3. Zerostart 3100057 Engine Block Heater for Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Ford, Mercury, Lincoln, Jeep, Pontiac, Continental, Oldsmobile, 1-5/8-Inch Diameter | CSA Approved | 120 Volts | 600 Watts
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Ensure quick winter starts and reduce engine wearFor Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Ford, Mercury, Lincoln, Jeep, Pontiac, Continental, Oldsmobile. See Zero start catalog for specific applications.1-5/8-Inch diameter5. 8' (1. 8m) cord includedVolts: 120 | Watts: 600 | Plug Type: 120 Volt, 15 Amp (Type ...
My friend spotted this vehicle in a public parking lot in SF Bay Area.
Additional photos:
http://i.imgur.com/dfJXcn6.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/uulAUJc.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/Qrbfmxx.jpg
Anybody any more information on what this is?
edit: A few more pics:
Not radar, but IbeoLux modules: Actually 2 there are 2 on each rear side looking sideways, two more on the rear bumper looking backwards, and two more under the front headlights looking forwards. http://i.imgur.com/ez0tlee.jpg
Also, there are two rectangular panels adjacent to the front radar. (Looks like a Delphi ESR 2.5 Radar ) http://i.imgur.com/703JyDp.jpg
There are Lidars on the right side mirror too. The molding looks perfect. http://i.imgur.com/ruKO5ee.jpg
2 Garmin GPS antennas on the back roof roof corners near the rear window. http://i.imgur.com/nx0VAQh.jpg
Lastly, there is a 'NOCO Genius GCP1' power port on the front bumper, adjacent to the 80/20 beam, which is probably used to provide power to whatever additional equipment they screw into the beam. http://i.imgur.com/SqCbiMF.jpg
My conclusion is that this is NOT a Tesla prototype, rather some small company who is working on self-driving/computer vision software. I'm not sure why they would choose a Model S for this though, except perhaps because they want to sell their software to Tesla, or perhaps they are a Tesla partner which has managed to get access to the control systems for steering, braking and speed.
It's a block heater, something like this. Used to get some heat in your oil when you live where it gets really freakin' cold. Plug it into an outlet after parking, and the next morning you don't have to wait for your vehicle to warm up.
I have one on my Jeep ZJ. Comes in handy during Montana winters (and Fall, and sometimes Spring).
certainly, Sir. https://www.amazon.com/Windshield-Car-Heater-Defroster-Cigarette/dp/B07JZ3NMWG/
In Yellowknife (and Canada generally), one commonly has one or more of these four things, each of which will have an electrical cord with a two-prong plug meant for your standard North American 110/120V AC socket.
Then, run all the cords to your car's grille. Get an extension cord that has 3 or 4 sockets, plug your cords into that extension cord, then plug the extension cord into an outlet on the outside of your house, or an outlet in your parking lot. If you want to be eco-friendly and not use any more electricity than you absolutely have to, put a timer on that outlet, and have the juice come on at, say, 4-5 am, 'cause 3 hours or so is usually enough to make your car's parts all nice and toasty.
Charging the battery while driving is pretty simple but took me a year to figure out how simple it was. Hopefully you are planning on using a trailer wire junction box. If so, run a 14ga wire from the junction box (that connects to your truck) to the positive side of the battery. Add something like this inline between the junction and the battery for safety. https://www.amazon.com/Fastronix-Automatic-Reset-Circuit-Breaker/dp/B07NSD3KYH
For shore power, I used one of these on the side of the camper which then runs to a 2 amp charger that charges the battery. In hindsight, I should of done a 4 or 5 amp charger.
https://www.amazon.com/NOCO-GCP1-16-Inch-Integrated-Extension/dp/B009ANV81S
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Solar, do as other have said and get a controller.
Install a block heater
Thanks!, i didn't know they existed. Here's one on 120v.
This is 95% of what i was imagining, but requires installation. just chuck it somewhere and have the cord be as thin as possible so it can run thru the crack in the rubber of your closed car door (possible?).
I did spraypaint them with a metallic gold (they were black). I put an old jack in there to keep paint from seeping into the input itself. The power input was on Amazon and the paint job definitely adds a little steampunk/vintage vibe, since it didn't coat the rubber it looks kind of tarnished.
Make sure you have a good battery and don't worry about it is the simple answer.
