Want to install an Engine Block Heater yourself? This guide may help.

[Green Hokie]

This is a guide to help you install the EBH from the bottom of the vehicle. Nothing to remove, except the plastic engine cover (which is extremely easy). Here goes.

1. Place front of vehicle on jack stands or drive it onto some ramps.


2. Remove front engine cover. See photo below. Or, refer to page 424 of the owner's manual. You do not have to remove the engine cover until final routing of the EBH power cord. However, the cover is so simple to remove, you may as well get it out of the way.





3. Drop/feed the male end of EBH cord down into the engine compartment directly behind the Inverter Coolant Reservoir. See photo below. This should bring that end of the power cord close to where the EBH hole will be on the engine block. HINT: before dropping the cord down into the engine compartment, you should pre-fit the connection between the power cord and the heating rod by plugging & unplugging the two a few times. This will give you a feel for how the two ends will fit together and perhaps make it easier when you have to connect the two by feel in the later step below. Also, make a mental note of the orientation/position of the pins on the heating rod relative to where the metal clip is. You will need to remember this orientation later to make it easier to plug the two together by feel.





4. Slide underneath the engine compartment w/ feet facing front of vehicle. The photos below are taken from this position and will show the location of the EBH slot on the engine block. These four photos are basically of the same area but with each zooming in closer & closer. You will not be able to see the opening of the hole and have to feel for it with your fingers. The hole will be on the left side.








5. Reach into the area shown in the above photo and feel for the hole. For me, it was easier to use my right hand. Should be pretty easy to locate it with your fingers. To get a feel for how the heating rod will fit into that hole, you should take a practice run (or two) at trying to insert it. Note, the metal clip on the heating rod needs to face the rear of the vehicle. Otherwise, you will not be able to fully insert the rod and not hear the snap from the metal clip as tries to lock itself into place. Once you are comfortable with finding & inserting the rod by feel, you are ready for the next step.



6. Take the grease that was supplied with this EBH kit, place a small dab on the tip of your finger and rub it into the opening of the hole on the engine block. Then, coat the heating rod with the remaining grease. Do not grease beyond the metal clip and avoid getting it on the plug end of the heating rod. Carefully insert the heating rod into the hole on the engine block. Remember, the metal clip on the rod should be facing the rear of the vehicle to allow complete insertion. You should hear the snap of the metal clip as it locks into place.



7. Feel for the end of the power cord that was dropped down in step 3. Remembering how the power cord fit into the heating rod from step 3, carefully plug the two together by feel. You are now done with the most difficult part of the installation!



8. Now, time of get out from underneath the vehicle and finish the installation. Route the power cord along the end & side of the engine compartment and then behind the front grille. Before securing the power cord with the supplied cable ties, test the heater to make sure it works properly by plugging it into a power outlet. In less than a minute, the part of the engine block where the heater was inserted should become too hot to touch. If the heater works, then disconnect the power and begin securing the EBH cord along the engine compartment. The photos below should be fairly self explanatory on where you should route the cord. If your EBH power cord does not have a protective wire loom running the entire length, I suggest doing so and wrapping the loom every 5-6 inches with electrical tape.







9. Carefully lower the front of the vehicle back on the ground and you are done! I hope this guide was useful and will encourage you to perform your own EBH installation. Good luck & happy hypermiling!!

[JenVanVooren]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Green Hokie @ Jul 15 2007, 08:09 PM) [snapback]479353[/snapback]</div>

This is a guide to help you install the EBH from the bottom of the vehicle. Nothing to remove, except the plastic engine cover (which is extremely easy). Here goes.

