Aux Heater Problems

[DaveM]

Hello all, new member just joined and needs advice. i've got a 1999 2.8 V6 Ghia X

 

My Aux heater has packed up after/during the annual service at a local ford dealer, (Strange that it was functioning perfectly well before the service but when I picked it up it sounded like it was going to explode !).

 

They offered to book it in another day to repair it. they said it was a heater that heated the AIR up during cold starts and mumbled on about it being something to do with the fuel mixture ! The bloke clearly didn't know what he was talking about so I declined the offer and phoned around a couple of garages.

 

with the help of these garages and this forum, I now know what the aux heater actually does.

 

The aux heater continued to scream for a week, now it has seized up all together, (well it's now silent)

 

The advice from the two garages, (one a different ford dealership), was, "it doesn't do much, so save yourself a +500 quid repair bill and forget about it"

 

Can anybody out there confirm that by leaving the aux heater seized up, i'm not damaging something in the long term ? for the hassle of it taking a little longer to warm up in the mornings, i'd rather save the +500 quid

 

cheers, (great site by the way)

[Dave-G]

:huh: Well, bear in mind that I'm cornish . . .and I've never had a petrol shalaxy, BUT I was under the impression that the aux. heater was fitted to DIESEL variants 'cos they're so fuel efficient that there i'snt enough waste heat generated by the engine to warm the water that provides internal heating in a reasonable amount of time. what this boils down to is: I dint think the petrol's had them :D

[johnb80]

Hi,

I would agree with Dave-G I thought it was a diesel only thing and the thought of running one of these things on petrol makes me shudder, visions of the scene from 101 dalmations when the two baddies in the Transit turn the heater on !!!

 

Other than that I would take it pack to the people that broke it, you have a better legal position then if needed.

 

Regards - JB

[Guest Andyjflet]

Now I am no expert on these things but I was under the impression also that the Aux heater which sounds like a jet engine from the nearside of your diesel galaxy (underneath) was a booster heater for the engine to enable the exhaust gasses etc to get uo to temperature.

They are not fitted to petrol varients, however do you mean the rear heater for the rear compartment, this has a dial above the front passengers headrest which runs a heater for people with cold tootsies in the back ?

 

Which do you mean ?

[Fordy]

There seems to be some confusion when referring to the auxiliary heater. According to my handbook dated 04/2003, which was supplied with the car, on page 76 it clearly says 'Booster heater (diesel only) not to be confused with the additional heater' which on page 74 says 'Additional heating sytem (auxiliary heater)' and the control for this is in the digital clock. Basically, no digital clock, no auxiliary heater. Some earlier models have a digital clock but no auxiliary heater.

So, according to my handbook, the "old jet engine thingy" on the diesels is the BOOSTER heater NOT auxiliary heater.

Regards, Fordy

[Richmond]

I have a 2002 V6. There's no aux heater and no mention of one in the handbook so far as I know. The heating system provides adequate warm air very quickly after starting (does the air con rely on heat from the engine to warm up the air?).

[johnb80]

>>(does the air con rely on heat from the engine to wam up the air?). <<

 

The climate control and the aircon both rely on heat from the engine's cooling system to provide warm air. As far as I know there arn't any vehicles that run 'heat pumps' (aircon in reverse) to provide warm air.

 

Regards - JB

[Fordy]

As I have said previously I have owned 3 Galaxys - all from new and supplied with the genuine handbook. The last 2 have been diesels (reg December 2000 and September 2003) and both handbooks refer to Auxiliary heaters and Booster heaters. The auxiliary heater also has a second battery, and is intended for extremely cold climates. I believe that it comes optional in these countries. I have never seen the option available on a vehicle built solely for the British market unless it is packaged with some other option. Does anyone know? I would guess that if you have it, the car was intended for other markets than British. The handbook also refers to the heater in the rear passenger side wall as "the auxiliary rear heating system" and this is nothing to do with the aux heater controlled by buttons in the digital clock.

 

One thing seems certain, the BOOSTER heater is on DIESELS ONLY.

 

I have to add that the Galaxy handbook is the worst Ford handbook that I have encountered in the many Ford cars that I have owned. It is not entirely clear and ambiguous in many cases, but it is getting better. Must be something to do with the VW connection. Can't comment on anything but the Galaxy version of this great car.

Regards Fordy.

[Dally]

I'm not sure what these heaters are called but on petrol variants there is the additional rear compartment heater locating in the side NSR cowling. This has separate controls above the NSR passenger door and is independent from the from the front heating system though does use hot water(coolant) from the main system to provide the heat energy.

 

With Dual AirCon , which all V6's have had since the face lift (not sure about your 1999 2.8 V6 Ghia X) this rear compartment heater is integrated and controlled by the climatronic system at the front. However, it does have the engine coolant and refridgerant piped to heat exchangers in that rear cavity and there is a separate blower also - hence dual air con system.