If you do decide to install one anyway, they're not expensive and it's not that hard to do. The basic/most common ones replace a frost plug, which is a little tin cup near the bottom of the engine, designed to pop first and relieve pressure if your coolant ever does freeze (which I've never seen happen, because.. antifreeze). So it's just a matter of draining your coolant, popping out the frost plug and tapping in the heater. Getting to the bottom of your engine to do this likely won't be fun.
Example of a simple block heater.
Engine block heater then? Or a garage?
eggsactly! i've got a 115V bus under the hood, goes to a lower hose heater, that gives you the instant heat; a float battery tender from harbor fright, an old electric blanket wrapped around the hybrid battery pack, and a dipstick oil heater... they all have their own tstats, but they're also plugged into an thrift store intermatic timer that turns them on about two hours before i'd normally need to go to work, and cycles every four hours on days when i'm home
I used to use a Kat's heater on my Land Rover oil pan, and it worked great on sub zero mornings.
those heaters are probably the safest and efficient solution.
Wonder why the chinese only sell the diesel powered knockoffs, in Germany we also have Gasoline powered ones.
Maybe to many explosions :P
Edit: was just shopping at Amazon:
They make Gasoline powered heaters:
https://www.amazon.com/Drivworld-liquid-parking-heater-gasoline/dp/B07691HB8S/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1538651730&sr=8-5&keywords=gasoline+engine+heater
https://www.amazon.com/Drivworld-Parking-Heater-Diesel-Gasoline/dp/B07B94M8K3/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1538651845&sr=8-2&keywords=gasoline+air+heater
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I had both varieties in Germany, the engine heater on a diesel - it's completely outside, so silent in the inside. You just have to rig the vent's of the Climate control to heat up the interior.
Further - since the engine block is heated - you got residual heat for a long time.
like this
https://www.amazon.com/Mazda-Engine-Dipstick-Indicator-BPE8-10-450/dp/B0077Q3SKE
brand new oem is 25 bucks.. worth it for sure
I think I might understand you... would something like this do what you are envisioning?
https://www.amazon.com/NOCO-GCP1-125V-Integrated-Extension/dp/B009ANV81S
My work already has these in cars for our work in cold weather. They are usually plugged into a wall outlet but I've seen some people have ones that plug into the car. Some google searching shows similar stuff with timers too, so I'm not sure what would be novel about such a proposed patent.
here it is
https://www.amazon.com/NOCO-Genius-GCP1-Black-125V/dp/B009ANV81S/ref=pd_bxgy_200_img_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=X6SE3S6B3876Q0A3TDS0
I didn't get a working link to the FB page on your progress, but just let me know your TNTTT account handle and I'll pop over there to look. One other thing - of the several 120V inlets out there, this one is the best behaved so far. The only caveat is that you'll have to trim the idiot-proofing rubber nub off your extension cord receptacles.
For basic 15 amp power, I run something similar to this: https://www.amazon.com/NOCO-GCP1-125V-Integrated-Extension/dp/B009ANV81S/ref=sr_1_1?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1537219599&sr=1-1&keywords=15+amp+power+inlet
I plan on someday, maybe, running a 30 or 50 amp service through the wall.
> however it’s not always possible to warm up, especially when it gets to -35 etc. nothing warms up in that.
Hot Pad Heater ($30.44 USD) + Engine Block Heater ($27.95 USD)
A119 is very popular, goodluck with it, v2 is more stable than v1.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009ANV81S
Here ya go https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBlD0WrFMKE
https://www.amazon.com/Kats-24150-Watt-Universal-Heater/dp/B000I8TQD6
I suggest a block heater like this.
Kat's 24150 150 Watt 4"x 5" Universal Hot Pad Heater https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000I8TQD6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_VPSyCb9VMC6PP
I have a 150W 12V heater and also a 50W 110V heater plus an inverter.
Surprisingly the 50W 110V unit seems to do a slightly better job keeping the windshield fog free.
I also have an outlet timer, my plan for this winter is to leave the 50W heater on the dashboard overnight pointed at the windshield and have the timer turn it on an hour or so before I leave for work.
> The max temperature of a toaster in air is less than its max temperature in vacuum, same as the engine, if it works as I speculate.
The issue is what is the toaster made of? Steel? Won't it melt if it's hot enough to melt an engine block? If the toaster melts all the insides short and it stops being a toaster, it might still be able to melt the engine block, but you've made what is closer to an arc furnace, not a toaster.
