Coolant Heater Lower Grill Outlet

[Rick Blalock]

Got the pics!

Cord plugged in

Close up

 

[Rick Blalock]

Good stuff Rick! Well done, and I look fwd to seeing some pics. Sorry for (almost) misleading you! I was just going from memory, and figured it would be a little too tight.

Well it really was kind of a snug fit. The rebar is pushing the cord over to the side which is the main reason I had to take the hole out a little more so that I wouldn't have to spin the threads into the bumper itself... Overall I'm very happy with how it came out, I feel it looks better closer to the midline of the car instead of sticking out to one side of the car and its definitely more solidly mounted with super easy access by removing the lower grills.

 

[loiselle.m]

At first my dad told me not to mess with it because I'll end up with lots of problems...but then I found this thread and the OP used the same exact Marinco outlet my dad had laying around...so I decided I would to it anyways and I went with the same approach as Rick...beside the licence plate. It turned out well! But I ended up cutting a hole in the rebar behind the foam in the bumber. I wish I would've taken pictures along the way, but I just have some of the finished result.
The retaining clip is just squeezed behind the plastic part of the bumper and holds very, very well. I haven't put the 3 screws in yet...and I dont think I need them...but when I find some small enough screws I might put them in though. I then wired a female end to that Marinco outlet and put it through the rebar. So nothing is squished to tight behind there. That femal piece goes down to behind the lower drivers side grill, and connects to the Frostheater. Everything is tiewrapped together so you cant see anything; and it's very easy to access if I have to remove the bumber for some reason.
Needless to say, my dad was impressed, lol.
Looks basically the same as Rick's but here are pics anyways...

 

[Rick Blalock]

At first my dad told me not to mess with it because I'll end up with lots of problems...but then I found this thread and the OP used the same exact Marinco outlet my dad had laying around...so I decided I would to it anyways and I went with the same approach as Rick...beside the licence plate. It turned out well! But I ended up cutting a hole in the rebar behind the foam in the bumber. I wish I would've taken pictures along the way, but I just have some of the finished result.
The retaining clip is just squeezed behind the plastic part of the bumper and holds very, very well. I haven't put the 3 screws in yet...and I dont think I need them...but when I find some small enough screws I might put them in though. I then wired a female end to that Marinco outlet and put it through the rebar. So nothing is squished to tight behind there. That femal piece goes down to behind the lower drivers side grill, and connects to the Frostheater. Everything is tiewrapped together so you cant see anything; and it's very easy to access if I have to remove the bumber for some reason.
Needless to say, my dad was impressed, lol.
Looks basically the same as Rick's but here are pics anyways...

Congrats! Looks great! It has been proving to be a really great place to have the plug outlet mounted and I've enjoyed showing it off to my friends. The one minor issue I'm dealing with now is that the rubber on the door flap has gotten either softer or worn down a tiny bit where it fits inside on the plug. It makes the door flap want to pop open on its own very easily rather than stay closed snug. I temporarily fixed it by wrapping some black electrical tape around the inside of the door flap to thicken it but I'm going to need a more permanent solution especially before winter begins with all the salt and crap.

Rick

 

[loiselle.m]

Congrats! Looks great! It has been proving to be a really great place to have the plug outlet mounted and I've enjoyed showing it off to my friends. The one minor issue I'm dealing with now is that the rubber on the door flap has gotten either softer or worn down a tiny bit where it fits inside on the plug. It makes the door flap want to pop open on its own very easily rather than stay closed snug. I temporarily fixed it by wrapping some black electrical tape around the inside of the door flap to thicken it but I'm going to need a more permanent solution especially before winter begins with all the salt and crap.

Rick

Thanks! I'm glad it's been holding up. I've also noticed the rubber flap seems a bit flimsy, we'll see how it holds up this winter. If you figure something permanent out for the flap let me know.

