The block heater on my used 7.3 has never used. I'm not sure what will go wrong if I plug it up and it shorts put or something. So...

1. Can I test it with an ohm meter first? If so, how? I have a multimeter. Which setting? 200 or 20?

2. Is it suppose to click if it works?

3. Any harm to anything if it's broke and I plug it up?

Thanks jed

 

Just found the thread here. Disregard except question about harming anything

 

I doubt that you could harm anything. Just plug 'er in, listen for the sssssss of it working and feel for the heat.

 

Got under the truck and plug looks like new.

By the way, how does it actually work? I mean what does it actually touch in the motor that warms the oil? Does it actually touch the oil or just warm up metal around oil or what ???

 

Finding it is the first trophy!!!


If I were you......I would carefully polish the blades with light grade sandpaper until it's pretty. Then I would smear a fine coat of dielectric grease on it. Plug it in, stick your ear uner the drivers fenderwell and like walleye said above, listen for some sizzling.


If it's the first time/and it is/ do so with your hood open so you can observe any steam or shmokin. I would have an extinguisher in my area for the first go aroun, (but that's just me).


If you see no problems in the first 5 minutes, button her up and check your gauge KoEo in the morning. Should be sitting just a little above the cold mark.


In the summer months I buy a pecker wrapper and zip tie it up after adding die grease. In the winter months I use a standard household 3 prong adapter plug with the trodes knocked off and a ziplock. Seems to do well.


I plow so when I didn't control the plug with grease or protection, I ate up extension cords.


2 cents Bro.


Denny

 

Thanks for tips

 

Btw,


It's a direct probe into the cavity of your cooling system. Just replaces the block freeze plug. IT WILL BY ALL MEANS HEAT EVERYTHING ABOVE IT EXCEPT YOUR OIL IN THE PAN WHICH DOES ACTUALLY get some of the divorced residue. Not much though.


If everything is up to par as stated before. You really shouldn't need it unless your relay or glow plugs are on the way out.


Caution: Look at and time your electric meter before and after you plug it in. Not like running a welder all night long but it goes to that birthday party if you know what I mean. Most diehards up north by me have a commercial rated timer geared to they're schedule. (On for two hours after coffee and a few scratch off sheit tickets etc...),


Very nice t run into a warm cab right away. AAAANNNDDDD if you have remote start, it rocks to find the scraper because you never use it unless your out


Denny

 

Thanks again Denny

 

It works like a regular hot water heater in your house and to my knowledge looks just like a water heater element. It heats the water in your block and then everything that your water comes in contact with.

 

By the way - it uses significant juice. My memory tells me about 800 watts, but I want to think it's closer to 1000 watts (7-8 amps).

 

I believe they are indeed a 1000w element from the factory, but then if you extrapolate this number out for what you pay per kilowatt/hour for your electricity it really isn't too awful bad, I think my utility charges 11-12 cents PER kWH, so in turn it costs me less than a dollar to have the heater going all night (8 hours) if I chose to. Now a dollar a day can sound expensive, and for some it may very well be, but these heaters only really need about 3 hours to do the job, which in turn lowers the ding on your electric bill.

Our trucks, I believe, burn about 1/3 of a gallon of fuel for every hour of regular idle. You let your truck idle for an hour (which some do) to get it warmed before driving in the cold temps then you have used about the same about of money as leaving your heater plugged in all night (with diesel at $3 a gallon), this does not include the extra wear and tear on engine parts and the extra wear effects on that $25 a gallon oil that some put in their truck.

The heaters on these things are very useful for colder climates for sure, some think they are expensive to run, but sometimes you need to put things in perspective.

How many people swing by the gas station or Starbucks every morning on their way in to work just to grab a cup of overpriced coffee? Make the coffee at home before you leave and leave the heater plugged in all night, you will still be saving money.

 

I like using timers. I have a couple of them for things like that block heater.
Electrical Timers | MSCDirect.com