having issues with power outlet

[mn_smokeater]

Winter sux.

GFCI's might be great in a perfect world, but as people have said, they can trip when there is nothing wrong. Very sensitive and it's the times that you really need power that sensitive things aren't necessarily helpful.

Doesn't get that cold here but I've had to dig up the camp stove and push it under the oil pan to thin the straight-30 enough to turn the engine over. Trickle charger won't keep a pair of 1,000CCA batteries up either--I run the 10amp charger on them all night when it's going to be cold.

My new house has a 3-car garage so I was hoping I could keep the truck inside at night now. But it's too long to fit inside the garage. And there is no outlet next to the garage either so I'm a step behind you already.

yeah im glad that its not tripping any more.

im going to be getting my own charger when funds allow and this spring or summer a block heaters going in. im almost thinking of hitting the gas station up for a bag of BBQ Briquets to put under the engine. right now im running a i hope still good 850CCA Battery.

time to break out a non GFI plug and set it up just for your truck

 

[strvger]

looks like one i'm using now. not plugged in as the truck is in the garage, but i put it by the oil drain plug to catch any metal that might be in the oil. if yours holds on nice and tight, might want to leave it there year round just for that.

 

[mn_smokeater]

looks like one i'm using now. not plugged in as the truck is in the garage, but i put it by the oil drain plug to catch any metal that might be in the oil. if yours holds on nice and tight, might want to leave it there year round just for that.

mines on the front of the pan near the bottem was so i dont think it will stay put too well

 

[mn_smokeater]

well left the heater on over night an took the battery down hooked it up with the charger on the 50amp start and just got a slow crank out of it and then the battery went down to too low to crank so now its back up here an on the 10amp charge bringing it back up to full charge.

im pissed now beacuse the heater power cable cracked from being froze an stiff so now the wiring is exposed to the air and id assume leaking most the power out of it you would think they would put a better cord on something like that you know. but ether way its back on there heating it up unless that tripped the damned GFI if it did im going to be

 

[cocoasranger]

My outdoor GFI that had worked for many years suddenly started tripping from plugging my fish pond heater into it. (850 watt). Got a new heater and it still tripped. Replaced the GFI and all is good; can even run a 13 amp electric snow blower through a 100" extension cord without tripping it.

Took the old one apart and found ants had set up shop in it causing a leakage across the wires.

 

[strvger]

well left the heater on over night an took the battery down hooked it up with the charger on the 50amp start and just got a slow crank out of it and then the battery went down to too low to crank so now its back up here an on the 10amp charge bringing it back up to full charge.

im pissed now beacuse the heater power cable cracked from being froze an stiff so now the wiring is exposed to the air and id assume leaking most the power out of it you would think they would put a better cord on something like that you know. but ether way its back on there heating it up unless that tripped the damned GFI if it did im going to be

if that is the new pan heater that the wire cracked, i'd take it back for sure! mine has done fine, but it is a different brand and i've had it for years. got it at the local L&M Fleet (like Fleet and Farm).

 

[mn_smokeater]

i will.
so got it started after a long hard battle... had a propane heater running under it and had had the heater on overnight but no go. batt was shot, replaced close to running but still no go, used ether but yet no go then we tried ether and isopopal in the fuel lines and she sputted and came to life after much attempts. took alot of life out my starter and the engine possibly but she runs and i took it to town and back.

i also tried a diffent cord on the rad heater and it tripped as well confming for sure its gone. il have to let the magnitic heater cord thaw out then tape that up a lil bit then put it on the oil pan. i have the new battery staying inside the house.

