Any tweaks to get quicker heat and demist?

[irc]

I also find my 1.4Tsi very slow to warm up. The first 3 miles of my commute being a gradual 35mph downhill doesn't help. For the recent hard frost mornings my solution is to go out first thing while walking the dog and run an extension cable from my shed to the car. Plug in a 2Kw fan heater on the front seat and leave running while I finish walking the dog and having breakfast. When I get in the car the winscreen is clear. Any ice left on the windows is soft and easily wiped off. The interior is warm enough to drive without the heater on for the first few miles while the engine warms up.

 

In this weather I really miss my old Mondeo's windscreen demister!

 

I'm thinking about  grille covers though. Is there any issues on the 1.4Tsi with blocking airflow to the enginre air intakes?  If only blocking one is it best to block the upper or lower grille?

Edited 22 January, 2015 by irc

[beneix]

I also find my 1.4Tsi very slow to warm up. The first 3 miles of my commute being a gradual 35mph downhill doesn't help. 

Thanks irc - exactly echoes my experience, so at least I know I'm not alone. I miss my Saab!

[Drumbum]

Have the same problem and it drive me mad! Looked at an auxillary heater that has an internal clock etc but never got around to fitting anything.

[fatzy]

I'm thinking about  grille covers though. Is there any issues on the 1.4Tsi with blocking airflow to the enginre air intakes?  If only blocking one is it best to block the upper or lower grille?

You cover both upper and lower intake, there will always be enough air for cooling in our winter climate (Superskoda sells both). You can even block the radiator completely, but I wouldn't do that. Look at my pictures a bit up. I hung a piece of foam plate in front of radiator (upper half) to restrict air flow, and Superskoda cover on lower intake. It works, somewhat.

Upper/lower? Lower is best to avoid snow entering, upper is perhaps bigger (I don't know).

[Garnett]

Have you checked that your pollen filter is not blocked up? I had this problem on my last car and changing the filter fixed it.

[softscoop]

I fitted the 'e' version to my Octavia a few months back and mikeholroyd kindly offered to do the install through vagcom to activate it. It lasted briefly but then packed up due to faulty resistors inside it. As a stop gap I fitted the more basic 'f' version through a very heavy duty relay operated via a switch I located on the drivers side lower panel . I chose this panel as its the easiest one to replace if need be if I don't need the switch any more. They draw a lot of current so opted to only wire up the two outer elements so as not to put too much strain on the battery. Its not instant heat but you do notice the difference and it makes winter motoring more comfortable with a diesel. Also I find that you can have the fan on fairly high and still get good heat through the vents without the cold air sapping all the heat out of the engines coolant matrix and the air getting cooler again. 

 

Do you know how the F version is normally fitted as standard?

 

Surely it's controlled through the CAN somehow?

 

I mentioned that I'd like to fit this to my wife yesterday....normally when I mention any kind of mod I get "How much..what's the point" etc yet she seemed to be quite keen on this, so it looks like I'm good to go in the spring/summer.

[TsvRS]

With the climate control permanently turned OFF and a bottle of warm water tipped over the screen it takes me less than 30 seconds to get underway with a completely clear screen no matter what the weather.

[nickguzzi]

Climate/air con dehumidifies the incoming air so it will generally speed up internal demisting unless your vehicle is totally arid inside.

My climate control will demist the windscreen even with a totally cold engine.  If the problem persists then it is possible there is incoming water like a wet dog or rear washer leaking, or the pollen filter is blocked/wet.

 

A guy I know runs a Merc Sprinter.   He was forever searching on ebay for timed heaters to repair/replace his newly broken ones.  He has swapped it out for the untimed version and so far so good.

[langers2k]

Do you know how the F version is normally fitted as standard?

 

Surely it's controlled through the CAN somehow?

 

I mentioned that I'd like to fit this to my wife yesterday....normally when I mention any kind of mod I get "How much..what's the point" etc yet she seemed to be quite keen on this, so it looks like I'm good to go in the spring/summer.

 

I had a look at the wiring diagrams and from what I can make out the F and G revisions are controlled by the engine ECU. It has two pins that control two relays in the external fusebox. These are a 40a and 80a feed to the PDC, the 40a feeds one element whist the 80a feed splits and does the other two.

[Jaave]

Guys, blocking of cooler directly you are very risk to damage some engine parts. If you have slow heating issue, try something like this http://www.superskoda.com/images/Plasty/o2-fgcvr3.jpg

 

Top grille is counterproductive and useless in winter time (useful only in very hot days).

 

For demist use AC or Webasto. As prevence against mist try ventilate your car before parking and replace cabine filter every year.

Edited 26 January, 2015 by Jaave

[ethos]

Air-con off (ECON on) in the winter and some slightly warm water over the windscreen when iced over works for me. A couple of minutes max before setting off.