2002 Block heater cord mystery part

[saskapath]

I found that the block heater cord in my 2002 had become disconnected from the actual block heater. I'm planning on dropping the front differential to re-install it and thought I may as well put a brand new cord in rather than use the old one. However the old cord has a moulded "module" about half way along it's length. From the grill and AC plug it's that typical 3 conductor PvC insulated flat cable. That cable enters into this moulded part which is about 3 inches long by an inch and a bit wide by about 3/4 of an inch high. Another cable exits this blob and has the connector which attaches to the heater element. Does anyone know what if any purpose this mystery module has?

Thanks

[Buzzman]

Hmmmm, interesting.
I'll have to take a look under the hood to see if mine's the same.

[saskapath]

Just a quick update on this one. The block in the middle of the cord seems to provide a transition between the usual cheap PVC insulated cable on the supply side to some high temperature wire on the load side. The section of cable between the heater and the block is wrapped in a heat resistant covering and I think the actual wire insulation is for high temps. Makes sense when you see the block heater connection very close to the exhaust manifold. It's unfortunate that one has to drop the differential out of the vehicle to do anything with the heater or cord.

[GRNMACHINE]

I purchased a block heater many years ago, and never installed it for that reason.

[saskapath]

Dropping the diff wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. It took the better part of a day but it was actually pretty straight forward. In the process I discovered that the little vent line from the differential was disconnected, it looks like it had been that way for a long time. All fixed now.