1. Place front of vehicle on jack stands or drive it onto some ramps.
2. Remove front engine cover. See photo below. Or, refer to page 424 of owner’s manual.
[attachmentid=9758]
3. Drop/feed male end of EBH cord down into the engine compartment directly behind the Inverter Coolant Reservoir. See photo below. This should bring that end of the power cord close to where the EBH hole will be on the engine block.
[attachmentid=9759]
4. Crawl underneath the engine compartment w/ feet facing front of vehicle. The photos below are taken from this position and will show the location of the EBH slot on the engine block. You will not be able to see the opening of the hole and have to feel for it with your fingers. It will be on the left side. As you are trying to insert the EBH heating rod into this hole, be sure the metal clip on that rod is facing towards the back of the vehicle. Otherwise, you will not be able to fully insert the rod and not hear the snap from the metal clip as tries to lock itself into place. Also, make a mental note of how the female end of the heating rod is oriented relative to where the metal clip is. You will need to remember this orientation to facilitate plugging the male end of the power cord into the female end of the heating rod. You should also be able to see the power cord that was dropped down from step 3.
[attachmentid=9760]

[attachmentid=9761]

[attachmentid=9762]

[attachmentid=9763]
5. Before rubbing the supplied grease on the heating rod, I suggest taking a practice run (or two) to get a feel for how you will find the hole & insert the heating rod into the engine block. For me, it was easier to use my right hand. I also suggest NOT putting all the grease on the heating rod, as you will surely lose some of that grease while feeling for the hole. Instead, put a small dab on your finger tip and rub it into the opening of the hole on the engine block. Then, coat the heating rod with the remainder of the grease and insert as carefully as possible.
6. Hopefully, you did not have too much trouble with steps 4 & 5. Now, the easy part. Route the power cord along the end & side of the engine compartment and behind the front grille. Then, secure where appropriate with the supplied cable ties. The photos below should be fairly self explanatory. If your EBH power cord does not have the protective wire loom running the entire length, I suggest doing so and wrapping the loom every 5-6 inches with electrical tape.
[attachmentid=9767]

[attachmentid=9766]

[attachmentid=9764]

[attachmentid=9771]
I hope this guide was useful and will encourage you to perform your own EBH installation. Good luck & happy hypermiling!!
[/b]

THANKS SO MUCH!!!! I have printed this off and will hold onto it for fall installation. Your guide is great, thanks for your time with this.

Sincerely,

-Jen in IN

[1fixitman]

These are great pictures and commentary to start. There are many threads already on the EBH and how to install. Great job. Do you run yours in the summer also?
D Rock

[Godiva]

This is great! Those directions with pictures are awesome.

I was going to skip doing anything like this because I live in a mild climate. But now I'm thinking that this isn't so hard and it might help my mileage in the Winter. Combined with some grill blocking and I can increase my mileage even in So. Cal's mild winters.

Thanks so much for those step by steps. They do a lot to boost confidence.

[JimboK]

It appears as though Wayne (FireEngineer) might have an East Coast surrogate now.

[likesmpg]

Hey, that looks like the same timer I have! By the way, I mentioned in a different thread that my EBH power wire was shorter than yours... well it isn't. I re-ran the wire over the weekend and now have it coming out next to the tow-hook. No more opening the hood every night!

p.s. I installed mine from the top (via. removing the cowl) and it was very easy for those of you who don't want to crawl under the car.

[FireEngineer]

Great...there goes my excuse for going to San Diego, Georgia and Indiana . A good guide, however a few pointers.

If you don't have the whole cord protected with the wire loom you can run it down behind the headlight and bring the cord through the baffle between the bumper and radiator at the bumper. To do this you will have to loosen a couple of bolts on the underside tray/spoiler (10mm) and stick your hand in to route it.

Speaking of cords, do not wire tie the cord until you have plugged the cord into the heater and then plugged it in to test it for heat (feel the cylinder when someone plugs it in). Take up all the slack between the heater and your first wire tie, don't want that cord touching the manifold or manifold shield.

When you grease up the heater you should use as much grease as possible to maximize heat transfer and make up for what you will lose making your attempt at the hole. Having said that only grease 3/4 of the heater, leave a strip along the length of the heater free of grease where the clip is. This will prevent locking air in the cylinder and you trying, at an awkward position, to push against this trapped air. You won't win and will have to take the heater out, wipe it down some and try again. For the same reason I don't suggest putting the grease in the hole, many times the grease goes where it wants and you'll probably twist the heater during install, air lock.

