Block Heater working?

[Ramper]

I had a Kat's 11419 block heater installed in my daughter's 2009 Honda Fit by the auto shop at the school I teach before winter break. Over break it did not seem to work. I plugged it in to a Kill-a-watt tester and it read 0 watts. Then I tested the continuity between the two prongs on the three prong plug, no continuity. I brought the car back in and they "checked" it.
I tried the same two tests today and no watts on the meter, no ohms on a multimeter and no continuity.
Am I testing wrong? The car is in the garage (does the heater have a sensor to only work when cold?)

The shop teacher is leaving in a few weeks and I don't want to stress him if the heater works. The car is LOW and tough to get under, so I want to be sure it is not working

 

[65ranchero]

After doing cursory search , several things show up.
!) possible burn out if it was checked for operation out of liquid
2) a air pocket in the cooling system ( if the system was not purged see item 1
3) possible it was started with it plugged in causing the water pump to cavitate creating many bubbles in the coolant see item 1 ( though I doubt it)
4) there seems to be complaints that the unit failed
That unit does not have a thermostat ( ambient temp sensor)as far as I can see.

 

[u2slow]

No continuity on a heating element... it's toast. If it has a thermostatic device included, (that's inoperative) that can also be the source of no continuity.

 

[kbeefy]

Either a bad element or wire issue. I would say your testing is proper, thats what I would do.

They are pretty simple. I wouldn't normally expect it to fail so quickly, but things are pretty cheap these days.

Can you follow the cord to the heater? Maybe a rodent chewed the wire, or some ice buildup caused it to come unplugged.

 

[lilredex]

When I needed a block heater in 40 below weather, I'd plug it in for an hour or so and then touch the block.........if it was still stone cold, it ain't workin'.

 

[nadogail]

If the heater were plugged in and tested dry without a load to carry away the heat the test may have destroyed the heater.

 

[Stuart in MN]

A minute or so after plugging it in you can generally hear if the heater is working.

 

[Ramper]

I ordered a new one. School is going to install it. Any way to know if the unit was bad or ruined by running it dry?

 

[u2slow]

They're usually visibly burnt/damaged if run dry (overheated).

If it didn't work from new, it should still look like new.