x2 .. 8 amps is correct.

 

Ha ha ha ha nice one Ron

 

Bingo. The engine is cold. It's as if I hadn't plugged in at all.

 

After my eye appointment at the VAMC, I contacted my Ford parts-guy, service-gal and mechanic that I trust. I explained what was happening (or not happening in this case), what I had done and what we discussed here at FTE.

The mechanic said it was most likely the element, since the cords sounded good. The parts-guy had an element in stock for $51. I talked him down to $38. When I went to pay for it, I gave the cahier my "Owner's Advantage" number to see if I had anything available. I didn't think I did, but she said I had 44 points available. I used some of my points and the item was free.

I do need to go to the "tool" store to buy a 1-1/8" deep-well socket to do the R&R. Hopefully, I can get the truck started for the rest of this week so I can do the R&R this weekend.

I changed my GPR while it was snowing. High temps for this week will be in the teens and low-20s with more fluffy stuff coming in by this weekend. I don't have a place big enough to do this indoors, so I forced to do it outside. I need the engine cooled off for the swap. I have to relieve the cooling system pressure before trying to swap out the heating element. Hopefully, my fingers won't be too frozen and I won't loose too much coolant.

Thanks for everyone's help on this. I appreciate it.

 

Reps sent. Thanks for your input.

 

Jim, tried to rep you after the other two, but still gotta spread the love around.

I don't know what temps you're seeing over there, but we've been down into the teens. Before this problem, my truck gauge would read at or above "N" after being plugged in for four hours. Have you tested your's lately? Maybe you're at the beginning of a problem.

 

Well, this morning it was at 22 and all four doors were froze shut. I finally got a back door on the CC open and was able to climb through and open up. Turned the key and "Wait to Start Light" came on for < 2 seconds and she fired right up. Also I've never had instant heat but certainly a quicker overall heat up with the block heater as I motor down the road to work. I think the key here is not how warm the water is but how warm the oil is. For me it has always been this way.

That being said .. maybe I do have issues and just never knew it. I would be interested in other opinions and their experiences.

 

Well I'm glad Ron told me where the plug was.
I plugged it in last night, and this morning, I was the only vehicle that wasnt iced over, and she fired right up... and was already almost warm...
Oh so nice...

 

Oh yeah and something I learned fron Jim Rose; If you leave you heater setting to defrost and full heat the window will be less frozen as well.

Good tip!

 

Does anyone know how much power these block heaters pull as far as the electricity bill? Just curious. I know the amount is reduced once the water jacket is warm.

Just doing some thinking if it's worth keeping a diesel running verse plugging it in. However, if you can plug it in I'm sure it's much cheaper.

 

1000 W. I doubt it "reduces" the load; more likely it just shuts off thermostatically.

 

yep, 1000W, thermostatically controlled.
Neal- yes, I remembered Jim posting that tip- and that's why mine wasn't iced over.

 

Yeah I knew it was a 1000W but how much on the cost? Is electricity sold in watts?

Edit: Dah, its sold has Kilowatts. Man, I love working nights, I have all day to not sleep and ponder this stuff. I wish.

 

Actually, it's sold in kilowatt-hours -- power * time = energy (remember unit analysis from high school chemistry/physics?). And the cost, of course, varies wildly by location. Here, we pay about US$0.13 / kWH, so about 39 cents to run it for 3 hours. Your cost per kWH should be on your electric bil (granted, deciphering the bill is a black art, compared to the otherwise simple math involved).

 

Thats for the clarification. I took some pretty tough chemistry/physics courses in college but I never had to apply the information...

Anyways running the block heater is cheap.