I just checked the blades on the block heater cord with my cheapo analog meter. Ohm setting was at x10. When I touched the blades with the probe - no movement on the needle whatsoever.

I feel like a dumbass for posting this. Sorry.

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2009 E320 Bluetec 117,000
1995 E300D 306,000 Sold
1996 Ford Taurus LX 130,000 Sold
1985 300TD Still 225,000 Sold
2016 Ford Fusion 24,900

Another failure to understand a digital meter. I swear that the damn things put more folks in trouble than actually assisting them.

Digital meters should be avoided by most members of the forum. Only when the technician can see an obvious display error should they be purchased and utilized.

FWIW, I own two analog meters. One Radio Shack cheapie that does 90% of my work and a more costly and larger meter when I need very small resistances or when I need to read amperage up to 10A.

I have an old Simpson that I think was made in the early 60's (back when we actually made things in this country) that I use quite a bit it will do almost everything I need/want.

On the other hand a modern DMM (I have a Fluke 87, but any of them are fine) has some very useful features like duty cycle measurements, auto-ranging and min/max/average functions that will monitor a circuit over time.

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98 Dodge-Cummins pickup (137K)
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Clearly, you would be in the latter category that I referenced, above. Many of those stated functions are not even comprehensible to most.