Need my block heater replaced

[ricosuave]

97 Jetta 1.9 IDI (AAZ engine code)

checked the cord resistance and voltage when unhooked - ok

resistance bad when hooked up to block heater

i understand the cooling needs to be drained.

any idea on who can do this reasonably?

rico

[Zero102]

What do you mean resistance bad when hooked up?...
Last time I checked resistance was measured in ohms, not good/bad.

Okay, with cord unhooked, you should get no connectivity across the terminals of the cord. With it connected, you should get maybe 15 ohms.
There should be no voltage at the end of the cord with it unhooked.
Unless, of course, if you're testing this while plugged in, which if that is the case, you should NEVER test resistance on a live circuit.

And yes, the coolant needs to be drained, or else you will drain it when you remove the block heater..

[ricosuave]

when i tested the resistance on the cord alone (not hooked up to the block heater) it read 0. (good) i also checked the voltage by plugging it in and checking the block heater end.

when the cord is attached to the block heater, and the resistance is checked across the two power prongs on the cord, the meter reads infinite. (bad)

and it wasnt plugged in when checking the resistance. but for the voltage, it had to be, didnt it?

rico

[Zero102]

That's correct, I just wanted to be clear, that a meter set to measure resistance will fry if you apply a potential difference to it.

Okay, I'm presuming you had both ends of the block heater cord, and were metering out each wire one at a time. That's the only way you should see 0 ohms.

Infinite resistance across the heater would indicate a bad heater. Try checking it at the terminals on the heater itself. It sounds like there's a chance it's just a bad connection?...


If the heater itself is bad, most any shop should be able to replace it. For working on VW's, I prefer acclaimed automotive, I've taken a couple german cars there and I rather like them, but that is strictly personal preference.

[ricosuave]

ttt