 

[strvger]

i have one of those gell cell batteries in my Geo tracker and it sits out and just has the heater hose plug in heater. starts every time. even after sitting for 8+ hours at work not plugged in, the Geo starts right up with that battery. mine is a knock-off called Orbital. got it at the local farm/fleet store and couldn't be happier with its' performance for the past 3 years. (was -28 here last night)

 

[mn_smokeater]

went out to try to start it maybe an hour ago and it just cranked and spuppered and woudnt start it just bout did once but i had to let off to keep from killing my started and then i thought maybe i got iced gas lines again so i put 2 bottles of isopro in the tank and it was kicking over maybe 5 of 8 cylanders but just wont start

i had the dakota jumping it and it was my brand new warm battery. also i have no idea why but theres a ground cable going to the meatl from the neg temeranal to the spot on the front where the other grounds go it heats up orage hot and burns the inslsation off

i had my 300W heater on it all night and day so the oil caint be cold as the other day when we did get it goin and it was cranking fast

i just dont know why its not starting
any ideas guys???

 

[mn_smokeater]

ohh forgot to add the trucks at a 1/4 tank it was a bit over the line between half and 1/4 tank. im thinking maybe i have frozen fuel lines.... we had heat blowing under the truck yesterday and a bottle of isopro in it an that we think what was got it going... that plus the two pick ups jumping it.

 

[AllanD]

Sounds like you are more or less on the right track with thinking
something's frozen, but I could only guess what the exact problem is...

You're there and I'm here...

As for a 300watt heater? in a closed garage it can help you make heat
a little quicker, but outside in the wind?
It's like trying to boil water over a Zippo Lighter.

I live in Pennsylvania and the block heater I have her waiting to be
installed is a 500w freeze plug heater I want to use TWO of them,
one in each cylinder bank.

Minnesota? Brrrrrr.....

AD

 

[mn_smokeater]

Sounds like you are more or less on the right track with thinking
something's frozen, but I could only guess what the exact problem is...

You're there and I'm here...

As for a 300watt heater? in a closed garage it can help you make heat
a little quicker, but outside in the wind?
It's like trying to boil water over a Zippo Lighter.

I live in Pennsylvania and the block heater I have her waiting to be
installed is a 500w freeze plug heater I want to use TWO of them,
one in each cylinder bank.

Minnesota? Brrrrrr.....

AD

after some advise i put a can of seafoam into it an im goin to try to start it in the mid morning if my chargers brought my battry back up if not il have to try in the afternoon. once i have it running im going to get it in the garage an get a freeze plug heater in it. im also gunna run the Girlfiends hair dryer over as much of the fuel line as i can. maybe it will help?

 

[Will]

Is that the stock EFI on it? I don't see the point of the hair dryer. Carburetor icing and vapor lock are not issues here. Your fuel isn't in the air stream very long as it would be with a carb so there's no heat riser on the intake manifold needed. The fuel isn't going to get warm with a hair dryer because it's a constant loop going back to the tank and you're going to have a lot more cold fuel coming through than you can dream of warming up. Gasoline freezes at something like -200F. If the gas is really old in the tank and the lighter hydrocarbons have escaped, then the fuel dryer stuff you keep putting in can make it more combustable. If your tank has actual water in it, it needs to be drained. Even if it's just old, I would drain it. To see if it has any fuel at all in the rail, push in the center of the Schrade valve on the rail and see if it's pressurized.

My diesel has a 600W block heater and it's fine. I think it costs 25 cents for 8 hours to run it. It doesn't do much for the oil though.

One thing is, if the truck doesn't start readily in the summer, the winter makes everything that much worse. Bad grounds, old cables--these are much worse in the winter.

 

[cocoasranger]

A shot or two of spray ether will start even a slow cranking engine as long as it has spark. If it starts, then revs up and quits with ether, then you are not getting fuel.

 

[mn_smokeater]

IT LIVES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Updates to follow after getting gas
Edit:update:
put the battery in it and it was a bit hard starting but i gave it a lil gas and it started to kick over more so i kept crankin a lil more then it went all the way and went to idle then i let it sit an warm up an charge the battery back up a bit then took it to the gas station and put 10 gal of fresh gas into it.