Newly Discovered Block Heater - Ready to Use?
 

hey all, i just discovered that the P.O. was wrong and I DO have a factory installed block heater. found the cord all wrapped up partly under the car and partly under some AC hoses.

my question is this: can i just start using it or is there some sort of checking i should do before making it a regular start up procedure this winter? i already have a lower coolant hose heater that i installed because i thought this car didn't come with one, but i want the efficiency of the factory heater. i might even run them simultaneously as it gets frigid out here. i'm assuming that because the P.O. didn't know it existed and this is a Florida/Texas car that this heater has never been used. the prongs were pretty dirty and blackened with soot but i cleaned them off and plugged it in to listen and made sure it worked. what's the next step to be safe before using it? thanks!

Nothing that occurs to me. Other than you might want to get a timer and determine the amount of time it takes to warm the engine. Thats when it gets cold. I take it you heard it sizzle or whatever when you applied power.

I second the timer idea.

Our first winter with diesles this is the story.

The wife gets a 90 F350 w 7.3 diesel

i get an 85 300D

We both plug in every night.

Electric bill comes...

$140 MORE then the year before! :eek::eek::eek:

They do use a lot of juice. My last practice was to plug it in an hour before I wanted to start it. The past few years I have not used one very much. All my diesels have good compression now and start pretty well without it down to nearly zero.

yeah, last year i used my lower coolant hose heater all year on a timer. it kicked on an hour or two before i would start the car. i'm starting that thing at about 5:45 to 6:00 AM every morning, it's brutally cold and i figured the car wanted the heat more than needed it, i've got pretty good compression as far as i can tell.

i'll probably run both now or maybe switch to the block heater. a member e-mailed me about checking the lead for fraying. where does the block heater connect to the engine? all i see is the plug and a wire that disappears under the car....

On my 240 the actual heater is located on the right side of the block near the starter

Remember last year when after Christmas the wind chill droped our already 0 degree temps down to 15 below?

I wish I had a garage :'(. I know I'm mixing kero to help stop gelling.

yeah, that was rough. you go outside and the air catches in your lungs and you can't breathe for a second...not cool.

for gelling i use stanadyne all winter. stuff is great.

Mine has one too. I read somewhere they are rated at 500W. I was thinking about getting a digital timer and running the heater for about two hours. That would consume 1 KWH and cost me about 10 cents every day.

The factory heaters are 400 Watts and are typically on the right side of the block; the aftermarket radiator hose versions draw more like 600 Watts. In most areas you only need a few hours to warm the block so a timer is a good idea. It would be nice to have a temperature-sensitive timer that would turn on later if the night turned out to be less cold than predicted.

I only use my block heaters if it's going to be 15 degrees or below. I haven't bothered with a timer, but it would probably be a good idea. The lower radiator hose heater takes longer to heat the engine than the OE heater.

I second the recommendation for a good inspection of the power cable. It plugs into the heater directly above the front edge of the starter, immediately underneath the turbo heatshield; visible/accessible from underneath the car.

My '83 300CD has the factory heater and is a mostly Texas car, imported from Maryland in '94. I thought "cool, a block heater" when I bought it last month and then I looked at the crumbling, dry-rotted insulation on the cable near the block. The cord near the front of the car was flexible and okay.

No, I didn't have much intent to use a heater on a garaged car in south Texas, but the cord would have created some fireworks had I plugged it in.

An oil pan heater is a good one to have. It`s great to heat the coolant, but the oil is down at the lowest point in the engine.

Seems to me warm oil will flow better than cold oil and would cut down one ware.

A warm engine is a happy engine :D.

Charlie

I noticed that since my 124 engine compartment is sealed up so well that when I used the heater the whole compartment warmed up. Not just a localized area of the engine.

block heaters are great in the frigid locales... but be sure your valves are adjusted, and the motor oil is of good quality... M1 or even Rotella 5W40 SemiSyn... verify your Glow plugs are working and use them the FULL 45 seconds, if not hitting them off and going an additional 45 seconds. (listen for the click off, then cycle the ignition switch)
when it's windy and frigid, you may want to consider a remote starter installation but don't plan on letting it idle up to operating temp, it's bad for the car.