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EBH--lower wattage and lower temp...? cold related?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Accessories & Modifications' started by efusco, Jan 25, 2008.

  1. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    Over the past 3-4 days I've noticed that my EBH only brings my ICE temp up to about 118F (usually gets up to around 130F) even if left plugged in for more than 4 hours. I use a Kill-a-watt meter than previously showed a pretty solid 411 Watt draw +/- 5 watts. But this morning I noticed it was showing only 378 Watts when I went to unplug (I haven't checked the prev. 3 days so I need to confirm with further checks now that I've noticed that).

    Now, it's been quite cold out and I attributed the lower temps, but even in my garage which stays around 40-50F the ICE temp doesn't get up much higher. This is a basicly new EBH just installed a few months ago. No damage to the cord (IOW I haven't forgotten to unplug it) or anything else different.

    Any thoughts on why the sudden drop in peak temp and wattage?
     
    #1 efusco, Jan 25, 2008
  2. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    it should be the elec. company reducing power slightly to avoid an over-draw of current is it?
     
    #2 Tideland Prius, Jan 25, 2008
  3. Aces

    Aces Member

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    The best I can think of is voltage drop. If you normally get 120V AC, and the drop it to 115V AC, your wattage would drop proportionally. Any time there's resistance down the circuit, there will be a drop. That's why you loose power in a power tool if you use too small of an extension cord (Large gauge number). You could test voltage, while ebh is plugged in, at where the cord plugs at the car and at the wall. This can be done by pulling the plug out just enough to get the probes from the volt-meter in. But be careful to not short the terminals with either probe. If there's a big drop from one end of the cord to the other, you could have a cord that's got a break in it and the insulation allows it to make contact, but with resistance. If you have a new cord of same gauge and length you could see for sure if it has a problem.
     
    #3 Aces, Feb 3, 2008
  4. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    Been meaning to update...things seem to be back to normal both temp wise and watt draw wise. Not sure what the fluke was.
     
    #4 efusco, Feb 3, 2008
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