Luckily I work from home!

Kathy,
I am not aware of faulty heaters as being a common problem. Did you try to start it after having plugged it?

I have an identical car. There is no switch, plugging it in turns it on. When you plug it in, if you listen carefully, you can hear a faint ticking at the engine block.

The block heater does not make the engine very warm. A couple hours plugged in should allow you to start your car with one glow cycle. I plugged mine for a couple hours and it started with 5-8 seconds of glow. It ran like it was cold, though.

I tried starting it without the plug this am and three full cycles of glowing (waiting for the relay to click off each time) and no start! We were somewhere around 10F here, with serious wind as well.

What you could do in a no start situation:

Boil up a large quantity of water (or run a hose from a hot water tap in the house) and pour it over the head (injectors especially) and injection pump. A couple gallons worth of hot water has gotten me going.

I also carry one of the portable battery chargers, in case you run your battery down. Sometimes a little extra cranking speed will make a difference.

Maintenance is key-valve clearances, filters, good oil, good battery--to getting these beasts started in the cold. Some say you can start it down to 0F without plugging; most will plug under 20F.

__________________
Peter
1985 300TD 4-speed 212K
1992 400E 343K
2001 E320 72K