Block heater

Can't help with OP's questions as I am scheduled to get my block heater installed on Monday 1/04/21 (reschedule from visit for 20E04 recall when they ordered the cable assembly but not the actual heater element) = after then maybe I can help!

Funny that the Block Heater for our F150 Diesels is same wattage (400W) as the ones I install on the 15-17HP 3-cylinder diesel tractors I own, which do make the block and radiator fluid pretty toasty (more than warm to the touch) but the one for our trucks has much less of the heating element coil exposed than the freeze-plug style ones for my tractors.

Guessing from my Thermodynamics class in college (that I have long since forgotten) that our 3.0L V6 is a "little bigger" block and triple the radiator fluid than my inline 3-cyl tractor engines being heated by that same 400W element...

Would be interesting to see what OP's actual temperature was via FORScan, as it sounds like XLT trim must be using analog gauge based on the "didn't even come off of the peg" comment. Ironic that the digital temperature is available to the ECM but must be converted back to voltage to move the analog gauge on XLTs...

@chiefdave - do you have an OBDii adapter and FORScan?

I installed a block heater in my 3.0 a couple months ago. Below are a couple pics taken during the installation.

Below is where the block heater is located on the left side of the block, and just below the EGR valve. This plug is removed for the block heater installation.


Below is a further back view of the left side of the engine from the wheel well (with the left wheel well liner removed). Note how buried the plug / block heater is.


Here's the block heater installed. Now, all that's left to do is refill the cooling system, and figure out how to plug the OEM wire harness into the block heater, and route the wires to and through the front bumper. It took a good bit of finagling to get the wire harness plugged into the block heater, and I ended up removing the front bumper to get the wire harness routed to the space just to the driver's side and behind the front license plate.

jmperlik, I was able to install the block heater without removing the alternator or any of the coolant tubes. I removed the wheel well liner for access to the left side of the block. And, removed the air cleaner assembly to get access to routing the wire harness. Once I had the wheel well liner off, I realized I might be able to install the block heater without removing the alternator, and without removing the coolant tube (that has that troublesome O-ring). In hindsight, I'm really glad I didn't remove the coolant tube.
I used a 14mm hex "socket" to remove the block plug, along with a 6" extension, universal joint, and another extension.
Then to install the block heater, I used a couple small pieces of disposable shop towel wedged between the block heater and the socket walls to keep the block heater from falling out of the socket The small pieces of paper towels were about the size of a dime, and I was careful to use small enough pieces to not interfere with the threads or O-ring seal of the block heater. And, used an extension, universal joint, and another extension to be able to tighten the block heater to the torque spec.
To get the wire harness plugged into the block heater, I learned by trial and error it helps to plug and unplug the wire a time or two prior to using an extended reach needle nose pliers to plug the wire into the installed block heater. Thinking about it now, I wonder if there's a socket the right size like an O2 sensor socket that would allow the block heater to be installed with the wire attached. But, would have to plan for 4 or 5 rotations of the block heater as its screwed into the block.
I didn't have the luxury of instructions regarding routing the OEM wire harness. I had a couple pictures of part of the harness routing, but no where near the entire route. The wire harness might be able to be installed without removing the front bumper if starting at the front bumper and snaking the small plug end (the end that plugs into the block heater) from the bumper to the block heater.
In my case, I ended up with the big plug end (the 110 V plug end) and had to snake that through the bumper. I suspect the recall to replace the block heater wiring didn't require removal of the front bumper. But, I was unable to find the technical details of the block heater recall - dratts!

@STIAJW - it's installed, but is was an unpleasant and atypical experience.

I showed up at 12:40 PM for a 1 PM appointment and managed to see the scheduled diesel tech before the 1PM start. He indicated he had never done a block heater install on a 3.0L PSD (I was not surprised since mine is the only one that returns to my dealership for service) and he warned me that he might not finish it that afternoon, as there were no documented "shop hours" for the install. I wasn't happy with this, as I had requested am 8 AM morning appointment and should have not accepted the 1 PM slot knowing there was no documented shop hours for the install, but the Service Scheduler assured me it would be done this afternoon. In addition to all of this, my Service Manager decided to "take the afternoon off" for the first full work day of 2021 and wasn't in his office when I arrived at 12:40 PM.

