Block Heater Plug Location??

[GiveItaTri]

I'm guessing the block heater plug will come out of the bottom of the grill, but has anyone actually seen it?

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[jasonkosi]

Someone else posted pictures from a dealer event. I happened to notice this for the first time. Looks like the block heater plug

 

[GiveItaTri]

Someone else posted pictures from a dealer event. I happened to notice this for the first time. Looks like the block heater plug

It looks like you're right. My F-150's plug comes out from behind the bumper, this location looks like you might have to pop the hood to use it. I'm not a fan.

 

[dejones64]

It looks like you're right. My F-150's plug comes out from behind the bumper, this location looks like you might have to pop the hood to use it. I'm not a fan.

I'm not a fan of the pop-the-hood to use the plug either. But a popped hood might be a reminder that it's plugged in so I don't forget and drive away.

I imagine a short extension could be rigged up in there.

 

[GiveItaTri]

I'm not a fan of the pop-the-hood to use the plug either. But a popped hood might be a reminder that it's plugged in so I don't forget and drive away.

I imagine a short extension could be rigged up in there.

That is a good point. I may have destroyed a few extension cords over the years when I drove off while still plugged-in.

 

[jasonkosi]

It looks like you're right. My F-150's plug comes out from behind the bumper, this location looks like you might have to pop the hood to use it. I'm not a fan.

I have a feeling it’s location has to do with water fording depth. If it were mounted lower at the bumper it would be more likely to get wet and possibly corroded. I know my F150 had a recall due to a possibly corroded plug

 

[2Jeeps&PatriotX1]

My f150 has been recalled 3-4 times now for it but it sticks out in the lower grill slot at the bumper.

 

[Rusty Sheckleford]

It looks like you're right. My F-150's plug comes out from behind the bumper, this location looks like you might have to pop the hood to use it. I'm not a fan.

My dad's fiesta heater plug is like this. It SUCKS.

My old broncos plug came out the air vent in the bumper. 100000000x better

 

[John Bronco_ I am here]

I've noticed on newer vehicles the cords come coiled up near the battery. I live in a cold climate and work in even colder some times. I also add a battery heater/blanket and silicon pad heaters on the oil pan and trans pan, if an auto.


I relocate the wiring to the bumper using a suitable inlet and use a cord with a lighted end. The glow gives you a warm feeling when it is -20 out there.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074T57WS6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[BrentC]

I've noticed on newer vehicles the cords come coiled up near the battery. I live in a cold climate and work in even colder some times. I also add a battery heater/blanket and silicon pad heaters on the oil pan and trans pan, if an auto.


I relocate the wiring to the bumper using a suitable inlet and use a cord with a lighted end. The glow gives you a warm feeling when it is -20 out there.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074T57WS6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

That’s a nice, sano setup you’ve done. Do you get corrosion around the hole you bored in the bumper?

A few dollar’s worth of wire and connectors, some Marrettes and heat shrink and you can in a hour’s time put your extension cord plug cap wherever you want it to be.

 

[John Bronco_ I am here]

That’s a nice, sano setup you’ve done. Do you get corrosion around the hole you bored in the bumper?

I used a hole saw, and spray painted before I installed the plug. It is 3/16 steel, so even if it does corrode you got years before it goes deep.

 

[JPye]

Old subject revisited. I had no problem finding the plug for the engine block heater on my 2021 Badlands. I agree with some of the comments about why Ford installed it in this position.

1) above fording depth, probably not a big issue since it is not energized when it is unplugged
2) forces the owner to open the hood and leave it unlatched as a reminder that it is plugged in.

I had a short, (9") extension cord with a flat wire cross section that fits on the outside passenger side of the hood without risk of damaging the hood or cord, leaving a small plug on the outside of the hood. I didn't want to pull the cord out of the fastener on the inside of the engine compartment, and this seems to work pretty well for me. Ambient temp was -32 C recently.

I have a question for the group. Is the Engine Block heater designed to be used with standard North American Voltage, and Standard European Voltage. The user manual does not reference standard US voltage of 110-120 volt AC, but it does mention 220-240 volt AC. I think some block heaters in Canada may be 240 volt AC, but I am not sure how common that is.

Page 153 of the owners manual states. "You can connect the system to a grounded 220-240 volt AC electrical source."

Is this why the manual states the power rate as a range?

"The heater uses 0.4 to 1.0 kilowatt-hours of energy per hour of use." Page 154

So, the block heater will provide ~400 watt-hours of power at 110-120 volt, and ~1,000 watt-hours at 220-240 volt?

This is a really sloppy section IMHO. I don't know who writes these user manuals, but this manual seems to leave out a lot of detail. For one, the fact that most owners will be using 110-120 volt AC power supply in North America, but they provide a wishy washy statement that you CAN connect the system to a 220-240 volt AC system. Nothing stated that 110-120 volt AC is the expected voltage, or is it? What is really important though for most of us is how many amps will the heater draw? Based on the spec of 400 to 1000 watt-hours at a voltage between 110 and 240, the current will be somewhere between 3 and 4 amps if the heater resistance is between 30 and 60 ohms. But it is possible a 110 volt supply could provide 1000 watt-hours at 9 amps if the heater has a resistance of 12.1 ohms.

Time to get out the multimeter I guess. ----- I'm back, the multimeter test indicates the resistance is 34.2 ohms. So 30 to 60 ohms was not a bad guess based on the poor write up in the user manual. I guess they are using the average US voltage of 117 Volts which will result in 400 watt-hours at 34.2 ohms. But using the average 234 Volt value will result in 1600 watt-hours at 34.2 ohms. Hmm. Something isn't right then. Unless the resistance is variable based on temperature.

