Has anyone installed the engine block heater on the Camry Hybrid? I spent a hour looking for the dry well where it fits with no luck. I was told that it is located in the block between the engine and the fire wall. Thanks Karl
Well I found the information on the block heater install here: Engine block heater installation instructions - GreenHybrid - Hybrid Cars SQUINT has some great pictures and instructions. Now I just need to do it. Karl
For those of you that might be interested, I installed an engine block heater on my camry hybrid today. It took about an hour. I used the instructions found here: http://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/f49/engine-block-heater- installation-instructions-12841/ The only thing that I might add is that I ran the cord to its final position and plugged the end into the heater (NOT THE WALL) before inserting it into the machined dry well in the block. The heater is from Toyota Canada and is the same one as used in the Prius. It is available online from a number of place, but I got mine from Toyota of Dallas. The cost was about $42 with shipping. The heater draws 434 watts and is not thermostatically controlled. Mine is connected to a timer set to come on a couple hours before use. Folks in the Prius groups are using their heaters all year around and getting a significant increase in mileage. This is especially helpful on short trips. My wife drives 2 miles to work and cold weather has really knocked my mileage down. This should help on one leg of the trip anyway. I have also blocked off some of the radiator, but am not too pleased with the process yet. I am also working on insulating the high voltage battery as below 50 degrees F folks doing work on PHEVs have found that our high voltage batteries are not capable of warm weather charge and discharge currents. It may be necessary to add heat to take full advantage of the stored energy and regen, but I am starting my experimenting with insulation as it will help even if heat is later needed. Karl
Karl - what do you mean about "not capable of warm weather charge/discharge currents?" You lost me when you said you need to add heat, vice cooling which is what I would have expected. What did you end up doing and finding out? Thanks!
