To see if this custom-fit item will work for you please tell us what vehicle you'll use it with.
Your engine spent the night in freezing weather, but you still need to get moving. This Zerostart cartridge heater warms the engine block before startup, while a fascia-mounted inlet gives you a convenient place to plug in.
Your vehicle may have spent the night outside in freezing weather, but you still have to get to work, drop the kids off, or head out for the day. This 202-watt Zerostart heater warms the engine block before you turn the key, reducing cold-start strain and helping the engine reach operating temperature sooner. It's a practical way to prepare for winter mornings when you can't count on a warm garage.
This cartridge heater slides into a dedicated dry cavity in the engine block, transferring heat through the surrounding metal. Unlike a freeze-plug or threaded immersion heater, it doesn't sit directly in the coolant. You won't need to drain the cooling system or remove a freeze plug, which takes some of the work out of getting your vehicle ready for winter.
The heater fits select Toyota, Lexus, Scion, Pontiac, and Geo vehicles, but the correct cartridge location depends on the engine. Check the fit guide for your vehicle's year, model, and engine before beginning, then use the manufacturer's application information to locate the designated cavity. Clean away any debris, make sure the cartridge seats properly, and secure it according to the installation instructions. Don't force or modify the heater to make it fit.
With a typical engine heater, you often have a power cord tucked behind the grille or hanging somewhere near the front bumper. This kit gives you another option. The included fascia-mounted power inlet installs at the front or rear of your vehicle, providing a fixed place to connect your extension cord. You can open the flip cap, plug in your heater, and close the cap when you're finished. No reaching around behind the grille to find the cord on a freezing morning.
The cartridge heater may be installed toward the back of your engine, but your power connection needs to be where you can reach it. This kit includes a 16' harness, an 8' extension cord, and a 1-1/2' extension cord, giving you options for routing the connection between the heater and fascia-mounted inlet. You can plan the cord path around your engine compartment rather than relying on a short cord to reach the grille.
Use the included nylon ties to secure the wiring away from exhaust components, sharp edges, belts, and other moving parts. Leave enough slack for engine vibration, and keep the connections secure. The manufacturer also identifies replacement cord 3600150 and 8' extension 3600151 if those components ever need replacing.
Zerostart is a Phillips & Temro brand. You might recognize Phillips & Temro from original-equipment engine-heating applications even if the Zerostart name is unfamiliar. The company develops heaters for factory and aftermarket applications, including cartridge heaters made for specific engines. This complete kit brings together the heater, wiring, and front-mounted power connection so you can prepare your vehicle for winter use.
This heater installs in a designated dry cavity in the engine block. Coolant draining and freeze-plug removal are not required. Confirm the correct installation location for your specific engine before beginning. Clean the cavity and follow the manufacturer's instructions for seating and securing the cartridge. Do not force or modify the heater to make it fit an incorrect opening.
Choose a mounting location that provides convenient access to the inlet while keeping it clear of hot components, moving parts, and potential damage. Check the space behind the bumper, valance, or grille before making any mounting opening. Follow the manufacturer's mounting instructions, secure the inlet properly, and close the flip cap when the connection is not in use.
Never plug in the cartridge before it has been properly installed in the engine block. The heater relies on contact with the surrounding metal to transfer heat safely. Operating it outside its designated cavity can cause overheating, burns, or damage to the heating element. If electrical testing is needed, follow the manufacturer's approved procedure with the heater disconnected from power.
Connect the heater to a properly grounded 120V outlet. If an extension cord is needed, use a grounded 3-wire cord rated for outdoor use and the electrical load. Secure all wiring away from sharp edges, hot surfaces, and moving components. Inspect the connectors and cords for damage before use. Always unplug the heater before starting or driving your vehicle. Grasp the plugs rather than pulling on the cords when disconnecting power.
Videos are provided as a guide only. Refer to manufacturer installation instructions and specs for complete information.
