# Probably a pretty stupid question



## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Do it, but don't latch the door all the way?


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## boraz (Aug 29, 2013)

many have done it with other cars.

just do some wraps of tape around the cord where the door press against it and to the sides of it to create a lip on either side of the cord like this










that way the 'wings' will take the force not the cord.


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## boraz (Aug 29, 2013)

you have the heat knob turned all the way to red?

electric heat doesnt work unless it is....

yeah, its not as good as a gasser in these situations, but ive found it good enough even in -40, start it, quick scrape of windows and off i go, never longer than 3 mins...yeah i start with gloves on, but before the end of 35km highway drive, theres abundant heat...it is way less humid here in bc/ab than there, maybe thats the difference.


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## justin13703 (May 2, 2016)

The electric heater in mine has always done a good job. By the time I pull out of my driveway, it's got heat. It won't be as hot as normal heat, but it does help.

As boraz said, your temp control knob has to be the whole way to the right to turn the electric heater on. If it's one notch off of full heat, it won't turn on.


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## CruzeDan (May 17, 2015)

I personally feel that the electronic heater causes the car to warm up faster than a gas car. I remote start mine and it usually has heat quickly. Along with all the way to the right with the heater knob, the vents must be set to Floor, or Floor/Defrost.


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## justin13703 (May 2, 2016)

CruzeDan said:


> I personally feel that the electronic heater causes the car to warm up faster than a gas car. I remote start mine and it usually has heat quickly. Along with all the way to the right with the heater knob, the vents must be set to Floor, or Floor/Defrost.


I thought I've gotten the electric heater to run with the selector on the dash vents before but I'm not sure. I'll have to double check.


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## boraz (Aug 29, 2013)

CruzeDan said:


> I personally feel that the electronic heater causes the car to warm up faster than a gas car. I remote start mine and it usually has heat quickly. Along with all the way to the right with the heater knob, the vents must be set to Floor, or Floor/Defrost.


gas car w/o block heater, sure.

gas car with block heater, no.


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## BigToe (Nov 5, 2016)

Thanks for all the feedback.. We haven't got those temps yet this season, but this is how it's been for the last 3 winters, so I'm getting prepared. Yes, dial turned all the way to red.. It works, just not that strong to warm things up in 10 to 20 minutes of idling in the driveway at -10c. I only drive a about a 13k commute to work, so things just don't get warmed up. Windows get a lot of moisture on the outside, not the inside, from frost / sublimation overnight, and will still be frozen when getting to work, coming home, and the next day and so on. I'm going to try the ceramic heater plugged in to 120v and see how it goes. It would be nice to get into a warm car in the morning and actually be able to roll down the windows..


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## Cruzator (Dec 31, 2014)

Yes, it works on vent.


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## boraz (Aug 29, 2013)

yeah low idle on a diesel isnt gonna get any heat regardless of how long you wait...you gotta make the engine work...im gonna guess the shutters are closed anyways, so a cold front isnt gonna do much.

driving for a bit in a gear down with work the motor more, but bye bye mpgs, and such a short drive.

youre a good candidate for the coolant heater another dude is trying out.


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## revjpeterson (Oct 2, 2013)

Another tip is only to run the fan on speed 4 or lower. If you run the fan on 5 or 6, it sucks the heat out of the electric heater faster than it can produce it, and you get a lot of barely-warmed air. If you run it down on 4, you will get warmer air, even if it isn't blowing that warm air as fast.


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## hbilow (Sep 17, 2016)

I have used a little ceramic heater like this before in a couple other vehicles. It had a tip-over switch on the bottom which I liked for the extra safety. I set it on the center console pointed forward, with a cord out the door. The cord was a 2-wire flat cord, and the weatherstrip in the doors had enough give that it didn't bother the cord. I had the extension cord plugged into a heavier-duty remote control for Christmas lights, and could switch it on from indoors while getting ready. 10-15 minutes was enough to do the job.


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## diesel (Jun 8, 2013)

Seems to me that you'd lose all the heat as soon as you opened the door.


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## hbilow (Sep 17, 2016)

diesel said:


> Seems to me that you'd lose all the heat as soon as you opened the door.


My purpose was to Defrost the windshield, not so much warm the interior. You are correct, it would take a decent size heater to actually warm the interior.


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