51MM3

Yes, I'm fully aware that water temp and engine temp is two different things. The reason I'm referring most to water temp is because I primarily did this to get hot air from the acc quicker. Savings in wear and fuel is a bonus.

I think I might have read it somewhere now that you mention it. Did a quick temp check when I was about to pick the kids up from school. Was around 6⁰c out and the heater thermostat hadn't shut it off. Temp gauge showed 55⁰c when I turned the car on, if one would assume it's linear scale

The electric heater is connected to the same electrical system as the coupe heater, which in turn has a connector mounted in the lower front grille in which a plug a cable from the power outlet on our house. I can't really tell how much of the power goes to the heater coil and the built in pump, but a small circulation pump doesn't draw much power, so I would estimate that almost all of those 1100w goes to the heater coil. Correct, I installed the coupe heater to defrost the car, but as I didn't want to buy the heater DEFA offer (300w heating element screwed to the outside of the engine block) I settled for only the coupe heater. I wasn't happy with only coupe heater as we can get as cold as -25⁰c here, and it will defrost enough of the car but as soon as I set off cold air will be blown in by the climatronicnand it took ages for it to get hot. That's why I started to search for a engine heater again. So now I have the 1.1kw engine heater heating the coolant and the engine while the 1.1-1.3kw coupe heater defrost the car and minimize the need to use most of the heat in the water to get the coupe up to temp when driving off.

Update #2 This morning was a bit colder with a ambient temp of -3⁰c. Ran the heater for 1h together with the coupe heater. Water temp was 65-70⁰c but almost instantly increased to 75⁰c when I started the car. It reached a water temp of 90⁰c within 2km/3min and oil temp of 50⁰c within 3km/3-4min. It heat up faster even though it was colder outside but it's probably due to it pumping the hot water in to the engine first and running for longer before it will reach its shut of temp. Never thought it would be so effective. It will be really interesting to see how it performs when the temperature drops even lower. I can also notice that the fuel consumption is an low I can get it doing the school drop off route during the summer. 5/5 recommend

Thanks for all your input, here's an update. I had a good look on the good ol interwebs after a good heater. I found cheap 1500w ones from china being sold all over amazon and other websites, or there were a few other options with Russian name and text on them but they are easily found directly on Chinese sites as well. I didn't feel like putting some no-brand china unit in the car as the consequences of a malfunction would be severe. Found this one sold by a small Swedish company, surely imported somewhere from china as everything is, but at least I will have protection through Swedish consumer Laws if something were to happen. It is 1.1kw with built in pump, cost equivalent to £130 with shipping, feels like good build quality and it has a serious electrical connector made for pre heaters and coupe heaters, and I already had a heater inside the car using that system. I went ahead and mounted it on the hose between the expansion tank and connector on the hose between engine and heater matrix with the thought that the water would have to flow through either heater matrix or engine. First placement didn't work as a problem with air inside it occured, fortunately it survived as I realized this risk and and filled the heater before mounting it. Moved it a bit on the same hose to a better location where the air would escape easier, and this time it worked, but... It isn't clear in the flow chart, but the water doesn't have to take its way through the engine or heater matrix, it just "turned" the wrong way and returned to the tank through the water pump and return hose, so nothing got heated apart from the water in those two hoses and the tank. I got mad and yesterday I finally relocated it to one of the hoses between the engine and the heater matrix. Made room in the garage, put the front end on stands, got under it, removed the plastic underneath the engine, squeezed my hands in to the tiny space where it could fit and got to work. Many swear words and some coolant in the eye later, I got it in place. Tested it this morning, it ran for 40-45 minutes before reaching it's set temp where it stops until the temp drops. I got in to the car and to my surprise the coolant temp read 75⁰c. It was +4⁰c outside (car says +6⁰c in picture but that's due to the heater, and during the night the temp were down to 1⁰c), so not really that cold but still. It appears to circulate the water through all of the engine and heater matrix as the temp didn't drop at all when I started the car. The manual says it should stop at 55⁰c and start again below 40⁰c, but it seems like it goes higher as the car indicated higher temp. Great success and so worth all of the trubble. A DEFA heater wouldn't come near these results.

