The last two nights I have plugged in my truck. It has been in the low 20's high teens temperature wise.. When I go out in the morning and hit the key the little light comes on for about 3 seconds and it starts right up.. On nights that I do not plug it in, it takes about 10-15 seconds for the light to go off and the truck will start up.

Now I guess my question is, I see people talking about having heat in there trucks almost immediately after start up when plugged in. Why dont I have heat?? I dont get heat untill the same point going down the highway whether it is plugged in or not...

 

Mine is on a timer, turns on 2 hours before I leave. My truck is in the garage at night & garage is insulated but not heated. I also have the Mopar Winter front. When in the 20* the winter has only (1) flap open. I too have warm air out the vents backing out the drive. And this morning temperature low 20's ,7 mile commute, tempetature 3/4 of the way to 200*. hope that helps.

 

I don't heat either and my guess is that the people that think they are getting heat immediately are really not or if so it is just slightly warmer than if it gets started up without plugging in. Maybe they are if it is plugged in for 8+ hours, but not 2-3 like mine is. My light never comes on if it is plugged in.

 

Mine was plugge in last night from approximately 8pm untill 6:30am... No heat... After my 6 mile commute my gauge was just barely off the first line and not even in the normal range...

 

That 675 watt heater is in the head, You still have the rest of the motor and almost 7 gallons of coolant to warm up. Sure the grid sees a warmer temp so it does not need as long but that big mototr still needs a few miles to get tosty. . . . whataya think?

 

Thanks for that info . . . does the heater cycle ON/OFF or just ON all the time when plugged in?

 

FYI, I have a thermometer in my vent so I can see what the air temp is coming from the heater and or the AC. Anyway at 10 degrees inside of the garage (its unheated and it has no insulated in it, the truck not having been started for 5 days and over night temps as low as 2 degrees) after only 2.5 hours of it being plugged in I can have 55+ degree heat from the heater in within 120 seconds of start up! Oh, I also have the Dodge winter front installed and my grid heater still comes on for 10 to 15 seconds even when plugged in for 2.5 hours.

 

Its just on all of the time when plugged in.

 

I have a one for ya...

I plugged in last night at around 8pm for my wife to drive her today, and when I went to hop into my Mustang to go to work this morning the windows were fogged up. I remembered that my wife said that the check engine light was on (P0017, battery temp and block temp don't match), anyways I hopped in and started her up, the defrost was already on, she ran literally just long enough to confirm that the light was on, maybe 10-15 seconds? The window already had defrosted in 6 inch circles just above the vents. So the block heater does make a difference...With out it, I would have had to let her idle for 10 minutes before she started to clear. I didn't check the actual temp of the defrost, maybe I'll try to do that on our next cold day, tomorrow brings rain which means warmer weather.

 

Keep in mind that the block heater is not designed to heat the engine to operating temperature, or to provide heat in the cab quickly, but to warm it up enough to make starting it easier. The colder the ambient outside temp, the more work the block heater has to do. You have nearly a ton of metal and fluid to heat with that tiny heater. When it gets cold enough here, I have found that it helps to plug it in right after I get home home before all that mass has a chance to cool down to ambient temp and below the heater's max capability. Again the colder the outside temp, the less effective it will be, but it will still allow the engine to start and run easier and maybe warm up quicker than it would at the ambient temp.

 

I have an old heavy quilt (stolen from a moving company I think). I throw it over the hood making sure it covers the grill. You wouldnt think it would make a difference but it does seem to keep the heat in better when plugged in.

 

I had similar results after having the BH plugged in all night and couldn't figure out why the hell there was never any decent cabin heat the next morning... Then I got hold of an OBDII scan tool and found the stock BH only heats the engine up to 50F on average most winter mornings here in Northern Illinois.

For those who desire a faster warm up and don't mind the increase in your electric bill...I've been told there are OEM and Aftermarket BH's available with higher wattages that will get the engine closer to normal operating temps and thus provide some decent cabin heat - I've considered the upgrade but was concerned installing a new BH might be a bit tricky(?)

 

Ya I have the same problom,plugged in for 8 or 10 hrs and still no heat at start up,belive I am going to stop plugging it in,does about nothing anyway but give me fast start-up,whoooh! hard to go anywere with the windows iced up.

I have been kicking the idea around of getting a coolent tank heater,basicly you reroute your coolent hoses through this and it circulate
and warms the coolent.

 

If you plug your truck in for 8-10 hours and you still don't get any heat shortly after start up then it sounds like your block heater is not working. I have yet to plug mine in for more then 3 hours after sitting for days before plugging it in and I still get 50+ degree heat 2 minutes after start up.

 

hmm might be,block feels kinds warm but maybe I should check it again.

It got down to the teens here and I did not get a wait to start light when it's plugged in,just not warm air have to drive it for a few blocks.

I do have a winter front.

Pav