I Cannot Find Any Instructions For The Engine Block Heater For The 2006 Dodge Trucks. Can You Just Plug It In When You Get Home And Let It Run All Night When It's Cold Outside? Is It Only Supposed To Run For A Couple Of Hours?

 

it can run any length of time you desire. it is just a heating element, i believe 1200 watts? the longer you run it, the warmer it will be when you need it, within reason of course.

 

Yeah, I think a lot of us run a timer set to come on 2-4 hours before it's time to go to work (depending on temp) but that's mainly to avoid wasting power...

Mine is parked outside (too big for garage) so I took the precaution of putting in a GFI outlet...

For the first few times in the fall I loop the extension cord over the driver's mirror, so as not to forget to unplug.

 

I called the dealer and asked. They said it was thermostatically controlled. Don't know about that. The only thermostatically controlled block heaters I've seen are on our diesel generators. They're a lot bigger. I leave mine plugged in all night. Just makes for an easy start in the morning. Hasn't hurt anything. Like the guys above said, put a timer on it and it'll save some electricity.

 

I plug mine in when I get home and leave it plugged in! Even for days... Hasn't hurt anything.. I left my 05 plugged in for 4 days.. Makes cold starts a lot easier on old betsyyy..

Shane

 

Rule of thumb we use is 1 hour for every 10 degrees below freezing...don't know where you are but in case your in a cold climate you can add more heaters, like mine, check sig.

 

We're only in the high 30's to low 40's overnight...with the occasional drop to low 30's. I obviously don't need it to start the engine. However, it is nice not having to wait for the grid heater and having some amount of heat in the morning.

I do have it on a timer plugged into a GFI outlet. Timer set for 2hrs and the water temp is usually 100-105. If I let it go for 3hrs, it gets to ~110.

HTH

Tony

 

Hey Rock Crawler,

I'm a little late to the game here but wanted to put in my $0.02 worth. If you haven't purchased anything yet, particularily just a cord, I bought a great set-up for mine from a Dodge dealer in Texas which is in the links column of this site. Paid around $150.00 for it and it came with the block plug and two heated battery blankets all in one easy kit. I have mine set on a timer to come on for 4 hours before I leave in the morning and this thing is at or around 120 toasty degrees when I get in.

I can't imagine leaving it on all the time though. When I first did it, my electric meter on the house was spinning like a CD player and my bill was nothing to laugh about. 2-4 hours works good for our somewhat cold Wisconsin nights.

 

Only draws 650 wats or so. . . . .not 1200 if you use a timer this will help save you money.

 

Only draws 650 wats or so. . . . .not 1200 if you use a timer this will help save you money.

 

Don't freak out if you get a CEL after plugging it in. If so, you need to get the Battery Temp TSB done at the dealer.