I have a 1997 F350 PSD crew cab that i always plug in at night in the winter here in northern indiana. I'm getting ready to start a new job working nights and will not be able to plug it in. My truck really does not want to start when it gets cold and is not plugged in. Is there any way to power the block heater when i can't plug it in to an ac outlet? Thanks for any suggestions.

 

It's a 120v heater, so without a power inverter (and really really good batteries) or a generator your out of luck. A friend of mine had a generator built into his utility box, would go out on break an hour or two before the end of his shift; start the generator and it was nice and warm by quitting time.

 

The inverter option should work too. Just plug it in 2 hours before and you should be good to go as long as the glow plugs are working properly.

 

Get an auto start or auto start alarm. These things have an external trigger wire for using a manual start switch and a wire for shut off. Add a simple temperature sensor with a dry contact to switch the auto start trigger to ground(-). Put the sensor near the engine block, close to the exhaust manifold. When the sensor opens the circuit again because it is warm, the engine will stop.

You have to be able to leave your truck running secure and without someone complaining about it. Your question made me think of how I can do this my self. I am modifying my block heater so it won't run unless its cold enough outside and will turn off whe the block gets hot at the oil cooler. I already had a problem with charrred coolant from the block heater burning coolant that had built up on the heater element.

I agree with you, I like it when it starts in one crank on a cold morning.

I'll work on the temperature sensor and get back to you with how I figure it out.

I also seem to remember an alarm system like Bulldog or maybe Viper having the feature to auto start on temperature. It may have been to turn on and run the air conditioner. Not sure. I went with Crimestoppers because of the range and options in programming

 

a good glow plug system and good batteries will start em if its above zero stone cold.

I can't plug my truck in at the Fiances in the frozen tundra of Grand Forks ND. the few times it wouldn't start I had to unhook the GP's and shoot it with either. only once it wouldnt start with the either and it was close to -20º and blowing like no other. sucks to do but ya got to do what ya got to do.

one other option that I have done with the Pete is as soon as you shut them off, an old sleeping bag stuffed under and around the egine works great for keeping the cold blowing wind off of the engine, and warm coolant and air in. on our trucks you would have to cover the rad too, which is harder to do then the Pete as its already covered.

Diesel Rod

 

why not put a deep cell motorhome style battery in the back of the bed with a Power inverter.... Then run a wire from your alternator and allow your truck to charge it every time it runs, that way you got it setup where you can have a block heater at all times, just my thinking though... If the glow plugs work, the trucks start just fine...

 

The block heater is 1100W. An inverter is going to draw more than 100A when the block heater is going. You're going to spend a LOT more on and inverter and batteries than it would cost to just fix the glow plugs.

My engine is still warm to the touch after sitting 8 hours. It shouldn't be an issue to start it up then.

 

Ok. Found the thermostats I based my blocker heater setup on. I have wired for it but haven't bought this thermostat yet.

IMO there are two problems with running the block heater all night. 1) It runs regardless of the temperature outside or the temperature of the coolant. This waste electricity, if you plug it in when you park it, it is heating the hot coolant- not sensible to me and 2) I had two block heaters fail when coolant crystalized between the element loop. This lead to a bunch of junk in the oil cooler, not a fun thing to clean.

The third thing, and I can relate to Drifty, is sometimes I find myself without shore power and would use my inverter if keeping the engine warm was a necessity. I have a 3000 Watt inverter with 1000AH of battery. Even with all that I still would not want to run the block heater all the time from when I plugged it in. It draws a pretty steady 10 amps.

The thermostats are listed here:
Single Stage: http://www.rancoetc.com/ranco-etc141...ema-p-104.html
Dual stage(not NEMA 4) http://www.rancoetc.com/ranco-etc211...age-p-105.html
Dual Stage Nema 4:http://www.rancoetc.com/ranco-etc241...ema-p-109.html

Spec Sheet on all the model group
http://www.rancoetc.com/manuals/ranco_etc.pdf

A two stage unit could be used to run a block heater and add an oil pan heater or electric blanket for the second stage if it gets really cold.

The only hitch in this situation is the cord for the block heater. Typically the cord going to the block heater is found up by the right side in the engine compartment, behind the battery. I would suggest that you reroute the cable and mount it by the front grill so you can connect it without opening the hood. Also when you do that you can cut the stock power cable and add cord caps on both ends so you can use the special connector that plugs into the block heater.

In my situation, my power for the block heater is connected to the shore power on a circuit breaker (GFI). When I plug in the shore power and flip a switch behind the driver seat, the block heater turns on. I realize this is probably a bit more than most would want to do.

For four years, when it was cold out, I would plug the truck in every night as soon as I parked it. That was mostly out of convenience becasue I wasn't going to come back out and turn it on once I sat for dinner. After four years it quit and I found a shorted element with a lot of crystalized coolant between the elements. I replaced it and the new one lasted one year. I have a third one in now and won't use it till I get this thermostat in.