Block heater question

[JHG]

I installed 6.2 diesel in my K5 few years ago (have not finished the project though, spent my money on dipers and other child stuff).

The man who sold me the engine did cut the wire for the block heater (installed where the freeze plugs usually are) when he removed the engine.

There are two wires, does it matter wich is for + and wich is for -?

In Iceland we have 220v but not 110v like in the US so I will probably need something to change the current from 220 to 110.

 

[diesel4me]

AC current is different than DC,no negative or positve per se,instead they refer to one of the wires as a "hot" wire and the other a "neutral"....and a green ground wire,if it has a third prong...when wiring up switches and outlets ,you put the hot wire (which is usually black,to add to the confusion!) to the brass colored screw on the device,and the white beutral wire to the silver screw...on a 110V plug with only two prongs I dont think it matters much which wire you put to either prong,some plugs are "polarized" and have one prong larger on the ends so it can be inserted into the outlet only one way (one of the slots in the outlet is longer to accept it)--its best to keep the white wire on the prong with the wider ends on it..

You'll definately need some kind of voltage reducer or transformer to bring the 220V down to 110V--I dont know how the power supply where you are is wired,here in the states we have 3 wires coming into the house,2 hot and one neutral--and by using one of the wires and a neutral you'll get 110V,by using both hot wires and the neutral you'll get 220V....I'd consult an electrician in case my experience doesn't apply to your power systems up there before you try wiring anything up and plugging it in...hate to see you get hurt or destroy something following my advice..

 

[scooter122983]

it doesnt matter which wire goes to which prong because ac(alternating current) flows back and fourth.

 

[Fordum]

Double check with an electrician. Never been to Iceland, or anywhere else that 220 is the norm.
But, if its the same as our house 220, you can wire one wire to a hot wire, and the other to ground.
Here that would give you 110.
But, there are lots of ways to run electricity, so yours might be different.

How many wires does a regular socket have in the house? Three or four?

Also, you could add another 110 block heater, and wire them in series. Hot wire to one heater, the other heater wire to one of the second heater wires, and the other hot wire to the other wire of the second heater.

Then each would get 110.
But, I'm sure you could buy a 220 heater for about the same as the 110, and just replace the one you have.

Check with the electrician about using one leg and the other one a ground. Or neutral, if you have four wires.

If you have four wires, then I would wire it so that one wire is hot, one is hooked to neutral, and the ground wire is hooked to the block.
That way, if the heater shorts out, it will trip the breaker, and not knock you down when you try to open the door.........

Actually, no matter how you do it, you need to see if you can hook a ground wire to the truck.
Getting hit with 220 is no fun. Beats 440, but when you are laying on the floor wondering why you are down there, its kind of an abstract distinction..........

 

[oakknight]

http://www.voltageconverters.com/voltage_converters.html
used to have to use these back in the 80s in germany.
rewire it back to original black to brass white to nickel. gound the block.

Have to figure out normal peak operating current of the block heater for sizing.