Mat

 

[Louis_TDI]

Did this 2 months ago only tried it out yesterday. Oh it's so fun thanks for the idea fitzski

 

[eb2143]

Great mod, just did mine! Fitzski is right, 1 3/4'' hole saw provided perfect fit.
For those that can't get the Marinco locally, Amazon did the trick for me because they stock it so it's the free shipping on orders over $25

 

[MTjake]

I wish I had found this earlier. Really nice. Thanks!!!

 

[oEo]

The one minor issue I'm dealing with now is that the rubber on the door flap has gotten either softer or worn down a tiny bit where it fits inside on the plug. It makes the door flap want to pop open on its own very easily rather than stay closed snug. Rick

Well, it seems that's a common problem. Mine worked fine the first year, but this year it kept popping open. I used a rubber band and twisted it around the door flap, trying to keep it as flat as possible. It's working so far and its snug. Keeps the water out as well. Hard to believe the flap only stayed shut for a year!

 

[eb2143]

Oh well, I'll enjoy this winter and if anyone finds an alternative cap/cover, I'll be listening.

PS: The price of this thing is dropping like a rock. It's $13.50 at Amazon now. It was $17 last month on Amazon.

You could get this for $20 on Amazon; the cover does look better but no threads for extra bite:

Someone should try it.

 

[MPBsr]

For $4.95 I bought the cover from Frostheater.

Works great.

 

[T_D_I_POWER]

Oh well, I'll enjoy this winter and if anyone finds an alternative cap/cover, I'll be listening.

PS: The price of this thing is dropping like a rock. It's $13.50 at Amazon now. It was $17 last month on Amazon.

You could get this for $20 on Amazon; the cover does look better but no threads for extra bite:

Someone should try it.

This one looks like a Marinco

For $4.95 I bought the cover from Frostheater....

The above device gives you the factory look vs non-factory look....but almost 3 X more money.....

 

[eb2143]

That's not a Marinco, cap seats deeper and no threads. The company is Cordtec.

I like this mod for the OEM look, but also it should reduce stress on the Frostheater's cord around the plug. They are known for breaking right behind the plug; mine was beginning to separate so I'm glad it's secured and tucked away for good now.

 

[kjmiv]

Just installed the frostheater and now I find this. I guess I know what I'll be doing in the next few weeks. I really like how it looks.
I use an auto ejector at work. It works great about 95% of the time. The other times the pig tail goes for a little ride. I'd just unplug it at home to be sure and save the money.

 

[cevans]

I haven't liked having this in the side-grills very much, especially since the side-grills aren't too well held down. I admit I don't have the guts to drill into my own bumper, so, I've been thinking about alternatives.

What about drilling the license-plate holder? Thats soft, black plastic. The plate could remain there, over the holder. Have the top of the plate on a hinge so it can be tilted upwards, then the bottom held down magnetically. Behind everything hide this plug.

 

[daedalus]

I haven't liked having this in the side-grills very much, especially since the side-grills aren't too well held down.

Two tie wraps on the inboard side of the grille, secured to the center vertical support, will hold it in place solidly.

I'm still struggling with a way to mount the receptacle on the B5.5 outer grille. The solid portion of the grille is ideal - except - there is a structural member directly behind that area making it a no-go. I've been trying to find a way to remove the horizontal slats in the grille, replace them with a solid piece, them mount the receptacle on the new solid portion. No success so far so I'm still using the dangling cord method.

 

[eb2143]

What about drilling the license-plate holder? Thats soft, black plastic. The plate could remain there, over the holder. Have the top of the plate on a hinge so it can be tilted upwards, then the bottom held down magnetically. Behind everything hide this plug.

I like the license plate idea! But you're going to be drilling bumper once you get through the license-plate holder, right? I think that high-center part of the bumper has the foam/rebar right under it so you may not have room. I haven't looked at my car specifically for this but going off memory...

 

[cevans]

Well maybe not, there are already holes for the plate itself, perhaps I can get one to do double-duty.

Foam support on top would be an issue, though. I'm going to try this weekend.