I wander at lot while waiting at the dealership, much to the dismay of most working there. I can see the outside service garage door from where I sit in the Service waiting area and I know that the diesel tech didn't pull my vehicle inside the service bay until 1:40 PM. About a half hour later, the diesel tech came into the Service waiting area asking me if I had any documentation on how the cable is supposed to be routed! He said there is absolutely zero documentation anywhere that he could find, so I pointed him to your instructions in this thread, along w/pointing him to 18S45 as you suggested.

Coupling the late start along with the lack of install documentation, I began to fear this install might be going south and without my Service Manager around, that I was about to rack up a lot of shop hours for a job that was supposed to done in conjunction with my 20E04 recall in order to save shop hours = Block heater is right near the EGR cooler assembly that is removed as part of 20E04. I was hoping for a break on shop hours for the Block Heater install, since it was the dealership's fault for not having the Block heater element in stock, after explicitly asking the Parts Manager to order both the element and the cable assembly prior to my 20E04.

Thankfully I saw my truck leave the service bay at around 3:30 PM for a test drive to ensure no coolant leaks. My truck was parked back in the lot by 3:40PM and a few minutes before 4:00 PM, I was told my truck was ready. The Service scheduler (not a service advisor) was handling my paperwork and quickly shuffled my paperwork over to the receptionist for me to pay without letting me see the RO. I asked how many shop hours I was being billed for, and he told me: 3.0 hours

I wasn't too happy because it should have been more like 2.0 hours (based on truck in/truck out time) maybe 2.5 at the most, plus all of this was extra work since they dropped-the-ball on having all of the parts available during 20E04. With my Service Manager out for the afternoon, I could only get a 15% mark-down on parts and labor on the 3.0 hours.

Didn't go as planned, but it is done = Lesson learned! Happy with the work, but not happy with what I was charged, based on how much time was truck was actually inside the service bay.

I realized today I have not shared several pictures taken during installation of the electrical cord for the block heater. And, I've come across several illustrations from Ford that may help with installation of the block heater cord.
Perhaps this additional information may be of some help. Starting with the front of the truck with the intent to fish the block heater cord starting with the block heater end of the cord at the front of the truck (I learned this the hard way).

The front license plate bracket can be removed by spreading the clips:


The front bumper trim piece on the driver's side is removed:


The block heater cord plug end after installation.



With the bumper removed, this is how I routed the BH cord. I had to remove the front bumper to get the plug end of the cord routed through this small space (because I started installing the BH cord at the engine block end).


The route I used for the BH cord. The large frame is the left side front to rear main frame, with the left side toward the front of the truck. The left end of the cord goes to the 120V plug end of the BH cord. The red knob at the top center is the radiator drain.


Routing the BH cord under the crossmember on the left side of the left front-to-back frame (ahead of the front wheel). This is looking toward the rear of the truck from the far front of the left wheel well (with the wheel well liner removed). This is how I routed the BH cord - but may not be the route intended by Ford. See the next image for routing above the transverse frame member.


I found this Ford image recently. This is looking toward the left front of the engine bay (as if the engine is removed) in the info for recall 18S45 posted here: RCMN-18V894-0685.pdf (nhtsa.gov) . This shows the BH cord routed on top of left front-to-rear frame member. Also, note this appears to show an earlier version of the BH cord with a connector in the cord. I wish I had found this image when I installed the block heater a year ago.


Another Ford illustration in the 18S45 recall info. This appears to show the route for the BH cord on the front left side of the engine.


Closer to the BH.


The cord plugged into the BH.


Hope these pictures and images help. For me, they still leave me scratching my head. I know my BH installation is not quite what Ford planned - but it works.