Block Heater question!
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Elder User
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 545
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From: Denison, Tx
Block Heater question!
Okay installed the cord and read the resistance thru the heater and it reads 15 ohms. Which is about 8 amps current. Well I plugged it in and the next day when I got in the truck the temp gauge with key on did not even move off cold mark. Should the temp gauge show higher temp than this?
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Freshman User
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 25
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Block Heater question!
No you won't see the temp gauge move from the block heater. It only keeps the block at about 60 or 70 degrees at best when it's not to cold out. If you have a digital gauge you will see it. the analog gauge does not move until over 100 degrees. But you will notice a difference in ease of starting the beast.
Logistics Pro
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 4,604
Likes: 4
From: Claremore, OK
Depending on how cold it is...sometimes the OEM temp gauge will either be just off the bottom or none at all. Your glow plug light should go out pretty quickly if the truck was plugged in for at least a couple of hours. With the exception of HOT water/coolant (or lack of it) in the block...the truck should start like you just shut it down 10 minutes before hand.
The best block heater I ever had was on a C12 powered T800, that dude would keep the water about 140F...it was great on the coldest of Arkansas mornings. The truck might have been "ugly", but she'd pull with the best of 'em and still get better fuel mileage (6.5 to 7 mpg) than most. I miss that truck...
The best block heater I ever had was on a C12 powered T800, that dude would keep the water about 140F...it was great on the coldest of Arkansas mornings. The truck might have been "ugly", but she'd pull with the best of 'em and still get better fuel mileage (6.5 to 7 mpg) than most. I miss that truck...
Posting Guru
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 1,373
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From: Anderson, SC
Now it definately doesn't get too terribly cold in SC, but at temps in the teens to 20s, the one way I can tell if my block heater is working or not is if the coil light for the glow plugs goes off after like 2 seconds, versus about 6 or 7 seconds if it doesn't work. And when I say it doesn't work, what I mean is...I have my block heater on a timer so that it doesn't run all night, and sometimes someone will do something in the garage and unplug my timer and it screws it up and the next morning my glow plugs take forever to heat up. I'll go in the garage and sure enough the times are all off.
But no, my temp guage doesn't move until I drive around for a few minutes. And it also doesn't help with the tranny lag first thing in the morning...you have to let it idle to prevent that.
But no, my temp guage doesn't move until I drive around for a few minutes. And it also doesn't help with the tranny lag first thing in the morning...you have to let it idle to prevent that.
Lead Driver
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 7,782
Likes: 221
From: Huntington Indiana
Here in Michigan. I use a timer to start the block heater around 3 hrs before leaving for work in 10 deg weather. It will still take several miles to get heat and the temp gauge will come up in around 5 miles. The engine appreciates being warmed a little in the AM as it won't "hammer" on startup.
