Broke the heater plug-in off the harness. Darn. - Diesel Forum

JustCris · 10-09-2009, 10:28 AM

Anyone done this and what's the fix, new harness from the stealer
or go to home depot and buy a replacement female three pronger ??

It was pitch black out but it looks like only two wires on the harness end
but I could have miised the 3rd wire, it was early.

My luck sucks. Good news is I've got about a week before it gets below freezing again.

Cris

Todes · 10-09-2009, 10:46 AM

I would think that you could just go to the local hardware store and grab a new female end. The only thing that I can think that could be a consern is the voltage requirements....but that should be for the wires only. So you should be able to get a new end, strip some wires and re-wire the new end on and be good to go. lets see what the other good people of Dieselstop say!

woodnthings8 · 10-09-2009, 11:26 AM

Mine has a male three prong plug for the block heater. Is that what you broke, or the connector on the filter base for the block heater? If you just ripped the cord out any 15 amp three prong plug will work. Or you can get a new harness HERE. Also look at the plug adapter that you can install to eliminate the hanging cord deal. Marinco Block Heater Plug Mod

JustCris · 10-09-2009, 11:53 AM

Hey wood, thanks for the reply, it's the 3 pronger which is why I thought it kinda odd to only see two wires coming out of the back of it.
Thanks for the 15 amp clue.
Do I need to pay attention to what goes where on the back of the soon to be 'new' plug, or any wire into any side (if it's only two) ?

Thanks again,
Cris

woodnthings8 · 10-09-2009, 12:39 PM

It is only a heater so, two wires are ok, Think of it like a light bulb. The heater element is just a light bulb with a big element. Back several years plugs were not polarized and every one just plugged them in. Now they are polarized or 3 prong to make sure you plug it in the best way. They may put the ground plug on so you plug it in correctly to the wall socket. I will have to take a look at mine but I would think there should be three wires, but it may not be required as the truck sits on rubber anyway so it really isn't grounded.

Usually the left blade of the outlet is the neutral side and the right blade is the hot side.

klhansen · 10-09-2009, 12:51 PM

I second and third (can I do that?

) the Marinco Mod. I've had one on my truck for many years. Had the cord break off flush with the rear of the original plug, and put on a heavy duty plug temporarily, then installed the Marinco recessed plug. Never looked back.

It'll be a grounded (3-wire) cord. DEFINITELY connect all three wires to the plug. If the hot wire happens to chafe it'll energize the whole truck unless the ground is connected, which will then trip the breaker, protecting you.

If you were to touch the truck with a hot wire shorted to the chassis, it'd surely curl your hair, and might even kill you. It wouldn't be good to be holding on to your truck doing a dance and not being able to let go.

Here's the diagram for plugs and receptacles: Plug and Receptacle Configurations

It'll be a NEMA 5-15P configuration.

DZacc · 10-09-2009, 01:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JustCris

My luck sucks. Good news is I've got about a week before it gets below freezing again.
Cris

A week before freezing? You haven't seen tomorrow's forcast...High temp in Denver of 33*, low 24*. You're correct about your luck....
You can get a flush weatherproof outlet at Bass Pro for around $16 in the boat section. Just bore a hole in your bumper and install. If your cord is not long enough, be sure to use 14 gauge wire and a GOOD butt splice adequately sealed from moisture.

JustCris · 10-09-2009, 01:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by klhansen

I second and third (can I do that?

) the Marinco Mod. I've had one on my truck for many years. Had the cord break off flush with the rear of the original plug, and put on a heavy duty plug temporarily, then installed the Marinco recessed plug. Never looked back.

It'll be a grounded (3-wire) cord. DEFINITELY connect all three wires to the plug. If the hot wire happens to chafe it'll energize the whole truck unless the ground is connected, which will then trip the breaker, protecting you.

If you were to touch the truck with a hot wire shorted to the chassis, it'd surely curl your hair, and might even kill you. It wouldn't be good to be holding on to your truck doing a dance and not being able to let go.

Here's the diagram for plugs and receptacles: Plug and Receptacle Configurations

It'll be a NEMA 5-15P configuration.

Yep, just walked outside & checked, it's 3 wires, one was tucked back inside the factory electrical tape harness cover stuff. Definately going to mull over the marincomod. Now I just need to figure out which truck wires correspond to the diagram's for wiring up the plug. As it's voltage I'll remember to lick my fingers before touching anything.

JustCris · 10-09-2009, 01:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DZacc

A week before freezing? You haven't seen tomorrow's forcast...High temp in Denver of 33*, low 24*. You're correct about your luck....
You can get a flush weatherproof outlet at Bass Pro for around $16 in the boat section. Just bore a hole in your bumper and install. If your cord is not long enough, be sure to use 14 gauge wire and a GOOD butt splice adequately sealed from moisture.

Sheesh, quit trying to cheer me up, ok ?? I don't need to get up @ O'dark thirty, should be ok (famous last words!).

SmokeyWren · 10-09-2009, 06:50 PM

The Marinco plus was designed to be a ship-to-shore plug, to plug the boat into shore power while it's moored at the docks. But there are other brands of the same thing, including the ones available at BassPro shops and sold under some name other than Marinco. Normally, you'll have a female plug on the wall of the house, connected to the "boat" by a heavy extension cord. The female end of the extension cord plugs into the male end of the cord on the boat or, in this case, truck. So you need the male Marinco or equivalent plug.

The block heater draws 1,000 watts, or 1 KW, so be sure that the extension cord and all connections can handle 1 KW without overheating.

woodnthings8 · 10-09-2009, 09:25 PM

So I took my block heater plug off of the filter base and rang out the wires on my plug. Look at the pictures so you can see how it should be wired. You should be able to use a meter to do the same, just might need a helper to reach both.

[IMG]

/IMG]

**bigb** · 10-10-2009, 09:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by woodnthings8

This is the view from the backside?

woodnthings8 · 10-10-2009, 09:30 AM

Thats the male plug in view for the normal hanging plug. The W is the neutral wire or white in house wiring. The H is hot or black in houses. Use it for the back if doing the plug mod mentioned above.

JustCris · 10-10-2009, 05:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by woodnthings8

Thats the male plug in view for the normal hanging plug. The W is the neutral wire or white in house wiring. The H is hot or black in houses. Use it for the back if doing the plug mod mentioned above.

Thanks for doing that Wood. I appreciate the great input.

Cris

**bigb** · 10-19-2009, 10:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by woodnthings8

Mine has a male three prong plug for the block heater. Is that what you broke, or the connector on the filter base for the block heater? If you just ripped the cord out any 15 amp three prong plug will work. Or you can get a new harness HERE. Also look at the plug adapter that you can install to eliminate the hanging cord deal. Marinco Block Heater Plug Mod

Cool I just ordered 2 of them, 1 for the block heater and 1 for the battery tender. Work is slow this month but this is a mod I can afford!