Advice on using the Block Heater on a Gr Caravan 2003 , 3.3 engine

Hi The Gr Caravan comes standard with the block heater. As I live in Canada, Montreal it gets really cold at nights during the winter. I never used a block heater before. Are we supposed to plug it in all night, or a few hours before you leave in the mornings. Also by using it I assume you will get heat faster, as I noticed the Van takes longer than my previous cars to blow out heat. Thanks

Reply to
cosza
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The block heater is thermostatic. It will not overheat the engine, boil the coolant, etc. Once the engine is up to the heater's preset hot cut temperature, it'll cut out until the engine drops below the heater's preset cold cut temperature, when it'll kick back on. So, you may leave it plugged in all night without consuming excess power or risking any damage to anything.

The heater will save on gasoline, since a prewarmed engine will use substantially less fuel when first starting out in the morning. It will save on engine wear, since the oil will flow more readily and there won't be as much condensation of fuel on the cylinder walls to wash oil down off the bores. It will give you faster passenger compartment heat and defogging, but you must be careful when using the defogger. Be sure not to hit the windshield with hot air too quickly, or you risk cracking it.

DS

Reply to
Daniel J. Stern

Thansk fo rthe info. I also have a remote car starter. Can I start the car with it, or I have to disconnect the block heater before starting the engine. Thanks

Reply to
cosza

It won't damage it, but it will waste power in the long run leaving it on all night. See if you can get a timer for it to turn on automatically a couple hours prior. Some timers will even cycle between two cars without blowing a fuse.

Don't use the remote starter. The block heater will warm up your engine enough, there would be no benefit to using the remote starter. Your engine will warm up quicker when you are driving it down the street.

Reply to
Bill 2

This must be only in Canada as I've never seen a Grand Caravan or Voyager with a factory installed block heater ... and I own one of each.

Typically, you leave them plugged in all night, but the best bet is to read your owner's manual. It should tell you proper usage there if it came from the factory.

Matt

Reply to
Matthew S. Whiting

"Matthew S. Whiting" wrote

All cars in Canada typically have factory block heaters

Reply to
Bill 2

Well I don't call a Montreal winter night all that cold. Us folks in Winnipeg know what a cold night really is..... *grin*.

Yes, your van will heat up faster and start much easier on those cold nights. You really don't need the block heater until the overnight temp drops to around -15 Celsius. A handy energy saving tip is to use a timer to turn the block heater on about 3-4 hours before you head off to work. Then your not using excess electricity. Be sure to use a properly sized timer and extension cord. (wattage/amps) Cheap thin cords and timers could be inadequate for the power drawn and a fire hazard. Now if you want to really have a nice warm vehicle, install an interior car warmer....

Btw, my heater in my Caravan boils me to death. Get the dealer to check there are no air bubbles in the system.

Reply to
Reply to this.

My Intrepid's "cold engine group" (block heater + battery heater) was an option (in USA) that cost under 30 bucks. I'd imagine the minivans are similar. I figured it was worth it and the engine sure seems to enjoy it on those very cold winter mornings.

I have found little benefit to leaving it plugged in more than two hours or so. The engine starts right up quietly and idles around 800 rpm immediately, just like on a summer day. The heat comes on quick, but my Intrepid warms up pretty quick anyway. The immediate air that comes out of the heater may surely be warmer than ambient but I've never found it to feel warm to the touch within the first minutes, even when the heater was plugged in all night. I would recommend a timer (heavy duty!) to switch on the heater 2 hours prior to engine start. These heaters use a good deal of electricity and it isn't useful to keep it warm before it needs to be.

Reply to
Greg Johnson

There really isn't much benefit to using a remote starter if you are preheating with the block heater and you'll just consume gas while the warm engine idles. Just set a heavy duty timer to start heating about 2 hours (maybe slightly longer) before you start.

Reply to
Greg Johnson

One of the replies mentioned the block heater is thermostatic, so I if this is true I can plug it all night as it cycles on-off.

Reply to
cosza

Reply to
Mike Behnke

Is that a from the factory piece of standard equipment or just a popular dealer installed option?

Matt

Reply to
Matthew S. Whiting

Yes, I was aware of the option, but I've never seen it as standard equipment. I've never bought a vehicle in Canada though so I don't know for sure. However, a local dealer has a ton of vans brought down from Canada and none have block heaters.

It gets pretty cold here in PA in the winter (-15F isn't all that uncommon), but I've found no need for a block heater as long as I use Mobil 1 and keep the battery well maintained. Takes time for the van to heat up, but it starts fine. My other van and truck live in the heated garage so they are fine. :-)

Matt

Reply to
Matthew S. Whiting

Yes, it won't hurt the heater or engine, but it will use more electricity to keep the engine warm all night ... assuming the block heater has the capacity to heat the cold engine up in the 2-4 hours people have mentioned here. The last vehicle I drove that had a block heater was a large diesel OTR tractor. It's block heater would never get the old Cummins warm in 4 hours when it was below zero. If we didn't leave them plugged in all night, the truck would never start.

Sounds like the car heaters are more potent.

Matt

Reply to
Matthew S. Whiting

I have two Canadian Caravans (93 and 96), both bought just over one year old off lease. Both have factory block heaters. As mentioned, it does not hurt to run them all night. It just uses un necessary electricity. Having a timer on the power cord, set to turn it on 2-3 hours before you plan to leave will achieve the same result with less than half the electricity. It depends on how cold it will get. You will have to do some timed testing, and of course, the colder the nights, the longer the warm up time will be.

Reply to
Mike Martin

Factory standard equipment. I live in an area that doesn't really need it but every new car comes with it. And rear defrost has also been standard for a while.

Reply to
Bill 2

Can't say I've seen a Canadian car without a block heater anytime recently. This means manufactured for Canadian sale. Were these vans manufactured in Canada, or manufactured for the Canadian market?

Do you leave the van idling to warm up or drive away immediately? The idea is the savings in gas (and arguably wear) from it idling to warm up would cover the electrical cost. Plus if you leave it unattended idling in the driveway with keys in it, it would reduce the risk of theft.

Reply to
Bill 2

Rear defrost is required by law in many states now, NY being one. I like the rear AC and heat also even though it is an option.

Matt

Reply to
Matthew S. Whiting

I don't know for sure. The salesman said they had "come from Canada", so I don't know.

I start it and then clean off the snow and ice. I then drive off. I don't like to let my vehicles idle too long in cold weather. Better to get on down the road.

Matt

Reply to
Matthew S. Whiting

Did you look at the vans? Were the gauges in MPH? Any other hints?

I suspect he may have ment "made in Canada" because some of the Chrysler vans are made in canada and some in the US (I think the short wheelbase in one contry and the grands in another). As well all Windstars are made in Canada and one of the Japeneese vans are too.

Reply to
Bill 2

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