Engine block heater - anyone out there have one?

[FusionDad]

Folks,

 

One+ year ago, I ordered a Toyota Canada Engine Block Heater for our Prius Plug-In.  All Toyota Prius (and probably other model) engines have a cast sleeve designed to receive an EBH - on the Prius it's on the back of the engine.  The way I figured it, the Prius's Atkinson gas engine runs somewhat cooler than a regular Otto cycle engine, and besides, the EV 12 -14 mile range in a cold Prius when the weather happens to be "wet-cold" could induce a lot of condensation int othe car cabin from our breaths, etc.

 

Well, I finally put the EBH in this October on a warm Autumn weekend.  The job wasn't too bad at all.

 

I immediately noticed several positive things: the cabin windshield clears within a  block because the engine jacket is already warm so DEFROST works well right away.  The cabin heats up fast as well.  And of course, the engine, being already warm, shuts off much faster while I drive without the 4-5 minute warm-up cycle.  I'm sure I'll likely see an improved engine component life as well if I keep that car for a long time.

 

I plug the EBH in via a 14-gage cord as soon as I wake up and go get the morning paper in the driveway, before I put the coffee on etc.  By the time I roll 90+minutes later, it's warm.  

 

I'd rather use house electricity than gasoline to warm the Fusion up before use.  IMHO too many US Army and Marines died in the Middle East in the last decade to, among other national goals, ensure a stable oil supply.

 

So, anyone out there already have or knows about Ford Fusion Engine Block heaters?  Any Canadians on the forum?  If possible, how doable is the installation?

 

Thanks in advance!

 

 

 

 

[larryh]

My car came with an engine block heater installed.  All cars delivered to MN come with that option.  I have the car parked in an attached garage. The temperature in the garage has always been above 15 degrees, even when it is -13 degrees outside.  I am usually able to drive to work entirely in EV mode unless the outside temperature is below zero, which has only been a couple of days so far.  I haven't really had much of a chance to try out the engine block heater to see what it will do for me.  Preconditioning so far seems to be adequate to warm the car and allow me to make it to work in EV mode. 

 

The engine block heater was not improperly installed in my car when they built the car.  The plug is covered by a cap near the fog lights.  The plug was not properly recessed so the cap would not close--they installed a part backwards.  The dealer replaced it with a new unit.  I don't know how difficult it is to install.  But I think it requires some effort.  The bottom of the car is covered.  I think they had had quite a bit of disassembly to do to install the new one. 

Edited December 29, 2013 at 02:48 AM by larryh

[FusionDad]

Larryh,  thanks for both replies - here and in the Cold Weather Observations.

 

I was very pleasantly surprised by the benefits of using an EBH on the Prius - even in temps up to 40 degrees.  However, the Fusion is a different car - so I am curious what you think once you do a comparo.

[FusionDad]

...BTW, yes - on the Prius, 3/4 of the job was disassembling all the panels etc and figuring out a way in through a maze of complexity.  Ah,the days of a 1968 inline six were so simple!

[tseibel76]

I too have an EBH (ND) but I haven't had to use it yet. I have a heated garage. Like larryh said, it has its plug under a cap by the fog lamp on the driver's side. Nice job Ford. Definitely the cleanest setup for an EBH on any car I've ever owned.

 

Funny side note. We lived in CO for 8 years and when we first moved there, I had an '88 Pontiac. The cord for the EBH just hung out the front of the hood. Everyone there asked if I had some kind of electric car!

[larryh]

Today, the temperature is -2 F (-19 C).  I plugged in the EBH four hours before my GO time.   The coolant temperature was as follows:

 

elapsed time    temperature degrees Celcius

0:45                14

1:30                22

2:15                26

3:00                29 -- preconditioning started

3:30                31

4:00                30

 

Preconditioning began 1 hour before the GO Time, or 3 hours after I plugged in the EBH.  The car is plugged into the 120 V charger.  As usual, preconditioning is useless using the 120 V charger.  It just blows cold air even after the EBH heated the coolant to 29 C or 84 F.  When I leave, I will see how the EBH affects the warm-up time for the ICE and car's interior as well as mileage. 

 

As indicated in the car's manual, using the EBH for more than 3 hours is a waste of energy.  The coolant temperature maxes out at around 30 Celcius after 3 hours. 

