Aux Heater Fault Found

[smoggy7]

hi all, ok ive had the car done today and they found the pump has become stuck so they said and has freed it havent had time yet to see if the aux heater kicks in yet but time will tell now there i phoned warranty and they are hopefully going to pay for a new unit, so fords give me an estamate of

[Gadgetoid]

Try looking through the VAG-COM thread which has been active recently - it suggests that the garages will interpret the computer error codes generated by a failing glow plug as a dodgy meter.

It would appear that 99% of the failing aux heaters on this forum are fixed by changing the glowplug - mine certainly was.

If you were paying yourself it would be better to get them to replace glowplug and clear all fault codes first (ie try the cheap fix first). As it's under warranty, try letting them do their own thing, but mention you think it could be the glow plug, and can they change that later on if plan A fails to correct the problem.

[smoggy7]

hi, i did tell them of the glow plug but they found that the pump to the rear of the car was jamming and not performing like it should, i am currently waiting on the answer from my warranty people at the moment so i will take it from there when they get back to me, after they told me it was working i waited until the following morning for the cold weather to try it and again not kicked in so i am hoping the warranty will get back to me soon as possiblw with this so i can get it done, they also told me there were no fault codes coming up for the fault, but found the link between the pump and switch , then told me the pump was kicking in but i still havent heard it since they told me if was fixed , i starteed the car this morning but had no sign of the aux kicking in and the mini exhaust was still cold after about 10 mins or so , so i guess it still aint working and normally on short trip to the school i normally hear the jet noise after turning off the engine but nothing this morning so i am going to phone my warranty people now to find out where i stand on this thanks guys speak later

 

 

 

 

smoggy7

[smoggy7]

hello guys, ok i just had some more info on this aux heater problem , the switch on the dash puts the aux heater into action im ok with that but when i told the head techie that i hear the jet noise after turning the engine off not with the switch on he sounded baffled like he hasnt got a clue , so why can i hear the jet noise before but according to him i should only hear it when the switch on the dash is pressed as before i didnt use the button but still got the jet noise , but i dont hear it at all now since the car went in so anyway still waiting for them to fax the invoice to the warranty and i asked for them to hurry it up alittle

 

 

 

smoggy

[johnb80]

The switch on the dash does NOT control the aux heater. It's controlled by the ECU with pre set conditions i.e. outside temp below a setpoint and engine temp below a preset level. If you have done a relatively short journey and the aux heater was running at full power, when you stop the heater will continue to run for a while to allow it to cool down.

 

Regards - John

[dave_m]

John is right the switch on the dash is a master switch for the panel in the headlining that controls the rear blowers. It does not affect the Aux Heater,

 

in fact user guide says do not use the rear heating until the car has recahed normal operating temp.

 

My jet engine noise starts to wind down as soon as i turn off the ignition then the combustion blower continues to run for up to five minutes after that!

[smoggy7]

hi guys , i thought that too these stupid techies havent got the first clue about these aux heaters i dont think they have had enough training on it, i checked my heater in the back just now and it is blowing out hot air now, but as i said first thing this morning from cold it didnt kick in and i dropped off the kids short journey as always ,before i heard the jet noise every morning without fail but since i had the water pump fixed i havent been able to hear it now, am i correct i saying that the litle exhaust underneath should get hot if the aux heater kicks in as it should do? i have felt it and is cold but the pipes are red hot i think its time to phone the warranty to find out if fords has fax them with the estaamate yet thanks guys will let you know what the outcome is

 

 

 

 

 

smoggy

[johnb80]

I think you're getting your wires crossed here.

 

There is a rear cabin heater that does have controls on the dash and I beleive in the roof lining near the nearside rear door (mine doesnt have this because of dual cc). This works off the hot water system just like all car heaters and is NOT connected with the operation of the AUX / BOOSTER heater.

The Aux / booster heater is mounted on the underside, makes a noise like a jet turbine and also smells a bit like a jet aircraft when it's starting up. It's controlled automatically and burns diesel to help the engine warm up quicker and also helps the cabin heaters cope with cold external conditions.

 

Regards - John

[smoggy7]

hi guys well its not my day just been told that because i had my service done by a non ford dealer and i cant produce an invoice they cant do my heater so my own fault i suppose as a friend of mine took the car to do the service to the boys he knows has their own garage but not ford i cant get a invoice for it as i got the parts for the service myself , so only myself to blame really so i now have to start at the cheap end i think and replace the glow plug, check wires to the pump for corrision etc and if still no go well then its the new unit silly really i just got stung heavilly due to losing my job at the time of the new galaxy due to ill health so thanks guys for all your input smoggy

[johnb80]

Ring Ford Customer Services and 'explain' that even though you did have a service done at a non Ford garage (or even that you did it yourself), the service schedule doesn't require any work to be done on the booster heater. Furthermore under European law goods must be of merchantable quality clearly this unit should have lasted longer than 'x' years and because it has failed in such a short time it must have been sub-standard at the time of purchase. State to them that you would like it repairing within the next 7 days and that a courtesy car will be provided whilst your vehicle is being repaired. If they fail to comply with this reasonable request, get it repaired, go to the small claims court and you will win. They can't skip their responsibilities that easy.

 

I did similar with my drinks holder and my alloys got the 'Oh thats bodywork, thats only covered for a year' B*ll*cks, my car goes in on 23rd for Aux Heater, 4 new alloys and a new drinks holder all under warranty.

 

Regards - JB

 

 

Regards - John