So I talked to a friend who works for VAG stealership and got hold of the schematics for the cooling system for 1.0TSI. It's quite similar but not exactly as the one for 1.2TSI. I haven't checked if it's physically possible yet but my plan is to mount it like shown in the very professionally edited photo: (Värmare is heater in Swedish) So mount the heater on the pipe leading to the heater matrix. It appears that there is a unrestricted circuit between the heater matrix, engine, expansion tank, apart from the water pump which should have some kind of flow through it anyways. I will have to see if the hose is accessible to cut in to, and also se what kind of flow a heater will have through it when turned off. I don't want to restrict the cooling system when the car is running and if it will restrict I'll have to make a separate hose to slice in at the anti backflow valve and put one on the heater line as well

Thanks! By looking at it I feel like mine is more like the one I posted. It has a different aux pump for the turbocharger and when it's running the coolant flows through the expansion tank which it doesn't seem to do in this one

I found this schematic for 1.2tsi, and if the basics are the same it should be possible to put a heater with pump and backflow valve (?) in parallel to the existing one at the top of the image. This circuit seems to be open with only restriction through the water pump it self but this type of pump usually are centrifugal and will let water flow through it

Ah yes, the good old days! Still miss my 740 turbo I had with welded diff and 680.000kms on the clock! It handled like a boat but it was comfy, fun and went sideways everywhere. Also had a Saab og 9-3 aero 2.0t for a little while. Yes the consumer rights is one thing I love. I would never in my life start a second hand car dealership. The dealer I bought my previous octy from probably made a loss. They had to replace the battery, driver's seat undercarriage as there was excessive play in the height adjustment, bought it in winter with studded tires on and when I put the summer tires on I had vibrations, checked the tires and they had flat spots all four of them so they had to pay for a full new set to be put on.

Saab is unfortunately long gone, and they were already gone in the end of their time when they were bought by GM (?). Volvo is no longer Swedish as well and I don't really like their cars to be honest. My in-laws love Volvo but to me the cars are not comfortable to drive. Yes there is loads of space in the V70 they have but there is no joy what so ever driving it. It's just heavy, no supports in the seat and so on. They are much bigger than I am so I get that they like it but it's a big no for me. Plus the price is outrageously high, even in the second hand market. They can go for £5000-8000 more than a octy does.. Don't know how long warranty Volvo offer but Skoda & VW have as far as I know standard 2 year warranty and 3 year car damage warranty (basically free insurance to get it fixed if crashed but you still need separate insurance to pay for the damage done to other involved if it's your fault and theft). We've had octys in the family since the first RS was launched here and Skoda is great value for what you get. Less baby disease as the tech usually have been launched at Audi and VW before coming to the "cheaper" brand. Had a salesman at Skoda tell me why they didn't offer longer warranty, it was "because we know our cars doesn't break down".... I didn't purchase from him. We also have very good consumer protection laws here. If I buy anything from a dealer or store, and doesn't matter what it is basically, will I have the right to leave a complaint within 3 years of purchase for any fault occuring, withing the 2 first years they have to prove that I've caused the fault through wrongful use or something, otherwise it's considered as the fault was there at purchase, even if it's a used item as a car. To not be responsible they have to declare all faults and the customer have to sign off on the declaration. Anything bot in the declaration is considered a fault they are responsible for. And we can get good insurance policys if the car isn't too old. I can get almost every fault that's not serviceable parts like pads, discs etc fixed through the insurance, so I don't care much about the dealers and their warranty's as I have very good protection as there is.

That's correct, that's he reason most diesel cars here are fitted with aux heater from factory even if you don't buy it as an option. The option is basically to be able to use it when the car is parked. In my Octavia mk III 2.0tdi 150 DSG I have the option to change in the options if the car should start it automatically if needed while driving. Diesel doesn't generate as much heat while running so without it there would be problems getting the temp up when it's -20⁰c outside. This is a part of the reason why diesel has higher efficiency than gasoline.

No worries! Yes on a mk1 I wouldn't even give it a thought. I have tried to get home of workshop manual without success. I know for a fact that it at least have a aux electric pump to keep cooling the turbo if it's still hot when the car is shut off.

