Aux Heater ?

[widu13]

...and for the price of a new glow plug...New heater unit

 

Just saw mine working for the first time yesterday..whoopee!

[Jeff115]

I noticed that if I just start the engine that sometimes it does not start, I give it a good rev and the alternator charge rate must rise because that starts it!

 

I tried this, MM, but booster again did not fire up until I had travelled half a mile or so. I suspect that it might be due to the movement / pumping of coolant past the coolant temperature sensor located in the heater. However it's only a minor issue.

 

Thx,

J.

[burundi]

Having read every post on this thread with a sense of dread because I thought it seemed my Shaz was too old to have a booster heater or if it did it there was no chance it was going to be a working one, I decided to get under her last night and had a nosy after my journey home from work.

 

Sure enough there was a booster heater, right where it should be, and even more surprising the thing seemed to be working (I presume a hot exhaust on it means it's working?!?)

 

It's a 96, P Reg'd Sharan GL.

[Masked Marauder]

If it is working full blast (it has two heat settings) then the exhaust will be too hot to touch.

 

But the best sign it is all working is the whistling continues for a few seconds when you take the keys out!

[burundi]

If it is working full blast (it has two heat settings) then the exhaust will be too hot to touch.

 

But the best sign it is all working is the whistling continues for a few seconds when you take the keys out!

It was definitely too hot to touch, I tapped it and decided that straight away :blink:

 

It was very faint but it was certainly spinning away for a bit after I pulled the keys out.

 

TBH I really didn't hear it at all whilst driving, it's hard to hear much over the noise of the engine and all the creaking and rattling though :/

[Guest lablover]

I'm so glad I have found this website - Thank You! I now know why my Galaxy has sounded like it was going to take off... I've been really worried that there was something else wrong with it (apart from the kn_c_ered a/c and alternator!). Hoorah! Something works! :)

[Bigjeeze]

Well my Gal had a non performing Aux Heater - SO after reading all the posts on here I went off and ordered a new glow plug from VW -

[GSMGuy]

Glad you are sorted m8 - My pain was not for nothing lololol!!!

 

 

Mike

[pete white]

after being taken aback by the amount of knowledge of some of you guys on this subject., heres my problem - my sharan has done 50 miles less than what it normally does this week. is this due to the aux heater running for longer due to the cold weather, or is it a faulty fuel gauge/sender unit. the reason i mention the fuel gauge is that a couple of days ago had the vehicle serviced, (not by the stealers) filled the tank couple of hours later the needle dropped right to empty and refuel light came on. anyhow after letting car settle down the needle slowly came back up to where i thought it originally was. needle has been ok since but i am about 50 miles short on what i should have got. any ideas? in the mornings i start the sharan up put heaters on full including rear one and let it idle whilst i scrape off the ice. does this help

[NikpV]

The fuel gauge problem is a known fault at least for early new shape galaxies ours needed a new instrument cluster and fuel level sender to cure after much argument a year out of warranty with Ford, I would think the extra fuel consumed would be due to the aux heater although I thought it cut out when the coolant temp was high enough so it shouldn't run for that long, Having said that I have noticed that it kept running long after the coolant temp was high, subsequent restarts did not restart the heater.

[Ogben Schmutzel]

... my sharan has done 50 miles less than what it normally does this week

Juba,

 

On what basis are you saying that you have done 50 miles less?

 

Oggy.

[Jeff115]

although I thought it cut out when the coolant temp was high enough so it shouldn't run for that long,  Having said that I have noticed that it kept running long after the coolant temp was high, subsequent restarts did not restart the heater.

Hi NikpV,

 

There are a few different 'modes' of booster heater operation - if on engine switch-on the ambient ari temp is less than 10 degrees C and coolant temp is less that 75 degreees C the booster heater will operate at full output (3 or 5 KW depending on heater model);

 

Then assuming ambient temp still < 10 degrees and

 

if coolant reaches 85 degrees C => heater operates in part load (half output)

 

if coolant temp drops again to less than 78 degrees => heater operates again at full output

 

if coolant temp reaches 88 degrees C then heater goes into run-on phase and turns off after approx. 100 secs.

 

So it's not just a simple paraffin heater :lol:

Regards,

J.

[Bigjeeze]

... my sharan has done 50 miles less than what it normally does this week

Juba,

 

On what basis are you saying that you have done 50 miles less?

 

Oggy.

 

 

I think Juba means that the car did 50miles to the tankful than normal.

 

Which seems rather a lot to lose because of the heater.

 

What do you guys think? :lol:

[GSMGuy]

IMHO, you can lose 50 miles easily to congestion and roadworks... Also, it depends on whether you work on mileage or Poundage (

[pete white]

sorry for not making myself clear, i got 50 miles less for the amount i put in. i put 55 quid in and expected 485 miles as i get 90 miles to a tenner normally. when i put 55 quid in, the price of diesel was a couple of pence cheaper as well. i drive an sharan 02 plate. could the aux heater be running a bit rich on fuel?

[widu13]

Not if there's no smoke. I had an Eberspacher heater on my motorhome and they're not as frugal as is claimed. A loss of 50 miles is acceptable.

 

Once then cabin is up to temp, I have found that if I switch off the rear heater, then the aux runs down as the extra heat isn't being stolen by the rear heater.

[Masked Marauder]

The 3KWh booster heater uses 0.38 of a litre of fuel an hour on high setting and 0.19 of a litre on low heat.

 

I have no idea what the 5KWh uses, but at a guess 0.63 of a litre an hour at high output and 0.31 of a litre at low setting.

