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Block heater cord repair

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Accessories & Modifications' started by PriusGuy32, Mar 4, 2014.

  1. PriusGuy32

    PriusGuy32 Prius Driver Extraordinaire

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    I installed my EBH about 14 months ago and use it ~6 months out of the year.

    Thats all it took for my EBH cord to develop a short right at the end I plug it in at! :mad: I cant say I was surprised that it shorted - it only took 1 day of me driving away and realizing that even though I plugged in the car, it hadnt preheated. Then I tested all the usual suspects (timer, extension cord, garage outlet - not in that order) and everything was fine. I found that if I bent the cord in any direction, it was intermittent. So off to the hardware store I went.

    Im an ultimate DIY'er, yet Ive never replaced the male end of a cord before, lol. I just want to make sure this was the right way and the safe way to have done it. I bought this replacement male-end for the EBH cord: Hi Visibility Commercial Grade Plug (BP3867-4RN) at Aubuchon Hardware and its rated for 15a. According to my Kill-A-Watt, the EBH draws just under 4 amps/420 watts so this should be fine right?

    Also, I stuck the new plug in the grille and ran a short 1' HD extension out to the front of the grille. Is it going to be ok (i.e. no overheated cords)?
     
    #1 PriusGuy32, Mar 4, 2014
  2. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    The new plug seems OK. The main concern is that you need to properly connect the three wires to the new plug, to make sure you do not introduce a risk of causing an electric short within the plug itself.
     
    #2 Patrick Wong, Mar 4, 2014
  3. PriusGuy32

    PriusGuy32 Prius Driver Extraordinaire

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    Thanks. I think I got that pretty good. The plug itself seemed to be made somewhat idiot-proof in that all I had to do was insert the wires into a hole, and tighten a screw. I tested afterwards and its drawing 420 watts and nothing went ka-boom :D

    One more thing - with the old plug that shorted, I noticed it would get warm (not hot) right around the spot where it ended up shorting out. Design flaw or was that the internal short doing that?
     
    #3 PriusGuy32, Mar 4, 2014
  4. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    The fact that the old plug was getting warm, shows you that some resistance existed at that spot. That resistance apparently evolved to the point where the connection became intermittent. This resulted in an open connection, not a short.

    A short means that two wires are connected together, which would pop the circuit breaker feeding the socket that you are plugged into.
     
    #4 Patrick Wong, Mar 4, 2014
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  5. Mike500

    Mike500 Senior Member

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    When replacing plugs, if I really want the most durable, I choose "Hospital Grade."

    That's the highest IEC and NEC standard for toughness, longer more secure blades and durability.
     
    #5 Mike500, Mar 4, 2014
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  6. Easy Rider

    Easy Rider Active Member

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    It likely was not really a short or there would have been smoke and sparks.
    (To most people, ANY electrical fault is a "short".)

    More likely that it was an OPEN connection, caused by poor assembly when it was made.
    A bad connection like that just gets worse over time, mostly because of the heat generated......and then a little arc'ing and burning.

    Hope you stripped the cord back far enough that the conductors were bright shiny copper.......and reconnected them to the same pins as on the original one.

    If you did a good job, you should notice NO warmth near your new connections.......or just a tiny bit maybe.
     
    #6 Easy Rider, Mar 4, 2014
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  7. PriusGuy32

    PriusGuy32 Prius Driver Extraordinaire

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    Ah ha! Thanks guys. Skilled in electronic terminology, I am not...lol :D

    I did cut 8" of wire off the cord, because the first time I only cut off right behind where the open was, and the wires were burnt looking :eek: Thankfully Toyota gives a lot of extra cord with the EBH kit!
     
    #7 PriusGuy32, Mar 4, 2014
  8. mfa-prius

    mfa-prius Old member

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    #8 mfa-prius, Jan 11, 2017
  9. Prodigyplace

    Prodigyplace Senior Member

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    That problem was likely caused by a short, not an open circuit.
    We wonder if the active grill shutters on the new Prius damaged the cord. They are waiting on the report.
     
    #9 Prodigyplace, Jan 11, 2017
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