rwtomkins

I sometimes hear about an odour filter, too. Is this just the pollen filter under another name?

Do you mean the rear aircon unit, nimrod? The jammy so-and-so evidently has dual aircon.

An interesting question but based on what I have learned from this forum there would be more danger of a fault arising from using the aircon too little than from using it too much.

For the benefit of those who can't be bothered to do the translation, it seems he rigged up a new circuit that enabled him to override the ambient temperature sensor with a rocker switch that he installed in the instrument panel. Nice trick if you can pull it off...

For the benefit of us non-German speakers, nimrod, what did he do? Stick the vehicle in a giant fridge??

Well yes but the test only starts to deliver results when the outside temperature is 18 degrees C or above. At the low outside temperatures you experienced, the aircon wouldn't need to be doing much work to produce the output temperatures you cite! Note that at an outside temperature of 35 degrees celsius, the aircon if functioning properly is supposed to be reducing the air temperature by around 30 degrees C on full blast - an incredible achievement! Mind you, I've just noticed the test doesn't say whether the aircon should be on recycle or fresh air.

I suspect MrT's right. I have an aux heater - correctly named a booster heater, if I recall - and you would certainly not expect it to kick in at this time of year unless you live somewhere very cold indeed. As far as I know there's absolutely no way of manually overriding it to try and force it into operation, so the only way you'll know whether it works or not is to wait until the winter.

Many thanks, that's very interesting. Now I've got a probe, I think I'm going to get paranoid too. Wonder if there's a way of rigging it permanently in position so you can get a constant read-out? Given the well-known problems, maybe it should have been fitted as standard equipment!

Just a note of caution - the silver calcium battery which I believe is now fitted as standard on the Gal can't easily be charged by a charger designed for conventional lead acid batteries. There was a thread on this a while ago: http://www.fordgalaxy.org.uk/Forum/index.p...wtopic=1504&hl=

Gazza007, ages ago you posted this: So that I can monitor my air-con performance I rang round several SEAT dealerships with various results. Eventually I managed to get a chart faxed to me with the recomended temps and test instructions. Make sure Vehicle is out of sunlight. Set blower to No 4 and dial to coolest. Close all vents apart from centre 2 face vents. Run the Engine at 2000rpm. Insert thermometer in left centre vent and engage AC. Temps should be in following range. Ambient temp Output temp 18 8-12 20 7-11 25 6-10 30 5-9 35 4.5-8.5 For the benefit of those of us testing our Gals, can you (or any other Seat owners)say roughly what level of airflow is delivered by blower setting number 4 is on the Seat? I was testing the aircon on my Gal at the weekend with my new Maplins gizmo and it looks OK but the blower setting does make a significant difference - not surprisingly, if you put the blower on full blast, you get much more airflow but the air temperature is not as cool as on lower blower settings. So is number 4 setting full blast, pretty fast, sort of middling, or what? Any guidance appreciated.

Thanks, Dally, had a look at the Maplins website and it looks just right. OK, so it's

Er, with the greatest possible respect, Phillevy, and welcome to the group, wouldn't it have made a bit more sense to be sure of what you were getting BEFORE you bought the car rather than while awaiting delivery? I can't see the point in obsessing about it now, unless you have the means to cancel the purchase. As it is, you'll find out what you've got, soon enough. Sorry but somebody had to say it.

like someone else said on another thread the other day, i don't really feel the a/c is up to the job. with all that glass, the gal is like a greenhouse and you need a really powerful a/c. alternatively, i wonder if the a/c is working properly? can anyone recommend a good thermometer for testing the air temp coming out of the vents, and suggest where i can buy one?

i'm guessing but i think it's a clever cosmetic device: you can't clean to the edge of the glass on many of the interior windows and if the black dots weren't there, a dirty smeary mess would be visible around the edge from the outside. don't know how you get them off but you can feel them on the interior glass surface so possibly they would succumb to scraping.

yesterday morning my aux heater kicked in in an ambient (ie outdoor) temperature of 13 degrees C. is this a record?

so, nikpV, in your experience, when they replace the cluster do you start again with zero mileage or do they set the clock on the new cluster at the same mileage as the one on the old cluster? just curious, really. sorry to hear your wife's been a bit unwell. when everything's back to normal and you've had a chance to sort out the fuel gauge problem, would be very grateful for any more info you can give us about this.

sorry, re-reading the previous page it seems millers IS approved by VW which means it's definitely ok. however ford SD 5W40 is also approved by VW and it's cheaper. if the ford dealer doesn't stock it i'd have thought it would still be cheaper and easier to have him order it in than obtaining millers by mail order. but hey, whatever floats your boat, and besides, i'm starting to sound like a ford rep...

i've never understood this preference for millers. why not just use the Ford SD 5W40 specified in the manual? for most people it's much easier to obtain and it's also cheaper. i've never read anything suggesting millers is superior to the ford product and if we're not even sure it's been approved, why take a chance?

it is confusing for those who don't know how the system works but the point is only you can see your own warning squares, no one else can, and you can't see anyone else's. if your squares are red, you've been very naughty and you're in big trouble, but if they're nice and pink like everyone else's, you've been very good and can have a sweetie

seems i've caught this disease, too. my tank's a quarter full but when i fired up the engine y'day the fuel gauge read approx zero and the message lit up telling me to refuel. this is on a low-mileage 52. what gets replaced when they replace the instrument cluster? please don't tell me you lose your recorded mileage etc.

i can't hear mine at all from inside the car - the only way i know it's come on is when i hear the fuel pump start ticking. but you can certainly hear it when you switch off the engine and get out of the car. it sounds like a jet engine winding down. if you can hear yours from inside the car with the engine running, i don't think that's normal.

just for the record, though, a US pint is only 16 fl oz whereas a UK pint is of course 20 fl oz. AND you have to give the barman a $1 tip if you don't want him to spit in it.

johnb80, are you sure that's technically correct? according to previous threads, the aircon operates all the time at temperatures above IIRC 4 degrees celsius, even when the heater's on, in order to dehumidify

we-e-ll, to be fair, how many of us leave our fridge doors open to keep the kitchen cool while driving them at 100mph down the autobahn?

now now, leave the poor lad alone. sounds to me like he's got the best of both worlds. i've got an oil burner and i'd be the first to admit they're all torque and no action.