Does your block heater "sizzle" the first couple for seconds after you plug in it? Mine has been consistently doing that but lately i have not heard the "sizzling" sound. Does it mean is not working? I'm not certain if it's working since when I start the truck it feels like it has not been plugged in at all.

What’s the first thing I should check for to see if it's working or not? Any ideas and suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thank you.

 

Mines does the sizzle just after I plug it in. If yours has stopped doing so I would check the drop cord its plugged in to an if its Ok then check the cord to the block heater.

 

Mine's never sizzled. You can tell if it's working, by feeling the block with your hand after a couple of hours.

 

Mine also "sizzles" when I first plug it in. But I have to listen really good to hear it.

Plug a drill or something into the cord you are using to make sure there is power to the cord. If thats not the problem, check the cord at the block. If the grid heater light isnt coming on after a few hours of using it, then its probably working.

 

MTC,

Your grid heater will come on anytime the air temp is below 66 degrees at the manifold per my 06 owners manual.. BTW, I did an experiment a few days ago where I had my truck plugged in for 25.5 hours while parked in a garage and the grid heater still came on and I know my block heater works just fine.

 

Its been pretty cold here (below 40 for last 2 days) and last night and early this morning was in low teens. I had my block heater plugged in now for past 2 days. My grid heater light DOES NOT come on when I go to start the truck when the block heater has been plugged in so far.

 

Heck......thats not cold! Mine was plugged in for about 60 hours and the block heater light didn't come on other than the normal bulb check and it has been 3* below! That is typical. The grid heaters still cycle, but the light doesn't stay on as long. If you'll try it without being plugged in, you;ll notice that the light comes on and stays on much longer. Light on short, or long, either way, I can tell by the voltmeter that the grid heaters are still cycling.

 

That "sizzel" sound when the heater is first plugged in I think is normal. My 07 5.9 does it and my 97 7.3 F350 did it every winter for the 11 yrs I owned it.

 

we had an average of -20* this weekend on the nights and hi's in the -3 to -5*range plus windchills of -30* to -40* , plugged mine in for about 4 hours on saturday and my light didn't come on either but the grid heater still cycled. Also just got my manual idle up enabled today and must say I am going to sure use that alot.

 

I must not have said it clearly. I said that if the grid heater dash light didnt come on, then the heater WAS working. Its been in the teens here also, and when I plug the truck in, the light stays out. When its not plugged in, the light comes on.

 

The light does not even come on for a bulb check? Also.....can you watch the volt guage? I'll bet it is still operating.

 

A few ways to check that the block heater is working:
1) Use an ammeter on the circuit to make sure it is drawing current. It should draw approx. 6.2 amps.
2) Using a long screw driver, hold it against the block near the heater and place you ear on the handle. You should be able to hear the water bubbling which indicates it boiling and heating the coolant.
3) After about an hour of being plugged in, the exhaust side of the block should feel noticeably warmer than the intake side.

 

I was wondering what wattage the element was rated. So at 6.2 amps times the 120 or so volts its about 744 watt element. Are the elements the same for all the years?

Damon

 

An easy way to check is plug in while a light on the same circuit is on. If it dims a bit, the block heater is drawing power.

You could plug in a drop light in the same outlet and watch that dim, too.

 

mopardamo ,

IIRC my 06 block heater is 750 watts. I don't know if Cummins used the same watt block heater for all 5.9's.