Well that's just not true.

 

where are you located ? That sounds like you got ripped off....Ford 7 3 Diesel Powerstroke 1000W Engine Block Heater 95 03 F350 F250 Excursion | eBay and here is one just for the cord....http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Ford-7-3-6-0-...a6e737&vxp=mtr

 

^^^^^ +1; it's a generic cord. I've only seen a few connector configurations for the heater end for those block heater cords. Ours are nothing "unique". IIRC, it's the common round shape. In fact I think it was this one: NAPA AUTO PARTS that I purchased after last year's episode.

 

blageurt, that wont fit because its for a 99-03 7.3 so im pretty sure they have a different cord. the cord I have is not screw on, it has a retaining clip. and I dont know what NAPA was thinking but at least i know the Motorcraft part will last.

 

The cord with the threaded retainer nut will work. If you look at where the clip on the OEM cord attaches, it clips onto a threaded fitting. These heater elements and cords are fairly standard. I'm currently (no pun intended) running the NAPA cord with the retainer nut; it threaded right onto the fitting on the OEM element.

 

I wish I had known that! I'll see if i can return it, because $50+ in savings is worth it.

 

It was mentioned in post #11.

 

I should pay better attention better next time.

 

I bought #14 wire and a plug at Ace for about $7.00. The old plug burned a hole in the original wire. I have been using the new plug/wire for 4 years.

 

for what it's worth, the factory block heater on my '96 only draws around 900 watts. The temp was dropping to the single digits the other night and of course I go to plug the block heater in and no-go... had to clip the plug off and replace it BUT i didn't have a replacement plug readily available. However I did have a few cords laying around. They were only 16 gauge so I was leery about using them so after metering the block heater ( 15.9 ohms) and then doing a little math....they draw 900 watts or 7.5 amps at 120v. This was a no-brainer, 16 gauge wire can safely handle 1300 watts. SO moral of my long *** story is that you can get away with some lighter gauge wire. You don't need to go buy a $100 cable. The cord I clipped off an old shop flourescent was plenty fine.

just my .001 cents!

 

^^^ That 15.9 ohms probably includes some internal resistance of the meter; I always seem to get about 1-2 ohms when I touch the probes together. The device I linked in post #6 does a better job of showing the actual power draw.

Indeed, 16ga should be plenty, for the length of the cord going from the element to the grille. In fact, a lot of the replacement cords are 16ga. But the 14ga replacement cords are nowhere near $100; more like $20-25.