 

So to use about a gallon of diesel on high output with a 5KWh heater would be about 7hours 25 minutes of running time.

[Ogben Schmutzel]

Agree with GSM in that doing 50 miles less on a 'tank full' or 'wallet full' :D is a very coarse measure. As well as conditions and driving style, the weather has been very cold which could also be a factor affecting fuel consumption.

 

Although the Aux Heater uses fuel could there be payback in that the coolant reaches operating temperature quicker, or does that not have much effect on the real operating temperature of the engine?

 

Cheers.

Oggy.

[GSMGuy]

The only TRUE and ACCURATE way to measure mpg is the old "brim to brim" one - Simply fill your Gal right to the brim - remember to press the vent valve with the filler nozzle, as you can get a good 5l extra in, then do a bit of mileage, prob best to do 3 or 400, and simply brim it again, convert fuel used into gallons by dividing by 4.54 and then divide the miles covered by the gallons... simple and VERY accurate. It will also show how cr@p the trip computer is for average mpg!

 

Mike

[katman]

The only TRUE and ACCURATE way to measure mpg is the old "brim to brim" one - Simply fill your Gal right to the brim -

 

simple and VERY accurate.

If possible use the same pump every time you fill up and also average over several tankfuls.

 

I used to accurately monitor fuel consumption of my old PUG 309 and although I tried to use the same pump every time it wasnt always possible.

 

My spreadsheet calculated the MPG for each tankful and also showed a running average over the last 10 tankfuls.

 

Running average was always between 52 and 54 mpg but individual tankfuls would sometimes be anywhere between 43 and 62 mpg which I put down to different pumps cutting out at differing levels as the car was basically doing the same 105 mile round trip every day.

 

Regards

 

Keith

[GSMGuy]

Running average was always between 52 and 54 mpg but individual tankfuls would sometimes be anywhere between 43 and 62 mpg which I put down to different pumps cutting out at differing levels

Which is why I suggest holding down the vent and actually filling right to the brim...

 

Also Keith, maybe you'd like to share your spreadsheet??

 

Mike

[katman]

Running average was always between 52 and 54 mpg but individual tankfuls would sometimes be anywhere between 43 and 62 mpg which I put down to different pumps cutting out at differing levels

Which is why I suggest holding down the vent and actually filling right to the brim...

 

Also Keith, maybe you'd like to share your spreadsheet??

 

Mike

OK. Here goes.

 

I have edited my existing spreadsheet as there was stuff in there that wasnt for sharing :D

 

Using the spreadsheet.

 

The top section shows the following information

 

Min and Max price paid per litre of fuel

Min and Max MPG for an individual tankful of fuel

Min and Max MPG averaged over 10 tankfuls of fuel

Estimated Min and Max cost for fuel in a year based on the mileage you enter into B4

Mileage remaining until next service based on Service Due mileage entered into B5

 

The Info about next service changes colour as a service approaches.

 

Mileage in Column B also highlights when a service is getting close or overdue.

 

Row 8 of the spreadsheed only needs the dat and mileage when you START using the spreadsheet. You should start with a full tank of fuel and to obtain meaningful results from this spreadsheet you need to ensure that you fill up completely.

 

If for some reason you cant fill the tank eg Lack of money! then it wont affect the overall results as the averaging will take care of that once you return to full tanks but a couple of the reading will vary quite a bit from your average.

 

ONLY CHANGE THE DATA IN COLUMNS A-D

 

DO **NOT** CHANGE COLUMNS E-J or you will break the formulae !!!!

 

Column A - Enter the date you fill up in dd/mm/yyyy format

Column B - Enter the mileage

Column C - Enter the cost of fuel in Pence per Litre

Column D - Enter the number of litres

 

Spreadsheet will calculate the following for you

 

Column E - cost of that tankful

Column F - distance travelled since last fillup

Column G - MPG for that tankful

Column H - MPG averaged over last 10 fillups

Column I - Average fuel price over last 10 fillups

Column J - Estimated annual cost at current average price/MPG based on the mileage you enter into B4

 

I have left some data in the spreadsheet in

 

A8-B8

A9-D9 through to A24-D24

 

just to show how it looks. You can safely delete or just overtype that info.

 

Hope the above makes sense and that someone finds it useful :D

 

Regards

 

Keith

Fuelcost2.zip

[Galaxy Man]

 

 

 

 

I believe that you can get a service kit incl. the gaskets bolts and screws from VW or Ford for only a few quid so I'd recommend this if you're already going to buy a new glow plug.

 

 

Regards,

Jeff.

I went to Fords asking about the service kit but they could not find it on the computer, has anyone got a part number, or a VW part number ?

I have just ordered a new mounting braket and got the glow plug etc so must have another go at trying to get the thing apart as I could do with it working in this cold weather.

 

Thanks in advance.

[Jeff115]

Sorry Jason,

I don't have the part number for the kit but I was about to buy heater glow plug and kit at Ford spares, they had it on screen incl. gasket and screws, but unfortunately the glow plug was too expensive so I left it and got later at GSF.

 

Try here, but you'll need the Eberspacher Model number e.g. mines a D5WZ

http://www.rthursby.co.uk/acatalog/Eberspacher_Heaters.html

 

Model number is on a plate on the side of the heater unit.

 

You may get away without damaging the screws on the side of the control unit when accessing the combustion air blower/glow plug area - turn heater on its side and let WD40 drain down around bolts as they may be heat/age/rust seized.

 

All the best, J.

[widget]

Hi,

 

I posted a message on another thread about the aux heater - about it producing clouds of smoke - and Ford saying it needed a new one "the seals had gone" - that'll be