1997 block heater
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1997 block heater
I looked under the hood and there is an orange cord but it is not plugged in. There is a plug in the grill to plug in extension cord. I cannot seem to find where the orange part plugs into under the hood. Does my truck have a block heater? Or was it just wired for one? The truck in a 1997 f-150 4x4. with a 4.6 engine.
Laughing Gas
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 1,098
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From: Minnesota
Slide underneath and look right below the drivers side exhaust manifold. You should see the orange plug terminate on one of the frost plugs. That would be the OEM block heater element it is connected to. If it all looks sound and secure, I suppose you could plug it in at the grill and see. It is hard to tell if it is working, but one simple way is to plug a lamp into the same socket that you are going to plug your extention cord into from the plug at the grill. With the lamp on, plug in the heater and you should see the light dim just a tad. Please be careful and try to check the cord on the truck first for frays or cuts. Always plug it into a grounded GFI if possible. Good Luck!
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The orange cord is not plugged into anything. It was just dangling around. Where on the block would the heater be located or does anyone have any pictures that show places where it might be located? Would the plug be wired into the truck if it didnt have a heater? All I see is the cord with nothing plugged into either end of it.
Laughing Gas
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 1,098
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From: Minnesota
Sounds like the cord rusted off. Look at the frost plugs, as I posted above in that area. It is inserted into the block, so it's not something hanging on the side. But if you know what a frost plug looks like in the block, you will see one that looks different. That be it....should have some obvious signs of where the orange wires were. I can't believe they would put a plug on it that went nowhere...had to have had...or has one.
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I was just under the truck. I didn't see one in any of the freeze plug holes. There is 4 freeze plugs on the driver side. Is it possible it might have leaked and they removed it? I didnt see anything that looked like the plug end.
Laughing Gas
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 1,098
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From: Minnesota
Yes..But I would think any professional would remove an electrical plug that has the potential to be plugged in and cause a possible massive short. Who knows though what some people do....
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It is the original motor. Is the freeze plug hole the only place that would have the block heater?
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