Edited December 29, 2013 at 07:56 PM by larryh

[larryh]

Heat was coming from the cabin heater within 1 mile of departure.  So the EBH works well.  I assume the engine reached optimal operational temperature much sooner than if I had not used the EBH.  However, the CEL light came on.  Others have reported that using the EBH causes the CEL light to come on.  I will have to have the appropriate TSB applied when it becomes available.   When I turned the car off and back on, the CEL remained off.

Edited December 29, 2013 at 10:33 PM by larryh

[Fat Fusion]

Guys.  Just a word of warning.  Block heaters have been known to cause fires.  If you're going to use a block heater I suggest parking the car away from the house.  IF YOU MUST park it under a carport or inside a garage BE SURE you have a smoke alarm that is loud enough to wake you up in your bedroom.

 

Just google "block heater fire hazard" and you'll see I'm not joking.

[tseibel76]

Great info larryh. Looks like the EBH is definitely worth it. It would be great if I could plug it in at work, since sitting out in the cold all day is when my ICE usually fires.

 

I have noticed it uses much more gas when it first comes on and much less once it is warmed up (makes sense). So, use of the EBH a few hours before you leave looks like it should save gas in cold weather.

 

Larryh, do you know what the EBH draws for amps? I'm wondering if you could plug both the HVB and EBH in at a hotel that has dedicated plug-ins for EBHs at each spot (common here in ND).

 

Yesterday it was 5 above (F). I went home at lunch and the ICE did not come on. Parked in the garage and plugged in for about 40 min. The ICE did not come on when I went back to work. It also stayed off when I left work and remained off driving around. No heat and EV Auto.

 

So, it looks like the threshold to fire the ICE is lower when the car sits out for four hours vs nine hours.

[larryh]

Guys.  Just a word of warning.  Block heaters have been known to cause fires. 

 

Anytime you plug in electrical devices you need to be vigilant for worn or damaged plugs, cords, and outlets.  I am far more concerned with the 120 V charger than the EBH.  The 120 V charger draws many times more power than the EBH, 1.4 kW vs. 0.4 kW.  The first time I plugged the 120 V charger into an outlet in a garage with old wiring at our farm, the charger stopped working after a few minutes.  The fuse in the fuse box seemed OK, so something must have happened to the old wiring.  Next I tried a heavy duty extension cord to another outlet that had recently been wired.  Something was wrong with the extension cord.  It started to melt the plastic covering on the outlet.  So I now plug the charger directly into an outlet in a different garage which has also recently been rewired.  However, I am still concerned that all that plugging in and unplugging of the charger is wearing away at the outlet, plug and cord.  Others have reported incidences where the plug for the charger has become so hot they were unable to unplug the charger unless they used an oven glove.  I would suggest that anyone periodically check the cord and plug for heat after it has been operating for a while.   My 240 V charger is hard-wired at my other home, so hopefully the electrician did his job properly and I don’t have to worry about the wiring.

 

The EBH for the fusion is well designed.  It comes standard equipment on Ford cars/trucks at no charge in the following states:  AK, WY, MT, ND, SD, MN, WI.  For the Fusion, the plug is firmly attached in a housing in the left fog lamp bezel which has a cover for protection, so the cord and plug are well protected from damage (unless you do dumb things like drive off with the extension cord still plugged in).  Unlike many EBH cords, it is not left dangling out the grill subject to the elements and lots of wear and tear.  Just make sure that you use a heavy-gauge outdoor/cold-weather extension cord to attach to the EBH.  The manual lists several additional precautions to be aware of.

 

On our farm, EHBs were an absolute necessity.  Tractors would not start without them.  Those block heaters drew far more power than the Fusion’s, requiring 1 kW of electricity.

 

Edited December 31, 2013 at 09:58 PM by larryh

[larryh]

Larryh, do you know what the EBH draws for amps? I'm wondering if you could plug both the HVB and EBH in at a hotel that has dedicated plug-ins for EBHs at each spot (common here in ND).

 

The EBH requires 440 watts of power.  So that is 440/120 = 3.7 amps.  You can't plug the EBH and the 120 V charger in the same circuit if you have a 15 amp fuse, the charger requires about 11.4 amps plus 3.7 amps from the EBH = 15.1 amps. 

