Engine block heater cord broke off at 3-prong plug

[davem]

The engine block heater electrical cord coupling had been getting pretty weak near the 3-prong plug, and this morning it finally broke on my 2001 XLT V-6 SOHC with 149,000 miles.

I called the local Ford dealer - the replacement cord, which I think runs all the way back to the heater plug itself (can anyone confirm ?), will cost $82 and wont be in for a few days. It really would have been nice if the cord consisted of multiple segments, coupled together, so that I'd only have to replace "the end" segment.

I'm thinking about just splicing a new 3-prong plug onto the existing wiring.
Has anyone made this type of repair ? Any suggestions ?

We've got some more -20 F air temps coming in a couple days, so really hoping I can fix this myself soon.

Thanks.

 

[davem]

If I do splice on a new extension cord, what gage of wiring should I get ?

14 ? 16 ? Other ?

Any other wire considerations ?

 

[KillerB74]

Absolutely repair it yourself! Just as you mentioned, buy a cord end and wire it on. Most cars need this done at some point. It's like they don't make cords that can handle cold weather. I usually add some extra electrical tape to the cord and tape right onto the end to help reinforce the weak area where it is always bending.

 

[davem]

I assume its simply a matter of connecting

black to black
white to white
green to green

Right ? (I hope the Explorer wiring colors make it obvious what each wire represents.)



Whats the best way to make the connections ? I want something fairly solid ..... not just wire twist caps. Some sort of crimping connector ? Screws ? Other ?

 

[lobo411]

I assume its simply a matter of connecting

black to black
white to white
green to green

Right ? (I hope the Explorer wiring colors make it obvious what each wire represents.)



Whats the best way to make the connections ? I want something fairly solid ..... not just wire twist caps. Some sort of crimping connector ? Screws ? Other ?

Solder and use heat shrink tubing to insulate the connections.

 

[KillerB74]

I assume its simply a matter of connecting

black to black
white to white
green to green

Right ? (I hope the Explorer wiring colors make it obvious what each wire represents.)



Whats the best way to make the connections ? I want something fairly solid ..... not just wire twist caps. Some sort of crimping connector ? Screws ? Other ?

You won't need any of this, buy a new end like for an extension cord. Cut off your old end, directly attach the new plug on the end of your old cord. The new plug has screw terminals inside for directly attaching the wires. White goes to the wide prong, green to the round ground prong, black to the narrow one.

 

[davem]

You won't need any of this, buy a new end like for an extension cord. Cut off your old end, directly attach the new plug on the end of your old cord. The new plug has screw terminals inside for directly attaching the wires. White goes to the wide prong, green to the round ground prong, black to the narrow one.

Ahh, so I'm really just buying the plug end itself ................. not a 3 ft cord with a plug on the end. I like that.

So after I attach to the 3 screws in the new plug, is there something that covers it all up to keep it relatively clean/dry ?

 

[Lloyd10977]

You won't need any of this, buy a new end like for an extension cord. Cut off your old end, directly attach the new plug on the end of your old cord. The new plug has screw terminals inside for directly attaching the wires. White goes to the wide prong, green to the round ground prong, black to the narrow one.

I had this problem and resolved it jast as KillerB74 indicated. Cut open the insulation and you will find black, white and green. I use 14ga wire to replace the damaged portion, using solder and shrink tubing to secure the ends. I purchased a socket from Home Depot that happened to come with a cover for weather resistance and I reinforced the wire and the splice with heavy duty gorilla duct tape. I did this about 6 years ago and all is still well.

 

[davem]

I stripped the existing wire and found the green wire in the middle of 2 black wires. I needed to determine which black wire to treat as the 'white' and which to treat as the 'black'.

The instructions for the new plug stated that if there was no 'white' wire, that the 'ribbed' wire was the one to use. I could barely make out a 'rib' on either wire until I used a magnifying glass. The ribbed wire also happened to be the wire that had some writing on the insulation.

I know this is kinda vague, but based on what I've described, did I choose the correct wire to use as the 'white' wire ?

 

[KillerB74]

Yup, because it is a heating element it will work either way and still be safe. The green wire is the critical one as it gives you your ground fault protection.

 

[davem]

Here's a slide show of my efforts:

http://youtu.be/P-U7Jt0iFD8


I'll find out tomorrow if it works !


Thanks to everyone, especially KillerB74.

 

[Lloyd10977]

Here's a slide show of my efforts:

http://youtu.be/P-U7Jt0iFD8


I'll find out tomorrow if it works !


Thanks to everyone, especially KillerB74.

Nicely done. Thanks for the photos.