Engine Block Heater, Problems

Cowcatcher · **Posted:** Fri Nov 30, 2007 12:07 am

I checked the FSM and the Parts ID Manual tonight and didn't get too far. The FSM only talkes about the block heater for the 3.7. The Parts ID Manual shows the drawing of neither the 3.7 or the 2.8. Perhaps it is the 2.5. On this drawing the heater is a soft plug style immersion heater that is located on the drivers side front. It appears to have a separate power cord and in the description of service for the 3.7 it talks about removing the power cord from the heater before service.

dgeist · **Posted:** Fri Nov 30, 2007 10:03 am

JIMMY JEEP wrote:

Were on 240v in UK ,what you guys on 110V?, i'm no electrical expert would it have to be a different heater or can electrical items like that run various voltages?

Indeed, we yanks' have to carry around step-down power converters if we travel abroad with our gear. Your Cherokee would likely just have a different plug on the cord and an element that takes higher voltage/lower amperage.Devices that can take either are typically ones that already have a transformer embedded, like computers, expensive curling irons, etc.

JIMMY JEEP · **Posted:** Fri Nov 30, 2007 12:29 pm

I've looked around the dipstick area from the top to the bottom were it goes into the block but i cant see any wires cable tied to it,!!! has any one got photos of theirs on a diesel so i can see what it looks like and exactly were it comes from incase mine if ive got one has been unravelled and is hidden somewhere else.If ive not got one are they hard to fit? does it go in place of one of the core plugs? thanks

CATCRD · **Posted:** Fri Nov 30, 2007 1:20 pm

skywarn wrote:

CATCRD wrote:

skywarn wrote:

nope mine is not zip tied anywhere... but I need to know is where does it plug into the block... even another CRD owner (nix) and I spent a good amount of time looking for the plug... its not there....

Look closely, the cord is bundled and zip tied to the dipstick. Not removable. I ran it down and forward thru the lower air dam. When not in use I flop it up in the plastic tray under the tow hook.

Even the dealer can’t find it... really its not there. I know everyone as told me to look closer... believe me if I can do the EHM, ORM, install a Lift kit, change my gear oil, motor oil, install a cat fuel filter, make my own bio fuel etc... Not to come off in a rude way so please don’t take it like that, but I feel i’m smart enough to know if i’m missing the heater/plug for my block. And trust me its not there!

Does anyone know where the wire plugs into the block? The KJ shop manual shows only the gasser blocks not the CRD.. Go fig ea??

Sir Sam... In your wanderings around the yard, would you know where to look??

What the dealer is saying is that the prev owner didn’t know what the plug was for and/or being in TX didn’t need it so they took it off and never put it back on when they traded the CRD back in. so when I bought it from the dealer it was never on the CRD.

Sorry, I didn't mean to imply anything about you. It's just that a lot of people over the years have asked this question and there's a standard response. That sucks that someone may have removed it.

JIMMY JEEP, your UK CRD may not have had the block heater as an option, as it never gets that cold there. On ours the cord just disappears into the jumble around where the FCV and dipstick are on the driver's side of the engine. I can't see the heater itself.

JIMMY JEEP · **Posted:** Fri Nov 30, 2007 1:34 pm

Lol ,i think you may be mistaking the UK for the Bahamas,it gets plenty cold here in winter,last year i took a leak outside and had to snap it off.i'd still like to see if anyone has a pic of the wire.

Cowcatcher · **Posted:** Fri Nov 30, 2007 3:07 pm

Jimmy,

Have you ordered a build sheet to see if yours came with one?

dgeist · **Posted:** Fri Nov 30, 2007 3:08 pm

JIMMY JEEP wrote:

Lol ,i think you may be mistaking the UK for the Bahamas,it gets plenty cold here in winter,last year i took a leak outside and had to snap it off.i'd still like to see if anyone has a pic of the wire.

I think he meant "It never gets DRY over there"... Actually, September was amazing. Spent time in London and Scotland and it only rained the days we were in Fort William.Ben Nevis still looks good in cloud cover, though. I WISH I had my CRD with me. Even in the Ford Focus rental, I was still paying out the nose for fuel.

Dan

MrMopar64 · **Posted:** Fri Nov 30, 2007 3:38 pm

If I remember correctly, cars for the BUX market didn't have the block heater installed from the factory as standard equipment (could be ordered). The NAFTA vehicles did because the target temperatures for cold starting are different between the 2 market with NAFTA (USA) having the lower temperature requirement. Any car in the BUX market should have no problems starting unassisted with only glow plugs. Also depends on the year of the vehicle and what type of GLP it has. However, I am mostly certain that BUX vehicles with the heater would've had the 220V element.

If you look at the block on the sides and see a large brass colored plug with an internal hex that a key would insert into, your vehicle doesn't have a block heater. To install the heater, this plug gets removed and the heater installed in it's place.

JIMMY JEEP · **Posted:** Fri Nov 30, 2007 3:53 pm

Thanks cowcatcher,mrmopar64 i will look for the plug you mentioned ,were do i get a build sheet?

Cowcatcher · **Posted:** Fri Nov 30, 2007 4:03 pm

JIMMY JEEP wrote:

Thanks cowcatcher,mrmopar64 i will look for the plug you mentioned ,were do i get a build sheet?

I have not ordered one but I think you can go to the dealer directly or to the Jeep web site with your VIN and order it.

nix · **Posted:** Sat Dec 01, 2007 12:52 pm

here is where my engine block heater cable resides:

JIMMY JEEP · **Posted:** Tue Jan 01, 2008 8:03 am

Asked about block heaters when i went to stealership for my build sheet, and they looked at me like i was from the planet zim zom, "what is a block heater " was there reply, so looks like Uk spec kj's dont have the option ,bugger.

kjfishman · **Posted:** Tue Jan 01, 2008 8:10 am

Check the outlet you are plugged into. The outlet in my garage is on a ground fault circuit and must be reset occasionally. The rubber plug cover on my heater has gone missing and if the contacts are damp enough the groung fault trips when I plug it in.

Threeweight · **Joined:** Mon May 14, 2007 5:57 pm **Posts:** 679

Mine is zip-tied to the dipstick nice and neat... and right in the way during a fuel filter change.

Timmaah! · **Posted:** Sat Jan 05, 2008 9:30 pm

Cowcatcher wrote:

It is not a very high watt heater. I have used farm implements with hotter ones and the block felt warm through the night. Have not seen that wiht the CRD. Someone posted that it was only 400 watts. A good Kats will be a minimum of 800 and more likely 1000 to 1500 watts.

Yup, that's correct. After reading this thread I took my "Kill A Watt" meter out to the garage and took a reading. It read 119 volts, 3.43 amps and 408 watts.

Engine Block Heater, Problems

Who is online