I read the the entire thread and no where in there did you state you tested just the heater. As far cord quality are going to drive it another 25 years? Probably not. The NAPA cord will be fine for many years.

 

I just answered your PM about the cord, now I wish I hadn't. Your attitude sucks and tecgod13 is absolutely right on the money with his advice.

 

Tell me what I said that was out of line? Read any of my previous threads or responses and I have always been polite and respectful to members. Lets look at what this guy said to me.



I said he didn't pay attention to the thread because I was asking about the quality of cords available at the time he responded with his brilliant advice to get under the truck and check the heater. I never said I tested the cord or heater in the thread. I was asking about HEATER CORD QUALITY and how accessible it was!

I had already stated I was doing common tests on the truck like cutting the plug off and checking for resistance so obviously I was out working on my truck when possible. This idiot is telling me to get under the truck when it's -50. Good advice.

"Dude, chill on the quality aspect." In the thread I simply asked if there was a higher quality bigger gauge cord because I don't want to buy junk if possible. The same way others here have advised me to only buy Motorcraft or International parts for certain IDI items. I read here that International may have made a higher quality cord and wanted to know if it existed. So again I don't understand why he's telling me to "chill".

"Herniated disks or not, you need to get your *** under your truck and test for resistance at the heater itself" It was -50 and exposed skin will freeze in minutes. Again good advice. Who is he to be telling me what I should or shouldn't be doing because of my back. Has he lived with the years of chronic pain associated with getting hit head on at a combined speed of 100mph by a full loaded Semi while drivng a Honda hatchback? I'm guessing no. So who is he to tell me to get of my *** herniated disks or not?

"I know its freezing *** cold up there, but neither you, nor us can fix your truck sitting inside at the computer." I don't remember asking him or anyone else to fix my truck. I can't fix it at the computer but common sense says I can get the best advice on correctly fixing the problem as efficiently as possible with the correct parts because it's -40 to-50. Which is what I was doing before this guy ran his mouth. Once again demonstrating he wasn't reading the thread properly. At -40 to-50 it's not freezing *** cold. It's life and limb endangering cold.

As far as I'm concerned he was completely out of line with his comments and attitude. His post was negative, pointless and offered nothing as far as value to the thread. So 96ExtracabPSD, if you think I was out of line and tecgod13 was right on in his advice I wish you hadn't responded as well.

 

I agree, the "Dude, chill" response sounds pretty disrespectful, I hope he did not mean for it to be.
Back to the original subject, judging by the picture of your cord I'd say you found your problem. Did you get a new cord yet? Like I said earlier NAPA's stuff is usually top notch and one from there will probably outlast the truck. I'd just get one from them and be done with it. I can't answer your question about the NAPA vs International quality aspect.

 

Well to start with before you buy any parts for any repair you need to test everything, check cord and the block heater itself. The reason for the earlier posts in this thread is you stated you wernt going to test the heater and just replace the cord instead, its almost the same level of work to do both so at the very least before you buy parts you need to check the block heater itself (or buy both and if block heater checks out save the new one as a spare).

That said as far as quality goes for our truck theres 1 manufacturer of block heater parts, doesn't matter who sells it its all the same part (from ebay to Ford/IH to NAPA) Want to say industry wide for every vehicle made theres only 3-4 manufacturers of block heaters and associated parts.

 

This thread is timely (cold weather will do that I guess), I used my block heater routinely 2 years ago, but last winter it never got cold enough. I tried it last weekend and after being plugged in for an hour the cord itself was still cold to the tough (usually it would warm up indicating it was drawing current), and truck still didn't want to start right away.

I notice that you tested the heater and the cord, what *should* the resistance be if I check at the plug end? Is it just anything other than an open circuit is OK?

Thanks!

 

I have the same cord on my heater. I dont use it though cause the plug end gets pretty hot after its plugged in. Maybe I am being paranoid?

 

I got the zerostart 3600010 7.5ft cord. Covered it in split plastic wire loom. Works well so far but just had it a couple months. Think i gave $14.95 for it on ebay. Oriellys has it for like $26.99 zerostart brand.

 

I too purchased the Zerostart replacement cord from O'reilly's. The PO of my truck had cut off the end of the original plug and put on a replacement plug from Home Depot. It was constantly turning green with corrosion which was also causing the plug itself to get really hot. This is my second winter with the Zerostart plug and it's still in great shape and performing admirably. The cord is really easy to change, about 2 minutes as posted earlier. If it was -50 outside though, I wouldn't be in any hurry to get out there. I don't envy what you guys are going through right now at all.

 

I got the Zerostart as well from Canadian Tire for around $19.99 and it appears to be the same cord as any other I've been able to find. Unless your going to make your own cord it seems to be the best option. For around $20 it can easily be replaced(thanks to everyone here who helped me discover that). At that price I'll just change it every 4-5 years for peace of mind and because I get extreme cold weather in the Winter.

 

I agree the work is the same if you can get your hands in there to get a reading. Physically, I'm a bigger guy which means big hands. I had a really hard time getting my hands with the two meter leads into the space to even get a reading. My hands are already too big so I couldn't wear gloves and being -40 to -50 at the time made it even more difficult. I eventually got a reading by extending the leads on my meter.

When it came time to get the new plug on the block heater, I could only manage to get it barely on with my one hand. I couldn't get enough leverage in the small space to push it on so I had to use a long pry bar(using the frame as a pivot point) to work the plug on. If the weather wasn't so severe at the time it would have been a lot easier project.

 

I was talking work to replace block heater vs cord, biggest difference is having to add coolant if you do the block heater, as far as getting at it the inner fender well has a removable panel which makes it easier.

 

I thought you had to remove the starter to change block heater? Wouldn't you also have to drain most of the coolant as well.

 

I don't have an IDI, so take this for what it's worth to you. I had to replace the block heater (2nd one, IIRC) on my 7.3L Powerstroke, in relatively warm weather compared to your location. I did mine in outside temps of 25*F, give or take. I left the radiator reservoir cap on, removed the old block heater and installed the new block heater as quickly as I could. The cap created a vacuum on the coolant system so the coolant didn't flow out in a stream. What little coolant that did spill out was captured in a clean bucket and reinstalled in the coolant system.

Once the block heater is unscrewed to the point of coolant leaking, it's not even finger tight any more. Quickly unscrew and remove it, install and screw in the new one finger tight. The coolant should stop flowing before you need any tools to tighten the block heater. Once it's tightened, install your cord. You're good to go after that. My entire removal and replacement process took less than 10 minutes. Of course, -40*F to -50*F is an entirely different world of temperature compared to my heat-wave of 25*F. There's no way I'd be outside for 10 minutes in that kind of weather.

 

Wow Moose, thanks for the info! My block heater started to work as soon as I plugged the new cord in. Even when it hit -35 the truck started. Now that I know it's that easy, I'm going to change it in the Spring along with all the other must do maintenance for an IDI. Right now I have water in the fuel filter so I'm going to attempt to drain the stock fuel drain tomorrow.