Hey there, neighbors, Kevin here with etrailer and today we have our friends from Zerostart here. We have Ian and he's gonna be telling us a little bit more about their company and their product offerings. Thank you, Phillips and Temro, the company, Zerostart, the brand, 105 years old, headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In terms of the products we offer, the genesis of the company was anything to heat fluids, so block heaters. We have cartridge heaters, oil pan heaters. We just installed a cartridge heater this morning in one of the bays.
If you're driving a Toyota product, you'll use a cartridge-style heater. No need to bang out a frost plug or lose coolant. This goes into a dry hole in the casting of the engine and then you route the harness out through the front of the vehicle, plug it in, and it'll give you an efficient cold start in the morning. Basically anything to heat an engine in cold weather we manufacture, so immersion heating, cartridge heating. We have heat magnets that can go on the side of an engine or an oil pan that'll help heat, get the vehicle started in cold weather.
We have battery heaters, we have wraps that go around the battery heater. They can be thermostatically controlled. We also have silicone pad heaters that can sit underneath the battery, and supplementary heat, we have things like silicone pad heaters that will go on the bottom of an oil pan and that'll give you supplementary heat if you can install an immersion oil pan heater or a clamp-on heater. One other thing we offer for light duty and automotive applications is an interior car warmer. Very popular in places like Alaska, the Midwest or Canada.
It can be routed out through the grill of the car and plugged in at the same time you plug your block heater in. It'll keep snow off the car and keep frost off the windows so you have a quick start and the cabin will be warm when the person gets in the vehicle. All right, and we also have Vaughn here as well. Can you tell me a little bit more about our battery wraps and some of these other styles of heaters What would- Sure, so the battery wrap, this is actually a resistive-type heater. It wraps around the battery itself to bring the battery up to temperature.
In cold conditions, batteries lose a lot of cold cranking capability, so what you wanna do, because the cranking requirements of an engine go up in cold, the output of the battery goes down, so the idea is to keep the battery warm, allow that max capacity at really cold conditions so that you get the best startability possible. Now, I have had a little bit of experience with battery wraps. Is this one where I can overwrap it, kind of wrap around itself, or is this one where we would need to make it the exact size of that battery So you don't wanna overlap these. The big thing is, it's better to have it too short than too long. If you overwrap and you have take a chance of having heat retention and causing the resistive wire element to fail, so really what we'd rather do is have it a little short, have a little gap 'cause you're gonna get a lot of heat into that battery and still get that battery up to a nice warm startability temperature. So the other key is, is not using these in really warm weather. Heat is the killer of batteries, so you want 'em to maintain less than 95 degrees Fahrenheit on that battery temp, hence the reason a lot of the OEMs have relocated the batteries out of the engine compartment, or put 'em in their own separate container in the engine compartment to keep that temperature down so you can maintain that product life. So the silicone wrap is designed to go around a diesel fuel filter, a spin-on cartridge, a spin-on canister, metal filter only, not designed for plastic, and what this is designed to do, this can run off a 12, 24 or 120-volt, is to warm the fuel in the fuel filter so at initial start, you get warm fuel, you get that paraffin wax to re-solidify so it'll flow through the filter. So five, 10 minutes, 15 minutes before you start your truck, you turn this on, allow it to warm up, you got nice warm fuel, that paraffin wax re-solidified so it'll flow through the filter, not plug the filter up, so these are really slick for over-the-road trucks and larger engines. Well, that is gonna do it for our look at Zerostart's product line here, but if you still have questions, I know you probably still have some when it comes to fitment, we can definitely help you out. Definitely feel free to reach out to us via our Ask the Experts link, leave a comment on this video, or a phone call to our customer service department and we would be happy to help you out on your journey in keeping that engine nice and warm for ya, so that being said, thank you, Vaughn, thank you, Ian. Great to have you here. Thank you. Thank you for your knowledge and for helping pass it along to our neighbors. Glad to do it. Thank you.
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