My climate menu button on the dial shows I have the supplemental heater. (Not full on cold climate version that uses fuel to heat it up) 

 

I can't say I can notice a "significant" difference in my cabin temperature with it on or off over the few years I've owned my 2016 MK3. 2.0 TDI. Plus it's not been that cold down south this winter. 

 

Is it there to heat the cabin quicker only, and does anyone "notice" it clearly when the use theirs in the colder months? 

 

Observations appreciated. 

 

Thank you. 

It's basically a 1kw electric heater. It'll take the edge off until the coolant is warm enough to heat the cabin but it's not particularly powerful.

Thx @langers2k, I guess the "edge" is probably a subjective observation too😀. 

 

My car's warmed up in 10mins or less on my drive out to work as I get a few miles on minor roads then onto an arterial A road. 

 

Certainly the EA288 is faster to warm than my old 1.9PD, that was freezing still after 15-20 minute commute! 

 

Anything in vcds that would tell me it's on? Must be something I can log...😆

I retrofitted one to my MK2 Octavia with a CR140. That would take 15-20 minutes or so for the coolant to get warm enough for cabin heat. After fitting, I'd get warm (not hot) air after a few minutes. Still, you could definitely feel the difference as the engine got to temperature.

 

On a EA288, you probably have a 'dumb' version fitted. It's controlled by the ECU and two relays. There will probably be a measuring block to say that it's on but that's it.

 

They used to fit 'smart' versions which had a control module built in. These would report exactly how much heat they generated, I guess cost savings killed them!

An 84 amp 12v electric heater? 😲

22 minutes ago, J.R. said:

An 84 amp 12v electric heater? 😲

 

Yup...

 

It's a PTC style so it won't draw the full current for long. When I retrofitted mine, the factory wiring diagram spec'ed a single, 100a fuse to protect the wiring 😳

Hey guys,

 

On EA288 engines, the aux heater is part of the standard package.

 

In order to activate it, the following preconditions should be met:

* Coolant temp below 75 C

* Outside temp below 5 C

* Battery above 9 V  (in case of a low battery current a VCDS error code is written if other requirements are met)

* A/C mode set to "Auto"

* A/C temp set to "High" ( I think this one is optional, but I read this requirements somewhere, that's why I post this as well )

 

The revs will be go above 1000rpms. I personally put my car on 27-28 C instead of "High", because setting "High" temp makes the car blow cold air. Whereas the 27-28 C keep the blower on level 1 until some hot air can actually be blowed out of the vents.

 

PS: I think the AC blower level ins't shown by default on MK3 and I activated that feature via VCDS, but it's been awhile, so I don't remember.

 

-F

4 hours ago, fr1nklyn said:

Hey guys,

 

On EA288 engines, the aux heater is part of the standard package.

 

In order to activate it, the following preconditions should be met:

* Coolant temp below 75 C

* Outside temp below 5 C

* Battery above 9 V  (in case of a low battery current a VCDS error code is written if other requirements are met)

* A/C mode set to "Auto"

* A/C temp set to "High" ( I think this one is optional, but I read this requirements somewhere, that's why I post this as well )

 

The revs will be go above 1000rpms. I personally put my car on 27-28 C instead of "High", because setting "High" temp makes the car blow cold air. Whereas the 27-28 C keep the blower on level 1 until some hot air can actually be blowed out of the vents.

 

PS: I think the AC blower level ins't shown by default on MK3 and I activated that feature via VCDS, but it's been awhile, so I don't remember.

 

-F

Thanks, well that'll explain why I'm not noticing it much. I think I can count on one hand the number times I've been out when ambient temperature has been less than 5C first thing. I tend to travel mid mornings.

 

But is says none of that in the user manual, @fr1nklyn how did you learn that info. I've got the EA288 self study pdf stored. 

 

 

Edited 5 February, 20224 yr by paulski

I’ve read that info in VWVortex or TDI club and also in Driver.Ru . Few people confirmed that via VCDS cable here in this forum, there was another thread about aux heater.

 

Back in time, I wanted to retrofit Aux Heater in my old 1.9 A4 TDI, but my wife literally killed that car before I do it 😂

I did some research in order to achieve that goal and found that Aux heater was available only for certain countries at the beginning, then it became part of the standard package in EA288.

 

It’s actually pretty cheap and not that effective feature by itself, but along with the EGR, EGR cooler and some revs increase, the EA288 engines definitely get warm faster compared to PD and some of the earlier CR diesels.

I never knew any of this as I thought the auxiliary heater was only fitted if it was the Webasto fuel burning one.

 

Am I right in thinking that I will have tthis electric version in my 2016 2.0tdi 150 manual Scout, and all I need to do is tick the box on the infotainment system to enable it ?

 

Cheers

22 minutes ago, 3rdoctavia said:

Am I right in thinking that I will have tthis electric version in my 2016 2.0tdi 150 manual Scout, and all I need to do is tick the box on the infotainment system to enable it ?

 

If you have the tickbox, then it's likely fitted and yes, you just need to tick it

 

If there is no tickbox, you probably don't have it

22 minutes ago, langers2k said:

 

If you have the tickbox, then it's likely fitted and yes, you just need to tick it

 

If there is no tickbox, you probably don't have it

I'm sure I have the tick box so will check this out 👍

So i was our earlier this morning, 4C outside, put AC in auto and heat to to 28C. 

 

I certainly noticed the revs increased to 1100rpm. 

 

I did have some heat from the vents even with the coolant temperature only just registering on the bottom of the gauge, so can only conclude it does work as suggested. 

 

Thanks all. 

 

Thanks paulski for this post. I run a 2007 and a 2019 Octavia and had noticed the 2019 warmed significantly faster than the 2007, now I know why😁

It warms up much quicker because of the sliding sleeve on the main water pump and the auxiliary coolant circulation pump.

 

I also have the EA288 self study guide and it makes no mention of it, I would say my engine does not have it and I have not found anything within the VCDS parameters to enable it but never say never and I would be delighted to learn otherwise.

 

I dont consider my car to have infotainment, I consider that to be a dashboard layout with a stupid touch screen tea tray sticking out of it and owners that complain about Android Car Play, Skoda Connect and other such needless items that I don't understand nor want to.

 

Mine has a Maxidot, there are one or two few settings in the menu, something about Winter Tyres that turned out to be a chocolate teapot but nothing about an auxiliary heater, where would it be found if it exists?

On 07/02/2022 at 16:28, paulski said:

I did have some heat from the vents even with the coolant temperature only just registering on the bottom of the gauge, so can only conclude it does work as suggested. 

 

That happens through the water pump sleeve and auxiliary coolant circulation pump, the self study guide describes it in fine detail. I don't think you have a valid basis for your conclusion

@J.R.

 

My heater fan dial has a menu button,  pressing that brings  up an "animated"  picture  view of the dash. Press the settings, button bottom right  and Auxiliary heater can be ticked on and off. 

 

My car is MY16 with amundsen mib 2.