Does my blockheater work?

[brc51m]

I have only tried plugging it in twice but both times I didnt hear or see anything when I plugged it in or the morning after when I woke up. Is there any way to tell if it is working?

[88Racing]

You could try using a IR gun that you'd point at it.
Or an ohm meter to test to see if you have continuity throughout the circut, of course do this when it's unplugged.
Or the way I was taught>>plug it in wait 10 minutes then crawl under there to see if it's warm. Caution it maybe more than warm don't burn your hand.

[907DAVE]

^^^ just slide under there and feel for warmth.

[cleatus12r]

DVOM (multimeter) on ohms scale across the two flat plug-in terminals....you're looking for 12-14 ohms.

[brc51m]

Ok so I left my block heater plugged in all day today and just went and started the truck and I am going to assume that it isnt working because there was nothing different upon startup. How do I go about fixing this?

[907DAVE]

What are your symptoms?

What have you checked?

[cleatus12r]

You HAVE to see if you have continuity through the cord and heater. That's the absolute first step after you make sure you've got power to the end of the extension cord.

Use an ohm meter (digital multimeters work the best). Set the scale to ohms (looks like a little horse shoe). Put one lead on one flat spade (doesn't matter which) and the other lead on the other spade (DO NOT TOUCH BOTH LEADS with your bare fingers..you'll get an inaccurate reading).

If the meter says anything other than 11-13 ohms, something's bad. ZERO ohms is a short and you probably don't have any power through your extension cord due to a tripped breaker. More ohms or "infinite" (like what the meter reads when the leads aren't hooked to anything) means that either the cord is bad or the heating element has an open circuit. To test the cord, unplug it from the block heater element (you'll see where it goes into the side of the engine just above the oil filter) and test each lead through the cord. An easy way to do this is to put a paper clip through the holes in each of the flat spades on the cord effectively shorting them together. Using the ohm meter, get under the truck and test between the two "eyes" of the round plug. If you don't have continuity, then the cord is bad. If you have continuity (around 0-2 ohms) then the heating element is bad.

If you're quick, you can change the element without losing more than a cup or two of coolant.



Let us know what you come up with.

[ChuckD]

Originally Posted by brc51m

Ok so I left my block heater plugged in all day today and just went and started the truck and I am going to assume that it isnt working because there was nothing different upon startup. How do I go about fixing this?

Let me make sure I am reading this correct. You plugged your truck in and it was like that all day. You then started your truck but noticed nothing different when your truck started. The point of having a block heater is for cold weather. If your truck is starting just fine without it being plugged in, your glow plug circuit is working properly. You wont hear it working, its basically like the heating element in your hot water heater.