 

I can't determine when the coolant is warmed up by the EBH how much less gas the car uses.  I have seen articles suggesting 10% savings.  When it is about -10, it requires about 0.08 gallons of gas to drive to work, whether I use the EBH or not.  The temperature and driving conditions cause far more variation than any gas saved by the EBH so I can't detect any savings.  I don't think it makes a significant difference for my 8 mile commute.  When I drive home, after the car has sat outside in the cold and it is a bit warmer, around 0, the car uses about 0.16 gallons of gas.  So parking in a garage that is about 25 degrees warmer than outside and preconditioning saves me about 0.08 gallons of gas.   That amounts to about $0.25.  Preconditioning took about 2.5 kWh of electricity which costs $0.15.  So I save some money via preconditioning (with a 240 V charger) and start out in a warm car as a bonus.  However, if I only had the 120 V charger, the EBH would probably be a better option than preconditioning with the 120 V charger,  The 120 V charger is useless for preconditioning in cold weather. 

 

Note that cars emit far more pollution when warming up than when running at the optimal temperature.  Using an EBH reduces emissions manyfold over starting a car with a cold engine.  Also, starting a cold engine causes more wear and tear on the engine than if it were warmed with an EBH. 

Edited December 31, 2013 at 11:12 PM by larryh

[Fat Fusion]

My only comment about the EBH vs the charger is the EBH is designed to create resistance and generate heat, the charger is not.  Great advice about periodically checking the cord.

[larryh]

When it is about -10, it requires about 0.08 gallons of gas to drive to work, whether I use the EBH or not. 

 

The comment above is incorrect.   I had previously only plugged the EBH into the car for about 1.5 hours prior to leaving for work--that was not long enough.  This morning, it was -5 F.  I plugged the EBH in 3 hours prior to departure.  I was able to drive to work this morning entirely in EV mode.   I checked the coolant temperature when I arrived at work.  It was 30 Celcius.

 

Apparently, the cold weather conditions under which the ICE starts when in EV now mode are something like this.

 

    If it is above zero F, the ICE does not start until the HVB nears depletion (maybe 15% SOC remaining).

    If it is below zero F, the ICE starts when the coolant temperature is below a certain threshold or the HVB nears depletion.  The threshold is probably no more than 30 Celsius.

 

I think if you leave climate control off, the ICE would probably not start.  But at -5 F, you have to run climate control or the windows will frost up so I can't test that.

 

Also, it appears the engine coolant does not circulate when the ICE has not started.  Otherwise, the coolant temperature would not have still been 30 Celcius after the 13 minute drive to work at -5 F.  I am basing the coolant temperature on what the car reports in Engineering Test mode.

Edited January 2, 2014 at 10:31 PM by larryh

[larryh]

I think this is the EBH that was installed at the factory in my car:

 

http://www.fordparts.com/Commerce/PartDetail.aspx?n=YmBRW5G8VuOau0dujZzbbA%3d%3d&id=262938190&m=2&search=true&year=2013&make=Ford&model=Fusion

Edited January 4, 2014 at 07:52 PM by larryh

[ptek]

However, the CEL light came on.  Others have reported that using the EBH causes the CEL light to come on.  I will have to have the appropriate TSB applied when it becomes available.   When I turned the car off and back on, the CEL remained off.

 

larryh, I'm curious - did you see the Powertrain Fault (yellow wrench), or the Service Engine Soon light?  Has your dealer addressed the issue?

 

I plugged my FFH block heater in over night and got a yellow wrench light in the morning.  Cycling power off and back on did not clear it, but the light was not on when I started the cold engine after work.

 

Thanks,

Pete

[larryh]

It is the service engine soon light (engine icon) that comes on for me.  But for the FFH it is the powertrain fault.  I have not contacted the dealer.  I believe that the Ford engineers are currently investigating the issue.  I don't know if they have a solution yet. 

 

The light turns off after cycling the engine off and on about three times.

 

 

http://fordfusionhybridforum.com/topic/8074-dtc-p1a18-p1a19-p0aee-p0bcd-when-using-engine-block-heater-under-investigation/

Edited January 9, 2014 at 09:43 PM by larryh