> You mean like the red color of hot metal? Thats mostly from the surface, right?
Yes, hot metal gives off IR radiation which will cool it, yes it's from the surface, but the heat from the toaster will be transferred via conduction to the surface. An engine block if more than capable of transferring 1.5kW without melting, they are typically designed to handle a couple hundred kW when water cooling is available. A 1kW toaster will almost get it warm, what you have is essentially a large block heater, 1.5kW is actually what some people connect to their engines to help it start
They make cab heaters. I have one like this in one of my classics.
I've never seen a head bolt heater that actually gets the engine warm enough to get the heater going more quickly when it's legitimately cold out. I prefer an engine preheater like this (installs between the rad hoses and circulates as it heats), or an auto start.
Would recommend getting that plug mounted up into the lower grille or bumper before the winter hits, otherwise it's going to be a corroded mess. NOCO is a nice option, it's the one I have.
Can you string an extension cord to your card?
And here's a heated seat pad
Have you tested the antifreeze? Antifreeze that has been left in an engine for a long time without being changed, or had water added to bring it out of the 50-50 mix can degrade its properties. There are cheap coolant testers you can get at autoparts stores or similar area will sell them. They let you take a sample of the coolant and the float will tell you its rating. -15 is cold, if the antifreeze isn't doing it's job and freezes it can crack the block/heads and cause all kinds of trouble. Hopefully it won't be this but worth checking.
I would see if you can get a engine block warmer:
https://www.amazon.com/Zerostart-310-0057-Engine-Block-Heater/dp/B000NM2KNA
or something similar to heat the block to see if it helps.
Alternative things could be IAT sensor or any similar temperature sensor, the engine relies on this when starting to properly gauge the fuel mixture in the engine and if a temp sensor is sending out funky information it can also cause this.
Get something like this. Install it yourself, or have it installed at a reputable shop.
An auto start is terrible for the longevity of your engine.
Like PatAunces said, you're battery is probably dead. Hopefully it's not dead dead.
If you have accesses to an outlet here are a couple of items that will make future cold starts easier:
Battery Thermal Wrap
Universal Hot Pad Heater
You could also look into picking up a battery charger that supports trickle charges and leave it on your battery over night.
I have an old SUV that sits outside and only gets driven every other month. I disconnect the battery when I park it. If I don't the battery is dead in less than a week.
Well you say you warm the engine up for 10mins, but that's only the engine, your trans will still be 90% cold (all but little bit of conductive heat from the engine). Do you happen to have a garage? You could get a transmission pan heater (might as well get an oil pan heater too) then you can just set one of those wall timer things, just wire them up so the cords are on the driver's side, and hopefully you have an outlet on the driver's side, then you can just plug them in when you get home and unplug them before you leave. I'd set the timer 2 hours before you leave, and then you could start your truck like 5 minutes before you leave (just so the oil has enough time to go through everything, but the block should be warm anyways, just an extra safety measure i guess). I'd highly recommend doing it.
Heater
Mechanical Timer
How about one of these on top? I was thinking this might work.
Kat's 24150 150 Watt 4"x 5" Universal Hot Pad Heater https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000I8TQD6/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_9O6Hub1RH35ZH
They make magnetic ones you can just stick on your oil pan and plug it in. https://www.amazon.com/Kats-24150-Watt-Universal-Heater/dp/B000I8TQD6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1549848405&sr=8-2&keywords=magnet+block+heater
You could take a route similar to mine, you can view my trip log here:
Also, for your water tanks I would suggest maybe getting a heating pad or two? They are designed to heat large tanks or in my case, I use it to heat my oil pan.
Hot Pads
If you're riding in cold/chilly weather, consider a heating pad on the case/oil pan like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Kats-24150-Watt-Universal-Heater/dp/B000I8TQD6/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1457748904&sr=8-4&keywords=katz+pad
There are multiple sizes available on Amazon, here's one example . Just stick on the oil pan, and maybe one under your battery.
Bring a can of starting fluid. Powerstrokes hate the cold, even with fully functional glowplugs. If(when) you end up using it, remove the air filter cover and only give the engine a little sniff so the glowplugs don't cause a backfire.
Try to park near an outlet and plug in the block heater every night. Consider getting a magnetic pan heater and putting it on the bottom of your fuel tank.