90 7.3 block heater ?
 

is there a way i can check to see if my block heater is working? I had my truck plugged in for 12 hours and it still had a hard time starting. is this normal? its usually not this cold in NC and i dont usually have any problems. So i was just wondering if there is a way to make sure my block heater is working. oh and i have a new set of glow plugs in the truck so it should not be that

the easiest way to tell for me is to plug it in and when its quite put your ear down by the top of the passanger side wheel and listen you should be able to hear some stuff going on like a faint electrical noise the other way is to wait about an hour and go out and stuff ur hand back there the exhaust manifold and block on that side should be warm to the touch

if your truck is starting hard with brand new GPs and the BH plugged in, you may have an air intrusion problem. Does your truck start right up after a bit of cranking, or does it just fire on a few cylinders and start up rough like. Do you see any smoke before it starts while cranking?

yea I can hear my block heater working about 10-12 seconds after I plug it in. Theirs also a way to test the block heater with a tester but I dont recall what the readings are supposed to be.

it will run ruff for maybe 3 or 4 seconds. when it cranks up. I will spin the key for probably 10 seconds and will have to wait then do it again and again. probably 3 or 4 times. when its warm it starts right up but still runs ruff for a few seconds

Yeah, just feel around where you put oil in the engine and it should be warm. My rad also warms up too when the block heater is on.

it must not be working bc i went out this morning and the motor is cold. |Where is the heater located and where can i get another one

the BH is in the block pretty much right on top of the starter. just follow the cord. youll have to drain your coolent to replace it though

Tool for testing block heaters
 

JoSa Enterprises from Atkins, Iowa makes a really rugged tool that will test any block heater, it gives you a digital read out in volts, watts, and amps, normal block heater for a ford diesel will range from 700-1000 watts. Google - JoSa Enterprises Power-Block

Hope this helps!

www.josapowerblock.com