Speaking of the silicone grease for the heater, try not to get that grease or any other dielectric grease on the plug that goes into the heater. The orange end that goes into the heater appears to be a heat resistant silicone. If you use a silicone grease on it, the solvents in the silicone grease will slowly affect the plug. Best to use an anti-oxidation compound for home wiring, a little in the holes. And...

Speaking of holes, pre-fit the plug end into the heater before anything else. Sometimes it is a tight fit the first time and you don't want to work against the tight fit with your hand up inside the car with little leverage.

When routing the cord, when you start going toward the front of the engine from the cowl, go under the black wire loom to the inverter. If the inverter needs to be serviced this will help the tech not take apart your handi-work. Also, watch the routing by the front near the coolant storage tank, if your attaching a wire tie near there, make sure your clear of the attachment of the hose to the tank (again for service tech's).

Do this on a cool engine, while the block may be cool enough you are working next to the exhaust manifold and that stays hot a lot longer.

Consider wearing fingerless rubber/latex gloves, longer the better, if you want to keep all your skin and more . If you can work with fingered gloves fine, but most people need the feel up where they can't see with their skin. Remember, you will get poked and scraped and pinched at some point. Each newer model year seems to have just a few more things poking out to catch yourself on.

Have fun! If it's taking longer than an hour take a break and relax a little and try again.

But if you don't want to do it yourself....you can always call....

Wayne

[FireEngineer]

Could you lighten the pictures a little.

Wayne

[bestmapman]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(FireEngineer @ Jul 16 2007, 10:51 AM) [snapback]479578[/snapback]</div>

Great...there goes my excuse for going to San Diego, Georgia and Indiana . A good guide, however a few pointers.

If you don't have the whole cord protected with the wire loom you can run it down behind the headlight and bring the cord through the baffle between the bumper and radiator at the bumper. To do this you will have to loosen a couple of bolts on the underside tray/spoiler (10mm) and stick your hand in to route it.

Speaking of cords, do not wire tie the cord until you have plugged the cord into the heater and then plugged it in to test it for heat (feel the cylinder when someone plugs it in). Take up all the slack between the heater and your first wire tie, don't want that cord touching the manifold or manifold shield.

When you grease up the heater you should use as much grease as possible to maximize heat transfer and make up for what you will lose making your attempt at the hole. Having said that only grease 3/4 of the heater, leave a strip along the length of the heater free of grease where the clip is. This will prevent locking air in the cylinder and you trying, at an awkward position, to push against this trapped air. You won't win and will have to take the heater out, wipe it down some and try again. For the same reason I don't suggest putting the grease in the hole, many times the grease goes where it wants and you'll probably twist the heater during install, air lock.

When routing the cord, when you start going toward the front of the engine from the cowl, go under the black wire loom to the inverter. If the inverter needs to be serviced this will help the tech not take apart your handi-work. Also, watch the routing by the front near the coolant storage tank, if your attaching a wire tie near there, make sure your clear of the attachment of the hose to the tank (again for service tech's).

Do this on a cool engine, while the block may be cool enough you are working next to the exhaust manifold and that stays hot a lot longer.

Consider wearing fingerless rubber/latex gloves, longer the better, if you want to keep all your skin and more . If you can work with fingered gloves fine, but most people need the feel up where they can't see with their skin. Remember, you will get poked and scraped and pinched at some point. Each newer model year seems to have just a few more things poking out to catch yourself on.

Have fun! If it's taking longer than an hour take a break and relax a little and try again.

But if you don't want to do it yourself....you can always call....

Wayne
[/b]

What type of grease should I use?

[FireEngineer]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(bestmapman @ Jul 16 2007, 10:17 AM) [snapback]479586[/snapback]</div>

What type of grease should I use?
[/b]

There is a tube of silicone heat transfer grease that comes with the block heater in the box.

Wayne