alwcurlz

Some thoughts came to mind after reading this long discussion. The error codes that come up are because it is getting temperature imbalances from different sensors. This seems to tell me one of two things. Either the block heater does not reach a high enough temperature to open the thermostat valve and circulate through the whole motor or, the thermostat requires a higher temperature to open and allow circulation. I would guess that the heating system still bypasses and will circulate through the motor but, not in all the same locations. A cleared windshield would prove that. To say the block heater would damage something is silly to me, unless there are some components that don't behave well with extreme cold/hot fluctuations because the whole motor is not the same temperature. My feeling is this: That if you have a block heater that gets hot enough to open the thermostat, then the coolant will circulate/boil through the whole motor and create an acceptable recently been running condition. However, this is REALLY dependent on how cold it is outside, and how long the heater has been operating. If you don't get the whole motor warm, then problems will arise. On my old car I had, if I didn't have it plugged in long enough, it wouldn't heat it up enough to melt away frost/ice off the carb/linkages and the choke would goof it up too. I had to plug my car in when I got home and left it plugged in all night and then in the morning it was fine. I tried plugging it in a few hours before and that didn't cut it. It needed more than 2-3 hours to warm up with the block heater I had. I don't know what wattage it was. It was averaging -14°F to -20°F between day and night. I would only plug it in when under 10°F as it would fall below that at night. There is a major noticeable difference once the temp drops below 10°F. One time I had to park my car and start it in Karlsruhe, ND without being plugged in. You talk about an engine not liking that...all I remember is the sound the motor was making, it sounded awful, sounded like there was no oil in it and the oil pressure gauge pegged, past 90psi and the hood shook so much it was banging on either fender. And the air cleaner came loose and started rattling. That was the last time I did something like that. 20 min later it was warm and I drove home. The shocks didn't move either so the drive home was a bumpy one. Another thing that's funny now but not then...once on the road, the engine temp which would be at around 190° would drop down to about 150-155°. I had the entire radiator covered and realized the air coming out the vents was not very warm after a while. I found that although the air flow was blocked from the front radiator, it was still pumping coolant through my heater core and cooling the motor that way. The radiator hose was cold to my amazement. I had to pull over cause the windows were frosting up and wouldn't clear. I then proceeded to stuff rags into the air entry to block some of the windchill coming in. Ended up with a fist sized hole and then it was ok. ANYWAY...I moved from there nearly 8 years ago and...I'm moving back there this fall/winter with a 99 Silverado with no block heater. I'm still looking for a set of frost/block heaters. I'd like to put two on it but not sure if it accepts that. Not easy to find one here in Texas. Boy, I miss those Nordern Lights. The best silent light/fireworks show on earth.