Hi guys,

 

I've found 6Q0963235 for a good price. Would be this a straight fit / retrofit?

Edited 17 November, 201510 yr by Alexandru

There is a long thread in here about fitting one of these, use the search function.

I totally forgot about it, I knew I saw it somewhere! I'm sorry, it seems I need my 3rd coffee yet. TA! 

The short answer is "not easy".

 

The housing doesn't accommodate the heater without hacksaw modification (or buying the correct housing at £40+ (IIRC)). Getting the housing in and out to fit the heater isn't completely straight-forward. The wiring isn't there by default. The relays and fuses aren't there by default. The stuff to control the relays isn't there by default.

 

All can be overcome, but doing it 'well'  as a standalone retrofit with suitable safeguards against excess load on the charging system is an ongoing mission.  I won't make any promises, but I know piggoy, the prime mover on this last year, is keen to get it all wrapped up at some point.  I will help him as much as I can.

So all in all, it's not such a good idea..

Having read the vw thread, I see this is about a pre-heater since it turns off once the engine is up to temperature.

 

Not tried it myself but surely it would be easier and cheaper to buy a spare sump and plumb in a 2kw kettle element fairly low down and arrange wiring that allows mains to be connected for a few mins while you have breakfast every morning. Some way of monitoring the temperature would be nice but I guess it would be easy to work out how long it could safely be left on. Engine oil can take a fair bit of temperature rise and ...heat rises.