Wiring A Block Heater?
 

My 1986 190d 2.5 5spd runs great when warm, but is rough to start this time of year. I've learned all engines left the factory with a block heater installed, but the cord to connect the block heater to electricity was a dealer installed extra. Mine has no cord. Does anyone know where to find the cord and how to install it? Can a cut 10 gauge drop cord be retrofitted?

not ALL engines had a block heater. yours may, though. on a 617, it is on the drivers side of the block. you should be able to spot it if there is one, and you can order a cord from this site.

I've never seen a diesel that didn't have a block heater. It is typically at the rear passenger side. All you need is a power cord with eyelets on one end and a regular 110 plug on the other. Route it carefully so it doesn't get exposed to something hot or get caught in the rotating works.

Since the late seventies that I know of, the heater was there, but you had to request the cord be connected upon taking delivery of the car. There was no charge.

Most of the online MB parts stores have them (FastLane, buymbparts, etc), even the dealer might. I paid something like $13 for mine online. I just wish I was able to use it :mad:(apartment)

Mine doesnt have one- well- not a plug in one, anyways.

it was equipped w/ a webasto, but that's been removed by someone else.

My wife's 81 300D doesn't have one. And believe me, I"ve stared holes in that darn freeze plug hoping one would suddenly appear!

The cord is a Zerostat one, has a round aluminum ring around it to lock it to the heater. Available at many part stores, Detroit Diesel used the same one for many years.

Does anybody have a picture of an installed block heater on an om602? I looked on both sides of the block--freeze plug on the passenger side and nada on the driver's side. There is some kind of sensor going into the oil pan on the driver's side with a wire coming off, but doesn't look like a block heater...

If in fact I find out that I don't have a block heater already installed, does anybody know where to get one for a 602, or am I going off to the junk yard for this one?

You're going to march on down to the local auto parts store and buy a lower radiator hose heater. You'll install it because you're a real smart guy that wouldn't want to waste effort on installing a block heater.

There's a threaded plug in place of the block heater, not a freeze plug. Perhaps you are looking in the wrong place.

AFAIK, the 61x engines did not have a block heater installed at the factory but the dealer would install one for free in your first year of ownership; after that it was up to you.

OTOH, the 60x engines, including yours, should have had a block heater installed at the factory. Right side of the block, down low and covered with a plastic cap that unscrews. (The thing on the right side of the oil pan is the float switch for the oil level warning light in the instrument cluster.) Original purchasers of a car with a 60x engine could have the dealer install a cord for free. Again, it was a one-year offer.

The cord is available from a Mercedes dealer or from the aftermarket. The dealer's cord is at least 2X aftermarket price but includes a screw-in retainer and heat insulation for the cord.

For those whose engines didn't come with a block heater, the lower radiator hose version is much easier to install. After 20+ years, the plug that is in the block will be very hard to remove and there is anecdotal evidence that people have actually broken a piece out of the block while trying to get the plug out.

Jeremy

It's at the rear of the block, half-way up, on the passenger side. It will have a black cap screwed onto it about the diameter of a garden-hose connection.

My engine does have a block heater installed (as should all OM6xx engines) on the passenger side. I was able to order the cord from a mercedes dealership for about $50. I'm going to put it on and plug it in when I get home from work tonight. It's supposed to be 10 degrees tomorrow morning, so we'll see if it works......

The CDI engines don't have them in the USA and I'd bet the V6 versions don't in Canada, either.

When you plug it in you can hear it sizzle. Pop the hood and listen for the sizzle as soon as you plug it in.