After a search for a block heater available in France, I talked about it to a mechanic. He told me that not too old Renault has one by default. I was very surprised and asked him if it is a block heater with an outlet plug. This time he was astonished and described it to me.
The heater is 4 plugs in the cooling circuit. It lights on when the water temp is <75°C (167°F) and air temp is <7°C (45°F). The first plug lights when the ICE is started and following plugs are lighted at 20, 40 & 60 seconds. The battery voltage has to be >13V and the RPM has to be >650. I verified in a 3rd part manual that my newer car, 2001 dCi (common rail turbo diesel), has such a heater.
In the 3rd part manual for my older car, 1997 dT (turbo diesel), no such heater is described. After a quick search another kind of heater is present : the fuel heater. The fuel heater is near the fuel filter and lights on when the fuel temp is < 8°C (46°F). This heater is 150W.
In both manuals is described the use of the glow plugs during the first minutes after ICE starting. Normally in a diesel, the glow plugs lights on when you turn the key on II before the ICE is started. The post-heating lasts 20 seconds max and stops when the ICE temp is 30°C (86°F) :
- =20 seconds when ICE temp is <-20°C (-4°F)
- <20 seconds when ICE temp is -20 to 0°C (32°F)
- =5 seconds when ICE temp is 0 to 20°C (68°F)
- <5 seconds when ICE temp is >20°C
For information the pre-heating (before ICE start) stops when the ICE temp is 30°C and lights on :
- =12 seconds when ICE temp is <-30°C (-22°F)
- 3 to 8 seconds when ICE temp is -20 to 0°C
- 1 to 3 seconds when ICE temp is 0 to 20°C
- =1 second when ICE temp is >20°C
Denis.
Today
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