Sadly, the problems I have with this User Manual makes me wonder how much else has Ford got wrong. Unless of course I am wrong, and if anyone knows better, please let me know. This is kinda like Tom Peters "In Search of Excellence" book where they write about seeing coffee stains on the drop table at your seat on an airline makes you wonder if they are doing their engine maintenance.

Page 153 and 154, of the 2021 Bronco (TG1) Canada/United States of America, enUSA, Edition date: 202101, First-Printing.

 

[SpeedTwin]

I too have the block heater. There looks to be enough slack in the cord to redirect it outside the engine bay. I think the location lends itself for a 3 prong splitter to attach a battery blanket and or an oil pan heater.

As far as electrical output for European use I have no idea...

 

[Texasgrillchef]

It does run at 485 watts.
it does take about 2 hours in single digits, and about an hour in double digits.
i run a 15 amp outdoor. 12 gauge 25’ cord to it. The cord does not get hot or overheat. It has no issues.

i actually plug 1 cord into the rear of my Bronco behind the tire. It splits off and keeps my Ecoflow 1Kw powerstation recharged, and my fridge running, as well as it trickle charges my starter battery. Through a Bluetooth switch and the power cord running from my powerstation through the firewall and into the engine bay to run the engine block heater. Even when everything is pulling at maximum power. It pulls just under 15 amps. And the extension cord is of no issue in as far as overheating. The engine heater is on a two switch system, with one switch on a blue tooth activated switch, and the final switch that will turn the engine block heater on or off based on ambient outdoor temps being below 30 degrees.

equipment…
Iceco fridge APL35, with 250wh battery.
Ecoflow Delta. 3 plus
Ecoflow Alternator charger. (Reverse trickle charges started battery when being charged by AC and/or solar)
Renogy portable 400 watt solar panel X2 (Used when stopped for extended periods)

on good sun days with solar plugged in along with AC. The Ecoflow charges at a rate of 2100 watts. When the engine block heater is running. Trickle charging to the starter battery, and the fridge running. I can still maintain a charge rate of over 1000 watts.

at night with no solar… I can still maintain a charge rate of over 300 watts with everything running.

I very very rarely have any issue with running out of battery power from the power station ever.

whats cool, is that when I’m out and about and stopping for a few hours in the extreme cold. The powerstation will keep my engine block warm while I’m at dinner or the movies or shopping. I have remote start. And if any battery, starter or powerstation gets low, it notifies me on my phone, ford app, ecoflow app, and I can remote start the engine, and the alternator charger Will kick in to charge the power station, and the engine takes care of everything else. when the engine starts there is another relay circuit that will cut power to the engine block heater automatically. The altenator charger automatically reverses charge direction from trickle charging of starter battery to charging the power station.

suffice it to say. Get you an outdoor heavy duty 15 amp 12 gauge cord and you will be good.

 

[Texasgrillchef]

Old subject revisited. I had no problem finding the plug for the engine block heater on my 2021 Badlands. I agree with some of the comments about why Ford installed it in this position.

1) above fording depth, probably not a big issue since it is not energized when it is unplugged
2) forces the owner to open the hood and leave it unlatched as a reminder that it is plugged in.

I had a short, (9") extension cord with a flat wire cross section that fits on the outside passenger side of the hood without risk of damaging the hood or cord, leaving a small plug on the outside of the hood. I didn't want to pull the cord out of the fastener on the inside of the engine compartment, and this seems to work pretty well for me. Ambient temp was -32 C recently.

I have a question for the group. Is the Engine Block heater designed to be used with standard North American Voltage, and Standard European Voltage. The user manual does not reference standard US voltage of 110-120 volt AC, but it does mention 220-240 volt AC. I think some block heaters in Canada may be 240 volt AC, but I am not sure how common that is.

Page 153 of the owners manual states. "You can connect the system to a grounded 220-240 volt AC electrical source."

Is this why the manual states the power rate as a range?

"The heater uses 0.4 to 1.0 kilowatt-hours of energy per hour of use." Page 154

So, the block heater will provide ~400 watt-hours of power at 110-120 volt, and ~1,000 watt-hours at 220-240 volt?

This is a really sloppy section IMHO. I don't know who writes these user manuals, but this manual seems to leave out a lot of detail. For one, the fact that most owners will be using 110-120 volt AC power supply in North America, but they provide a wishy washy statement that you CAN connect the system to a 220-240 volt AC system. Nothing stated that 110-120 volt AC is the expected voltage, or is it? What is really important though for most of us is how many amps will the heater draw? Based on the spec of 400 to 1000 watt-hours at a voltage between 110 and 240, the current will be somewhere between 3 and 4 amps if the heater resistance is between 30 and 60 ohms. But it is possible a 110 volt supply could provide 1000 watt-hours at 9 amps if the heater has a resistance of 12.1 ohms.

Time to get out the multimeter I guess. ----- I'm back, the multimeter test indicates the resistance is 34.2 ohms. So 30 to 60 ohms was not a bad guess based on the poor write up in the user manual. I guess they are using the average US voltage of 117 Volts which will result in 400 watt-hours at 34.2 ohms. But using the average 234 Volt value will result in 1600 watt-hours at 34.2 ohms. Hmm. Something isn't right then. Unless the resistance is variable based on temperature.

Sadly, the problems I have with this User Manual makes me wonder how much else has Ford got wrong. Unless of course I am wrong, and if anyone knows better, please let me know. This is kinda like Tom Peters "In Search of Excellence" book where they write about seeing coffee stains on the drop table at your seat on an airline makes you wonder if they are doing their engine maintenance.

Page 153 and 154, of the 2021 Bronco (TG1) Canada/United States of America, enUSA, Edition date: 202101, First-Printing.

do not plug it into 220 if your bronco is a us version. the 220v version will have a typical 220v plug.

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