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block heater trips house GFI

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by briantompo, Dec 21, 2011.

  1. briantompo

    briantompo Junior Member

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    2005 Prius
    Hello,
    I hope everyone enjoyed the holiday. I had a chance to pull the block heater out and bench test it. The culprit is the insulated, rubber boot at the heater-end of the power cord. It tests "open" between ground and one lead (using the 20M Ohm scale) but 85K Ohms between ground and the other. Resistance varies between 75K-100K Ohms when I squeeze and deform the boot. The heater insert itself tests OK.
    Many thanks to those that offered advice, I appreciate it.
    Brian
     
  2. briantompo

    briantompo Junior Member

    Joined:
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    Location:
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    2005 Prius
    New block heater installed and works fine. Clearly, I got lucky installing the first one years ago as this one took me all day and I invented some new words. I tried from the top with the cowl and wiper motor removed but ultimately installed from beneath the car using my right hand. Brian
     
  3. frodoz737

    frodoz737 Top Wrench

    Joined:
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    Four
    Felt good huh? Congratulations.
     
  4. 2009Prius

    2009Prius A Wimpy DIYer

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    I installed mine from the top and it was not easy. Later on I adjusted the cable to give it more slack. I looked and had no idea how I was able to install it.