Is it safe?
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Is it safe?
I just purchased a 2005 F350, and since I live in Chicago, i was thinking of keeping the cars heater plugged in overnight for easier starting in the morning. Now here is the question, I just had an automatic car starter installed on the car, is it safe to crank and turn on the car while the cars heater is plugged-in in the power source at the same time? Some people say that I should disconnect the extension cord from power prior to turning on the car, and then some are saying that it doesn't make any difference weather the heater is plugged in or not.
All your feedback is welcome.
Eddie
All your feedback is welcome.
Eddie
Postmaster
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 4,517
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From: SE Wyoming
It is fine, the bigger danger would be letting the heater stay plugged in that long day after day, be better to buy a timer and only have it turn on for a few hours. I'll also guess this is a 6.0L and it won't even need to be plugged in until you get below 0*F for a long period.
Senior User
Joined: May 2009
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From: Black Hills
I had my old truck on a timer all winter long and it worked fine. The autostart in the morning did not affect the heater, just remember to unplug it BEFORE you drive off. Yes this happened to me and I ripped my extension cord in half, at least that was the only thing damaged and I could live with that.
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Joined: Oct 2005
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From: SW Virginia
That's a good point. Some on here and other forums have taken to draping the power cord over the driver's side mirror as a reminder.
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Postmaster
Joined: Oct 2007
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From: Illinois
Yea, VERY good idea.
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Elder User
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Start mine all the time with the heater plugged in, no problems yet. Don't see where there would be a problem?
You definitely want to put it on a timer though, those heaters are not cheap to run. I left mine plugged in all night last year and my bill went up over $100 per month. Now its on a timer set to come on 2 hrs before I wake up and its just as warm as when I left it on all the time.
You definitely want to put it on a timer though, those heaters are not cheap to run. I left mine plugged in all night last year and my bill went up over $100 per month. Now its on a timer set to come on 2 hrs before I wake up and its just as warm as when I left it on all the time.
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Joined: Jan 2010
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From: Whitecourt AB, Canada
I think the idea of that statement is to prevent overheating once the engine is running and producing its own heat while your resistive heating element is also adding thermal energy to the coolant/block. If you start it and then go out a few minutes later to unplug it before anything has a chance to get to operating temperature there's no problem with that. There's no electrical danger to leaving it plugged in, the vehicle electrical system is floating since it sits on large rubber insulators aka tires, and is only bonded to building electrical ground for as long as the cord is plugged in.
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