No issue with cold start or running cold, I would just prefere to have it warm quicker. Yes there are inline heaters where you cut a hose and just clamp it between the two pieces of hose. The manufacturers say this is no longer an option for some reason, probably because they are lazy and don't want to test it on every model as the can just tell every dealer to mount a 300w heater block on the outside of the oil pan and people not nowing better will be happy. But I still don't want to waste time and money on installing a inline water heater if the system won't allow for any circulation.

Interesting! Didn't know the Webasto was available for 1.0 TSI. It's typically an option for diesel cars as many have the need for aux heater while running anyways. And I've never seen one fitted with it here. A Webasto heater will sadly be too expensive to retrofit. I would be able to retrofit electric one myself.

I live in Sweden so I have a LHD car. I looked in to Webasto and contacted a local retrofitter and he told me that it might cause the same issue with the car throwing codes, and it was like £2000 or something for something that might not work. I'm Mostly interested in warming it in the morning when I'm at home anyways so having to plug it in isn't an issue. There are several electric heaters with circulation pump that should at least work in theory as long as the coolant is allowed to flow through the system. The systems tend to get more and more technically advanced so I don't know if one could rely on manual thermostats opening when the coolant get hot enough to allow circulation

Hi, I have a late 2019 Fabia MK3 1.0 TSI that I want to install electric heater in. Does anyone know if its possible to circulate the coolant with an externally driven pump when the car is turned off? I have installed a heater inside the car to defrost it before I have to go but it's quite frustrating not to have an heat for some time before the engine get up to temp, which it can struggle with when it's really cold. I have looked at both Calix and DEFA who are the big suppliers of heaters here and the only solution they offer is a heater block that is screwed to the outside of the oil sump, and basically do no difference. I would like to buy a water heater and install byt they say the car either will throw codes because of the temp differences in the system or it will not have any circulation due to several thermostats.. In willing to give it a try mounting a heater with built in circulation pump if the cooling system is open when the car is off allowing the coolant to circulate. Does anyone know if it is possible to circulate the coolant when the car is turned off or is there thermostats or valves closed when the car is off? I have tried to find workshop manuals in order to try to see but haven't found any. Tia!

This is the solution DEFA and Calix provide, and to me it's just plain stupidity as the heater itself will radiate most of the heat to the air and then the sump will radiate a lot as well.

Well it might but I don't think its as sensetive as the coolant system which I assume have several temp sensors for stop start etc. The block heater that is the available solution from Defa and Calix heat the oil but ineffectively from the outside. I will definitely look in to the pan heaters, it will not have the same quick result as the water heater but will probably help quite a bit

Maby! Have been thinking about a solution like that but haven't actually seen those. Would prefer if it was 220V as it would run together with the heater I have in the car from a outlet on our house, but a small converter would work. I have found cheap chinese universal 1500w heaters with pump for reasonable price but the question is then if the water circuit would be open or if there are valves that could be in closed position while the car is turned off. Oil heater could be preferable as the water heater might cause the issue with high temp differences in the system causing fault codes, but the water heater on the other hand has way higher heat output

It's not insulated at all, the instructions tell you to cut away insulation a couple of cm around it if the sump is insulated from factory. I replied and asked what the reason to bot insulate it is and they said that insulating it will cause it to overheat and melt. So I'm my opinion you will not get close to transfer even most of the heat to the sump as a large portion will radiate away. It would probably be more efficient with a 150w heater that's insulated on the outside and not rely on contact heat transfer on only one side of the heater. To me it just sounds like they only care about keeping manufacturing costs low and profit high as no one in their right mind would think their solution would be energy efficient. So it might be possible to activate that pump alone depending on the control circuit and assuming there's no need to activate anything else to open any valves. I'm only interested in heating the engine and not the inside of the car as I already have a heater for that, but it would be nice to have the engine pre-warmed to get it up to temp quicker and less wear on the engine itself.