 

If the rear blower has seized in the former scenario, it will have little impact on the rest of the vehicle other than the poor control of temperature. However, in the latter scenario, in theory there should be no real threat but as it is linked with the climatronic system, I fear that the front system may get 'overworked' if the rear one isn't working because it will have to work harder to cool or heat the vehicle. this is probably more true of cooling as opposed to heating as the aircon heat exchanger will have been divided for front and rear and sized accordingly.

[Richmond]

When I bought a full length rubber mat for the back of my 2002 Galaxy V6 the other day, the bloke at The Roof Box Co warned me that one of his customers with a V6 had returned the mat as it covered some vents in the floor between the 2nd and 3rd row of seats. Are these the aux heater vents? I didn't know what he was talking about.

 

I have dual a/c and no vents in the floor (unless the carpet covers them!); the only vents in the rear are in the roof above the front row seat backs (-ish).

[DaveM]

This is weird.

 

thanks for all the replies, but there's still some confusion in what heater went faulty in the first place.

 

Yes it's a V6 ghia X with full climate control, (front and rear controlled via the digital display in the front). But both front and rear are working perfectly.

 

It definately is a pump/fan/system that compares to the system you all describe exists in the deisel only.

 

On cold starts, the pump/turbine like whoosh starts up and shuts down after a couple of minutes, it also kicks in when the engine is switched off, running on for 30 seconds or so to, I assume, disperce heat, as you can feel a warm blast round your ankles when you step out of the car.

 

it certainly sounds impressive and turns a few heads !

 

My car does seem to be a 'one off' though. it was ford owned by a dealership manager in coventry for 12 months before i brought it. It has some non standard bits on it, like electric sunroof and full climate control !. it also has double rear electric quarter light windows and floor vents as opposed to ceiling vents.

 

confused ?..... i am !

[Guest siroccoman]

Hi, quote from FORD techical service manual:

Booster Heater

 

Owing to the high efficiency of the 1.9L diesel engine, at low temperatures, there is insufficient waste heat available for the heater.

 

For this reason a booster heater is installed to increase the coolant temperature so that the air in the heater is heated up sufficiently.

 

The highest output of the booster heater is 5 kW and the lowest 1.5 kW.

 

A fuel pump attached to the fuel tank absorbs diesel from a separate fuel line and pumps it into the evaporator section of the combustion chamber.

 

The exhaust gases are discharged into the outside air by means of a separate exhaust system.

 

An amount of smoke during the start of the fuel fired heater is typical and a part of the normal combustion process.

 

The system is automatically activated when the engine is running (signal D+ from the generator is active) and when the ambient temperature is lower than 5

[Fordy]

Hi Richmond, I wonder whether he was getting confused about the vents in the floor between the first and second rows of seats, they are at the back of the gear lever console as you probably know. I have put the Ford rubber mats on top of the supplied carpet mats (in Ghia) and keep them pulled back from the vents.They don't seem to be a problem then.

Cheers, Fordy :angry:

[DaveM]

yes, i have a 2.8 V6 petrol, and yes i've got all the gubbings, or bits and pieces underneath that resemble the aux heater described in deisel versions and within this chat room, i'm beginning to wonder whether i should get the digi camera out to proove to you guys that it exists on a petrol motor !

[Tigger]

Wonder if they put them on all cars but the petrol don't use them? Must burn differant for petrol surely.

[william]

The aux heater (or independant heater) is made by 2 different companies in Europe - both German - Eberspacher and Webasto (there are versions from Japan but these are not as popular). These heater have been used for many year on trucks/buses/boats etc and come in BOTH diesel and petrol versions. They are also come in air or water heater versions from 2 kW up to 30 kW.

 

 

I think the earlier models used Webasto heaters and the later versions are Eberspacher. If you try the different web sites you should find a local dealer that know a little more about these heaters than a Ford dealer.

[Richmond]

Hi Richmond, I wonder whether he was getting confused about the vents in the floor between the first and second rows of seats, they are at the back of the gear lever console as you probably know. I have put the Ford rubber mats on top of the supplied carpet mats (in Ghia) and keep them pulled back from the vents.They don't seem to be a problem then.

Cheers, Fordy :angry:

Possibly, but

 

i) he seems to know what he is talking about in general, and he was quite clear that the vents were on the floor between the 2nd and 3rd rows; and

ii) the mat leaves an uncovered arc immediately behind the gear lever console. I was puzzled, as it fits well elsewhere; I don't have vents there.

 

I have a row of 3 vents in the headlining to deliver air to the 2nd row of seats and another row of 2 vents further back in the headlining to deliver air to the 3rd row of seats. That's the lot (in the back). The vents can be individually opened or shut; temp control is from the aircon panel in the front; the rear temp can be set up to 3 degs C different from the front temp (it's dual air con, waste of money so far as I can see).

 

All this is of no particular consequence, but it's interesting that Ford/VW/SEAT seem unable to fix on one design of anything for more than 10 mins at a stretch

[wiggybn]

Regarding floor vents, my late 95 Sharan Carat with dual aircon has some vents just behind the handbrake lever, in the rear facing "wall"" of the slightly raised plinth that the handbrake is mounted on.