Block heater not working...
 

Ok so I plugged my truck in last night to see if the block heater was working and it's not. I checked the cable back to the block and it's good and it's plugged in... Is there a fuse to this I lost my Manuel so I have no way of checking it... Any suggestions???

No fuse, just the 120v cord. If you're sure the cord is good then its gotta be the heater. You could check for continuity at the heater also.

you checked the cord visually or with a volt meter?

Visibly... Should I plug it in an then check it at the block?

yup. about 90% of the time the break in the wire is at the plug.
on my 88 i have shortened the wire to replaced the plug 5 times over the past 23 years. it is now plugged into a surge protector on the passenger fender because the wire is so short it will not reach outside. i use the wire from the surge protector to go through the grill. this also gives me multiple outlets under the hood so i have a place to plug the battery maintainer in and trickle charge the batteries while the block heater is working.

you need a block heater in Texas?
if your having issues with starting,did you test the GP system yet?
you should have instant,within the second starts with just gp's.

It was starting just fine until last night. I have a glow plug or plugs that went bad. I need to replace them but can't until this weekend... If I knew of a easy way to get it started then I'd do it until this weekend and plugging it in at night seems best.

The best way is to ohm them element out and see if you have continity probe hot to nuetral and see if it ohms out if it does not then (A) you have a open wire either at the plug or (B) the element is open internally not completeing the loop...

for the next couple of days,grab yourself a gallon of gas,a rag,and some rubber gloves.
damp the rag with the gas with your gloves on,remove the air cleaner lid,and set the rag over the intake opening. she should fire right up with the help from the gas fumes.
it's not ideal,but you only need a couple more days to make it to the weekend to replace your GP's.if your careful,you won't smell like gas when you get to work either lol.

better still,since the truck is obviously parked where an extension cord reaches.grab yourself a hair dyer and let this blow down the intake for 5 mins.this will get you buy for the next couple days too and a lot less messy.

depending on where she's parked at work,will help determine which temp starting aid you bring with you.

Thanks for the ideas but I'm good on the whole gas and rag idea and I'm afraid if the wife found out I was using her hair dryer to crank the truck she would shoot me... What about WD-40? Will that help any? I'm about to go change the plug on the cord and see if that works...

If you are going to replace the gp's anyway just use starting fluid.

Starting fluid burns out glow plugs.

NO!!!!!

Starting fluid does not burn out glow plugs. Starting fluid violently ignites when it reaches the glow plugs. Since this happens while the intake air is being compressed, and before ignition is supposed to happen, starting fluid has a tendency to bend rods and wreck engines.

Hmm I've never heard that before but it makes sense

What if you we're to un plug your glow plugs before using it?

Yea I did that one morning on my dually non turbo and that weekend I was lookin for a new 7.3... I'll just stick to the cranking till she starts I only have a couple more days till I'm off and can change them out

Yeah, if you disable the glow plugs, ether is fine.

but only the faintest whiff. a little bit goes a long long long way

Napa sells replacement block heater cords in a million configurations (length, angle of the plug and whether or not there is heat shielding seem to be the difference). If fixing the plug doesn't work, thats an option. Also if you buy a new block heater, you could use that cord and shelf the block heater itself unless you find you need it.

Do you have a heat gun? It would work even better than a hair dryer and the wife wouldn't bitch about it. They're great for heat shrink tubing and a million other things and harborfreight frequently has them for under $15. Actually at that price, you might be able to mount one under the hood firing into the intake and use that for a few minutes instead of a block heater. You wouldn't get the faster warm up time from the block heater, but it would save on the electric bill.