How to tell if Engine Block Heater is working?

The engine block heater only works when you are parked, then you plug it into the AC, it warms the block so it won't freeze up. When you start the car, you unplug the heater. You might want to investigate the merits of Grill Blocking!

 

When you plug it in it draws power. If it is drawing power, it is generating heat.

Tom

 

After a few hours of plugging in the engine compartment should be nice and toasty. +1 on grill block.

 

I used an ohm-meter to check for continuity. You can also use a "Kill-A-Watt" meter. I used both. Or other more sophisticated devices. Or you could just put you hand down there, but be careful, I suspect it could be hot enough to cause a burn. It's a 400 Watt device as I recall.

You don't list where you are from, but around here it hasn't much effect. At -18C (0F) it's not powerful enough.

 

Both a Kill-A-Watt meter (or similar) at the AC plug to see how much it is consuming, and a ScanGauge in the car to measure the engine coolant temperature at startup, should tell you whether the EBH is working.

 

As I pointed out in the post before this one, check and see if it is drawing power. The amount of power should be roughly equal to the wattage of the heater.

Tom

 

Plug it in for say a couple of hours. Feel the extension cord plug itself: it will likely be a bit warm by that time. Then pop the hood, and feel a few coolant hoses: they should also be warm, some more than others. Also see if you can feel the engine block itself, particularly near were coolant hoses are entering/exitting: again you should feel some warmth.

 

If you have a non-contact infrared thermometer you can use that to shoot some temperature measurements of the block and other parts of the engine compartment. The engine block should be appreciably warmer if the EBH is working.

Tom

 

You spent how much for the EBH and install, spend another 20, its a good investment...
http://www.amazon.com/dp/product/B00009MDBU?tag=priuschatcom-20 35 for the hands free approach..
http://www.amazon.com/dp/product/B001LMTW2S?tag=priuschatcom-20 you want to stick your hand into the engine compartment, you need to spend at least a 20. Besides, with the Kill A Watt you can see just how much money in kWh's it's costing you to use a dummy load to heat a cold block of metal!

 

I found that the ScanGauge improves my mileage at least as much as the EBH does. I can't imagine trying to hypermile without it, now that I'm used to it.

But for free (not sure about the easy): Plug it on a good cold day, drive it to the end of the block and then see how long it takes before the engine turns off (listen for it, don't go by the arrows on the MFD). On a similarly cold day, don't plug it in, and see if there's a difference in how long it takes. (For the Gen II, the engine won't turn off at a stop until it reaches 100'F, and won't turn off when coasting between 35 and 41 mph until it reaches 157'F).

You might want to do this a couple times, as minor things can make differences (including how long it was sitting), and it's more noticeable if you do it when it's in the single digits Fahrenheit. Temps in the 40's won't show much difference without a scangauge.

 

...how about the ambient temp read-out on the MFD?
Not sure where that reading is coming from.

 

Can you borrow a Kill-A-Watt meter from a public library or from your electric utility? Seattle's libraries lend them, as do many others now.

Or, watch the speed of the spinning disk on your electric meter as you connect and disconnect the EBH. It should spin faster with a working EBH, though you may have to try the test multiple times to separate this from other loads that could switch on or off during your test, such as a the refrigerator, water heater, range coils, etc.

If you had a Gen3, I'd suggest trying to enter EV immediately after startup. It should usually succeed with a working EBH, fail without. But that won't work with stock older models, and maybe not even with the user-installed EV switch.

 

I second KK6PD's comment that a Kill A Watt is a great investment. I bought mine a few years ago and it's one of the best cheap gadgets I've bought in a long time.

It helped me identify some power hogs at home and also gave me a better idea of how much power everything around me was consuming.

 

Hi J,
It definitely has an effect on reaching S4 faster and thus shutting off the ICE! you have to give it time to warm up the massive aluminum - motor block cylinders and oil (you can to the math@400W). these days it is 10°c in the morning according to SG, if I preheat for 1 h the block is about 25°c which s comparable with a cold start in august during the day.U can fell that by touching some metal part of the block especially on the EBH-side of the block.
Also consider to use the ECTH-spoofer- it really works great (spec. with PHEV-conversion)and is fully automatic!

Regards T