Cold !

[KP 115]

Has anyone tried/experimented with covering the radiator grille in cold weather &
short journeys to try & raise the temperature quicker ?

thanks.

[johnb80]

Consider:
1) When the engine is below running temp the thermostat will be closed
2) If the thermostat is closed there's no waterflow through the radiator.
3) If there's no water flow through the radiator there's no heat in it either
So the short answer is don't bother!

Regards - JB

[bigdaddy]

Seen a lot of black hackneys doing it ,,,, but i thought it was to help the engine run at higher temp ,,,, to give better in cab heating,,,,,not to help the engine reach a quicker running temp




then again I maybe in silly mode again

[johnb80]

Some people of very weird ideas, my neighbour takes his thermostat out for wintertime and replaces it for summer! No amount of explanation and reasoning will convince him it's a daft thing to do!

Regards - JB

[El Dingo]

Cabbies do it because the black cab has a notoriously poor heating system (and diesel power without 'immersion heaters').
Outside air cools the engine and coolant pipework. Reduce airflow around the engine bay and you'll get more heat through the heater matrix. Not an experiment that I would undertake, however.

[marinabrid]

i did it on my tdi no difference in warm up time , only thing is when car gets to normal temp it doesnt stay there it just got hotter and hotter , then fans come on. so i removed. NOT RECOMMENDED.

[katman]

[quote name='KP 115' date='Mar 12 2006, 20:06:03']Has anyone tried/experimented with covering the radiator grille in cold weather &
short journeys to try & raise the temperature quicker ?

thanks.[/quote]
Its something that people used to do before cars had electric fans.

When the fan was driven by the fan belt it would run all the time and in winter it forced too much air through the radiator and the car wouldnt get warm.

There should be absolutely no need to do it in a modern car because

1. as others have stated, if the engine isnt warm enough then the thermostat would be closed so no water would flow through radiator.

2. when the water is flowing through the radiator the fan will not run if the vehicle is moving at any decent speed as natural airflow would cool to the right temperature. if it cooled too much the thermostat would close again

3. when stuck in trafic the fans cut in to force air through the radiator to prevent overheating. if you deliberately obstruct the airflow the vehicle will OVERHEAT !!!

If the car is cold then something is not right.

My Gal (2.0 petrol) didnt seem to get warm enough. We did a 200 mile journey, admittedly on a cold day, but the needle never got out of the bottom white section except when we got stuck in traffic. Once we started moving again it would drop back down to cool. The car was warmish inside but not hot.

When it was in the garage having some work done I got them to replace the thermostat. Now within 4 miles it is slap bang in the middle of the gauge and stays there all the time. I also have to reduce the setting of the heater controls or I get cooked

Hope that helps

[KP 115]

Thanks everybody for your input & Imust agree that it does take mine about 4-5 miles to warm up , but as I only travel 12 miles eachway it's cold for the first half of the jouney,
perhaps I should get the VR6 version!

thanks again keith.

[Jeff115]

Keith,
Sounds like your booster/supplementary heater my not be working - see here for typical warm up times for the 1.9tdi
[url="http://www.fordgalaxy.org.uk/ford/index.php?showtopic=7148&view=findpost&p=50883"]Warm up times on tdi[/url]

4/5 miles for warm up, when car/engine is under load, does sound suspect.

Can you hear the combustion air blower (jet turbine sound) from the booster heater soon after start up?

Regards,
Jeff.

[KP 115]

Thanks Jeff,
Checked it tonight & @ 5c O.A.T it took 3.0 miles to reach 90c , yes the aux heater is running,

Thanks keith.

[Davetheref]

Actually, the warm up times stated sound about the same for mine too. Always around 3-5 miles to warm up. On very cold days I normally leave the car running for 10 mins outside the house first.

[mumof4]

Hmm...im beginning to wonder if ours works..ive never heard a noise like a jet engine (not that ive been trying to hear as weve always got hercs flying overhead)

I dont have huge clouds of smoke coming from the car(aoart from the exhaust every now and then)

But it does take a couple of miles or so before the cabin heats up