Hi, I'm looking for engine heater solutions for my Fabia. It's a 2020 1.0tsi and I have noticed it pumping cool and for 30 seconds or so after turning it off, so I assume it's an electric pump. Do anyone know if it's possible to activate the pump somehow when the car is off, like it's done when the car is fitted with aux heater. The reason is that I would like to fit a in line engine heater, but when I had a chat with the engine heater manufacturer they said that in line water heaters aren't available anymore as modern cars have too much electronics, valves and pumps in the cooling system so there will not be sufficient self circulation and that the car might interpret the difference in temperature value between sensors as faults, causing the checked engine light to come on. The solution is a block heater mounted on the outside of the oil pan, but to me that's just plain stupidity as most of the heat will disappear out in to the cold air and not actually heat the engine. The in line heaters are usually 500-750w but a block heater is only around 300w. I don't like wasting my money heating the outdoor air so I would like to find some way to activate the cars heater pump to circulate the water getting even heat in the system. Thanks in advance.

Hi, We have a my17 Octavia 2.0tdi 150 DSG with 60000km on it. I was having a check under the hood and noticed that the coolant is dark brown instead of red and have a lot of oxide or other contaminations in it. I stuck my fingers in it and it feels mor or less like normal water, and not quite as slippery as antifreeze usually feels. The car was serviced 4 month ago so I went back to the stealership who said this happens easily on diesel engines, but he couldn't tell me why when I questioned that as it's a closed watersystem and not like the oil that usually get sot in it. He continued to tell me that the only check in the service is checking the freezing temperature of it.. He told me that I can let them change it if I would like, but I don't think that's gonna happen. I'll go somewhere else in that case. Any how.. Have anyone had the same issue? Don't know if they have mixed different coolant types or if it might be oil in it? The oil is normal and no trace of water in it. No smoke from exhaust and it runs fine. I have never experienced coolant going bad so to say and changing color. The car is going to another stealer In a month as there is no hot air on the passenger side.

Thanks for replies! Sorry see that I forgot to add some info after editing the text.. It's a 2014 with 120000kms on it. Serviced as it should, I'm the 2nd owner and we live a bit outside town and the shortest trip we do is 9kms when picking up kids but we regularly do longer trips where it's at least 20-30 minutes of motorway driving and about 35kms one way. When it's colder outside we usually let the diesel parking heater run at least 30mins before we go so it's quite quick to get to temp. It has DPF but never had the light come in, it does regenerate as i know the smell and it usually let the cooler fan run after its parked if a regeneration has been done and it's warmer than normal. We've had 4 octavias with 2.0tdi and DPF since 2009 in the family and those have never had any issues, even though have been driven much shorter on daily basis. Shi*t, sorry, meant 200km a day, 100km per trip, not 20km/day. We in Sweden usually use the measurement of mil which is 1mil = 10kms, that's why I missed a 0..

Hi, Got a octavia estate 2.0TDI DSG 150hp about 2 years ago, and I have not been satisfied with the fuel consumption. Its always been a bit higher then i have expected it to be but its just terrible att the moment. I have been driving 20km/day this week, same stretch every day and its had an average of 6.6l/100km or 35mpg. Ive been driving it as light as i can and on back roads it does about 5.4-5.5l/100km or 42mpg, but as soon as i enter the motorway it start to climb fast! On the motorway it does 6-7l/100km or 30-40mpg at speeds around 110-120km/h. No load on the car. My dad have got a -17 octavia with same engine but the euro-6 engine and not estate while mine is the euro-5 engine, and it does about 4.7l/100km or 50+mpg or even better on the same stretch. I get that might have less drag as mine is an estate and his have the updated eu-6 engine but my old 07 octavia 2.0RSTDI 170 estate did about 5.6l/100km or 42mpg on motorway, wich is way less then the octy 3 i have now, and its bugging me real hard. Any advice on what might be causing it or is it just the way they are? Tirepressure is correct and alignment is done.

Hi, I changed to winter tires yesterday and discovered that the front tire on the left hand side is worn pretty bad on the inside edge. I would say this is due to camber problem but is it possible to change camber on the MK3 (non-VRS)? We've never had an accident happen or anything else as far as we know. Only thing that's been done is that I changed the wheel bearing before the summer on both sides, but nothing can be put back in the wrong way as far as I know, and when I check everything looks fine. The bearing looks like it's in place and I can't see any gaps between the bearing and the hub/spindel (correct name?) but I haven't removed the brakes to inspect it closer. I feel like the breaks should show sign of wear if it saw the bearing as well as the disc would be out of line in relation to the pads as well, if it was something wrong with the bearing. Tires have done 2 summer seasons and the picture show both front tires.