay but not the main relay. the SUB relay seems to be working as well as the fuse.

does anyone have more info on where the glow plug relay OR the glow plug timer might be?

also does anyone know if the glow plug system is a regular system or quick start?

as i stated above my van is 96 hiace scl 4wd 1kz-te

thanks again

Hello all,
I hope someone out there can help.....i have bought a toyota hiace 1993 campervan yokahoma import with high roof. Everything working fine until today where i fired it up to take it for a spin. Just did a walk around and opened the sliding door....now the door does not lock and bouncea back but you can hear the lock mechanism toward the back making a noise like it wants to lock...everything seems to be in tact. The handle etc seem fine. The battery was weak as not been in it for 3 weeks. Any idea what it could be. If i lock and unlock from the driver side the central locking shows its working as the front locks. Please help!!!

Shlooogan wrote:

i still havent been able to resolve this. i have used the 1kz service manual and users replies in this forum to look for the glow plug relay as well as taken it to a shop in town and we cant locate the glow plug relay.

we were able to locate the glow plug SUB relay but not the main relay. the SUB relay seems to be working as well as the fuse.

does anyone have more info on where the glow plug relay OR the glow plug timer might be?

also does anyone know if the glow plug system is a regular system or quick start?

as i stated above my van is 96 hiace scl 4wd 1kz-te

thanks again

I’m pretty sure that is the relay. Toyota use some seemingly odd terms for their sensors and parts and assuming SUB means there’s another relay is perhaps a red herring. It may be the label Toyota gives to a relay downstream of ECU internal control relays (? that is just speculation).
From what I understand the control of the timing is a mix of temperature, resistance and stepped voltage from the ECU.
Here’s a couple of links that may help. I would consider asking in one of the off-road, Toyota- Surf or Hi-Lux forums.

Describes the ECU control of the voltage. This may lead to further searching and info.
https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/1kz-te-glow-system-questions.504111/


This is just a link that lists all the relays and Fuses for the 1KZ-TE engine (in a Prado of the same era). Note: there is only one Glow Plug Relay.
https://fuse-box.info/toyota/toyota-land-cruiser-prado-90-j90-1996-2002-fuses-and-relay/amp

Nazandnas wrote:

Hello all,
I hope someone out there can help....

Thread hijacks, especially completely unrelated ones,  don’t usually work for getting the knowledgeable responses you need and generally not good manners.
Best practise and good form is to start a new topic or find a related thread.

Just rechecked page 373 of the manual that I referred to in previous reply.
The Glow Plug Relay is called SUB GLW RLY.
That is the relay.

In the 1KZ-TE Repair manual that is page 2 of Chapter ST-STARTING. ST-2. Page 373 of the pdf.

Thank you so much for taking the time to send all of that info over @pete_nz

Down the rabbit hole i go, i will check back again later with updates

thanks again

Anyone had any issues with hiace sliding door bouncing back and not locking? Any help would be appreciated, also, im new to this forum so how do i start a new topic as cant aee an option to do this, many thanks

Nazandnas wrote:

im new to this forum so how do i start a new topic as cant aee an option to do this, many thanks

If you go to the particular topic page. Eg. 'General': https://hiace-super-custom.forumotion.com/f5-general
there is a new topic button to the top left of the topic list (if you're on a mobile, then there is a button across the whole page in a similar position.

Any luck finding the glowplug relay? I am having the same issue and can't seem to locate it, I've checked behind the glovebox and there is only unmarked relays on top of the fan unit. (RHD 1kzte Model)

Is it by the battery (small group of relays)

hey there @chadssupercustom
I have had no luck locating it. The weather warmed up so i put it off. I moved to portland oregon since my post and been able to talk to the guys at Vanlife Northwest at GREAT length about the issue. Here is what i have learned so far from them and the handful of shops ive spoken to, hopefully this helps u:

1995-96 are transitional years for these vans so sometimes the relay is behind the glovebox or behind the stereo or up behind the steering wheel. Either way its absolutely buried and a nightmare to get to. Later year vans it is located close to the batteries. It seems that it is highly unlikely that the relay is the issue.
It is more likely the glow plugs or the ecu.

The ecu is definitely the first place i recommend looking. All sorts of strange things can happen when those electrolytic capacitors start leaking: glow plugs not heating, poor mileage, the van can even just turn off while driving. So it seems pretty important to open that thing up and get it recapped. Its simple if u can solder. I took mine to a local guy and he replaced the one leaky capacitor we could find. Although after doing this and it did not fix my issue, folks are saying i should have replaced every capacitor, (which makes total sense in hindsight haha) so i will be doing that here soon. The ecu for my van is located on the passenger side, mounted on the wall (behind passenger door and in front of sliding door) kinda behin/underneath the seatbelt. I couldnt get the plastic cover all the way off but unbolting the lap part of the seatbelt and all the bolts from the plastic will get it loose enough where u should be able to get a screwdriver in there.

if not ur ecu then it could be the glow plugs. If one glow plug is bad it can cause problems and ground out the rail and give u an improper reading when u check the voltage. So it is pretty important to physically take them out to test them/change em. I did this and it seems like all of my glow plugs are good, i went ahead and put new ones in because i just want to be sure this wasnt the issue and the service manual recommends if u take them out to put new ones in. To do this u have to remove the air intake, the big metal thing that crosses over the engine. I recommend taking the back engine cover off, u have to lift up the carpet in the back. I also recommend opening the engine cover under the driver seat which requires removing the drivers seat completely and disassembling the parking brake. Its quite the task. (I plan on changing my valve cover gasket and i will post photos on how to get access under the driver seat because it is not easy for a braindead beginner like me and took way too long to figure out. A pretty crucial zone to access since the alternator is down there too.) Anyways long story short i dont think the glow plugs fixed my problem. It hasnt been cold enough since i changed em to truly be sure.
Another thing to make sure to check is the cold crank amps on your battery(s).

The manual also suggests checking the water temp sensor on the back of the engine block, not the one that gives a reading to the dash. I havent looked into this yet.

If none of this changes anything i am going to work on a way to bypass the relay.

If u get stranded u should be able to run an alligator clamp or a jumper cable from the positive terminal on the battery to the glow plug rail. Just touch the cable to one of the glow plug tips or onto the rail for about 6 seconds with the ignition in the on position just before u crank to turn it over. This should simulate a working glow plug system process.

Hope all this info helps, ive been meaning to share all this so im glad u messaged on here. Also my apologies if i am stating the obvious with some of this stuff, most of this wasnt obvious to me so i want to put it out there for beginners to find. I will check back with updates, hope u are able to figure out what the issue is