Heater(Dual Zone Climatic)

[martin.cat]

Hi all

Not had the altea XL SE that long so not too sure if this is normal or a fault

Over the last few days i seem to be struggling to heat the car now that the ambient temp has dropped

Does the heating rely on the engine or is there an heater as part of the air con?

When i first got the car and played with the controls i seem to remember that the defrost setting and hi temp setting gave out warm air rapidly and i wouldnt say that i had to wait for the engine to get hot

I suspect that there is some sort of fault but thought id ask now before getting to the colder months and beening unable to defrost the car windscreens or warm the car up for that matter

Regards

Martin

 

[CrispDust]

diesel? If so it takes AGES for the engine to warm up, unless you have an optional "winter pack" preheater.

 

[DACA]

Diesel engines do take longer to warm however the air con is a seperate system. You should use the air con at least once/week for around45 mins. If the car is too cold use the air con on auto and lift the temparature with that.

 

[Viking]

The aircon unit has no capacity to generate heat. It is an air conditioner/cooler unit only.

 

[martin.cat]

Thanks for the replies yes it is a diesel and to be fair I have changed from a petrol. I will have to see on I get on on the frosty mornings.

Can the winter pack heater be retro fitted?

 

[DACA]

The aircon unit has no capacity to generate heat. It is an air conditioner/cooler unit only.

Unfortunately Viking you are wrong. The air con system will work and deliver heat. Perhaps you should try it. Look at the control knob it does not just say cold (18c) it goes to red Hi (above 26c).

All vehicles that have aircon have this ability to create hot/cold heat. The only way it wont function is if there is little or no R134 in the system.

It is best on the cold nights when you have that layer of condensation on your windscreen. Switch to hot and watch the screen clear.

 

[Viking]

The heating function of the aircon system is provided by the heat from the coolant circulating through the heater matrix. Of course the system has a setting which says hi or above 26° otherwise you wouldn't be able to set it to provide heat.

As for the layer of condensation test you're alluding to, as the aircon system dries the air the screen clears as a result of this function. Trying this test as you suggest is pointless, as the aircon system requires the engine to be running and as this happens to heat up the coolant (used to provide heat to the aircon system ) then it will effectively warm up anyway and distort the effect you're trying to produce.

I suggest you read up on refrigerant/evaporative cooling systems. There are types of air conditioning units which are capable of producing heat (reverse cycle systems) but these are invariably attached to heat pump systems in the domestic market and are neither suitable nor cost effective for installation in the automotive industry. If you doubt this, ask an HVAC (Heating, Venting, Air Conditioning) engineer. Guess what I do for a living.

This.

diesel? If so it takes AGES for the engine to warm up, unless you have an optional "winter pack" preheater.

 

[CrispDust]

Viking right.
I believe the preheater system warms the engine before a cold start? Or does it have a heating element within the heater matrix?

 

[Viking]

I can't find any specific details about this. On the Sharan/Alhambra, the additional heater is a small burner unit which runs separately to the engine and its only function is to heat the coolant. A flow & return pipe run from the coolant system into the unit where the coolant is heated and returned to the main system. This prewarmed coolant is then used by the aircon/heater system to warm the cabin.

I don't know if the Altea has a similar system or not.