 

[fitzski]

If you're concerned about the security of the lower grills, you can screw them in, just like the inserts for the Hella Micro DE lights. See the Hella install manual, images 12 to 17.

FWIW, I never had an issue with the grill falling/popping out, even when yanking the cord out of the Marinco outlet one-handed (or with my feet...).

 

[Farfromovin]

Fitzski, thanks for the idea to put this plug in the grille. I did it today and it worked well. Cutting that hole in the back of the grille is a real pain in the butt without a hole saw lol. I painfully dremeled away a bit at a time until I could screw the receptacle in there. It's pretty snug though. My extension cord has a hard time pushing on the plug for some odd reason. Maybe I need to replace it with a round headed one? Odd...

 

[arne487]

I went with a Marinco outlet, but since my lower grilles look like this:

I ran the cord to the rear bumper and installed it like this:

Closeup:


It's about as secure as you can get (I can yank pretty hard on it) and it's basically invisible when I'm not plugged in. In my opinion, it's a perfect location.

 

[Farfromovin]

Nice work Arne!

 

[NB_TDi]

Interesting location. I would be too concerned about the wiring getting damaged being under the car though. A short on 120V 15A isn't very forgiving. Of course we all have GFCI outlets now don't we

 

[OlyTDI]

This is a nice but expensive option as well.

http://www.drillspot.com/products/129207/Hubbell_HBL61CM65_Marine_Straight_Blade_Receptacle

 

[OlyTDI]

But wait! Check-out these options. Affordable!

http://www.stayonline.com/searchresult.aspx?categoryid=2919

There is a 15A gray and black versions. I may try one of these.

 

[rocketeer928]

I went with a Marinco outlet
Closeup:


It's about as secure as you can get (I can yank pretty hard on it) and it's basically invisible when I'm not plugged in. In my opinion, it's a perfect location.

Intriguing. As I went through this thread, I kept thinking that doing this would be a good idea, but ruin the look of the front of my car. Where exactly did you run and attach the cord from the Frost Heater in the front to your outlet in the back?

 

[arne487]

I originally thought about going in through the firewall and then dropping the cord down through a drilled hole in the spare wheel well, but I got lazy and ran it under the car instead. I zip tied the FrostHeater cord together and attached it to a secure point under the hood, then plugged it into a heavy duty outdoor extension cord and covered the connection in (probably too much) electrical tape. Then I cut off the other end of the cord and just followed the brake line to the rear of the car, zip tying along the way. I kept it inside of heat shielding wherever possible, especially around the tail pipe (after there's no more brake line to follow). The whole job took about an hour or so because I didn't bother putting it on ramps or jacking it up. I don't think there's any reason to worry about it being damaged, but maybe I'm a risk taker...

 

[superskid]

I just installed this in my car, but now I am thinking that I should put in a splitter and run an outlet to the inside of my car as well. Pretty sure I could get a small electric heater to come on at the same time as the frost heater and not trip the breaker. Any ideas on where I could route the cord inside my car, and where a good place to leave the other end inside the car would be?

Thanks,

 

[n8ronJ]

I need to install this mod. I nearly ripped my FrostHeater out last night and didn't know it. Stopped to eat and went to a couple stores only to notice that my cord was under the car. I pulled it all out and about 1 foot behind the plug the cord was shredded to pieces and only held by a few strands of wire. The lower grille must have gotten lodged into some snow and froze into it - the weather here has been brutal, especially last night. Thankfully I still had my lower grille too. Been trying to rewire the cord together today.

I will be buying the outlet soon.

 

[DumpInfo]

I know I'm bringing this thread out of the grave but had a few questions...

I'm aiming towards Arne's approach on the setup.

Will the car still have difficulties starting on after I'm done my day of work and it's been sitting outside in the cold for about 10 hours or so?

It'll be my first year with this car so I'm trying to prep the car quickly as I can so I don't run into any issues this winter!