Block heater apparently not working

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(JimboK @ Oct 7 2007, 06:40 PM) [snapback]522568[/snapback]</div>

It was a general "hint" for anyone with a similar situation.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Rae Vynn @ Oct 15 2007, 09:20 AM) [snapback]525839[/snapback]</div>

I put a multi-plug with an embedded light on the end of the extension where the ebh plugs in. That way I know for a fact when current is going to the ebh.

 

Sorry if this is a different topic but
Does anyone knows how to turn off the "engine maintainance" light off? This is the light that turns on
when the Prius need an oil change.
Please help
Thank you

 

My EBH failed in the spring of 2009. Thanks to this and other posts, I knew what to look for. It turns out the cord was the culprit. But I can't figure out exactly where the cord failed. I suspect it is the female end of the cord that connects to the heater coil. The center socket seems to be missing or very thin or perhaps just burned up. I checked it with a volt meter and the ground connection is not working. I am willing to send the old cable to anyone on Priuschat who wants to do further examination. I bought a second complete EBH kit and replaced the cable and now its back in business.

Thanks to you Priusheads for your help and recommendations.

:cheer2:

 

Evan, a couple questions. You've apparently repaired your EBH several times. Has the problem always been the same; a broken wire at the male plug end? You've also mentioned a brittle plug at the heater end. Has this occurred more than once? When it occurred, are you sure there was no degradation of the block temperature before the wire failure?

My EBH has, over the last four months, gradually lost its effectiveness. Current and Resistance measurements read ok, but the scangauge now reads no more than 107 deg F when the car is started in the morning. The heater core appears to be dying. The only other possibility might be loss of heat transfer to the block because the grease has dried up, but this appears unlikely. A search reveals no other complaints of this symptom; by far the broken wire is the typical failure.

Has anyone else experienced a failure like this?

 

Thanks for the quick reply. Yes, the temps are getting colder, especially the last week which has been unseasonably wet and cold. But I first noticed the greatest drop in engine temp (I use my EBH year-round) from 130 deg F in the second half of July, about a 15 deg F drop. Since then, further drops in morning engine temps have been minor, and may be due to colder weather. Maybe the EBH failure was more catastrophic than I thought, and occurred in the summer. Hmm...

When (or if) we see a dry, warm day again before winter, I'll get under the car and check the grease, the core and the core plug.

 

Yes, that's the reason for asking about your experience with the brittle core plug, to find out how frequently or quickly it breaks down. I am prepared with a replacement kit, just in case. Thanks, Evan, for sharing your knowledge.

 

Up here, we are lucky to get 2 winters out of a plug

 

What is the failure mode, jayman? Broken wire? Burned out element? Brittle core socket?

TIA

 

Well, after 2 and half years of daily use, the EBH on my car decided to quit working. A quick check with a multimeter found it open circuit. I had wrapped the male plug end with two layers of wire loom to prevent it from bending too much when I installed it. I guess that didn't help much.

 

I've noticed the plug is kind of warm after a couple of hours use, with ours. On our 2010 I've had to splice in a new cord/plug one, but that was due my forgetting to unplug: it got pulled out, dragged on the road, and so on.

With a previous Civic Hybrid, the block heater cord just died, a couple of times I think. Could be the cord gauge just isn't sufficient for 400 watts, day after day?

 

Update: just got it fixed last night. It was a break right at the base of the stress relief rubber accordion thingy.