Activate electric water pump when car is off - electric engine heater Fabia 1.0tsi

[51MM3]

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. 

[AGFalco]

6 hours ago, 51MM3 said:

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. 

 

Not if it is properly insulated underneath so all the heat only goes up on to the sump/oil?

 

6 hours ago, 51MM3 said:

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. 

Could be correct.

 

The engine has a split coolant circuit and the electric pump is mainly there to cool the turbo down after the engine stops.

It also pumps hot water to the cabin to keep the cabin warm when the stop/start system stops the engine .

 

There is also a second main water pump driven by the camshaft and two thermostats that open at different temperatures to contend with.

 

HTH

 

Thanks. AG Falco

 

[51MM3]

2 minutes ago, AGFalco said:

Not if it is properly insulated underneath so all the heat only goes up on to the sump/oil?

 

Could be correct.

 

The engine has a split coolant circuit and the electric pump is mainly there to cool the turbo down after the engine stops.

It also pumps hot water to the cabin to keep the cabin warm when the stop/start system stops the engine .

 

There is also a second main water pump driven by the camshaft and two thermostats that open at different temperatures to contend with.

 

HTH

 

Thanks. AG Falco

 

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. 

[AGFalco]

2 minutes ago, 51MM3 said:

I'm only interested in heating the engine

Can you use the engine heater that uses the sump plug entry method? 

 

 

 https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=597300995&rlz=1C1CHBF_en-GBGB917GB917&sxsrf=ACQVn0-BHkfO_lmk1wAj81retTQ0_lGFkw:1704919082625&q=car+engine+heater+to+sump+plug&spell=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjGl6nC1tODAxXUZ0EAHaR-BEsQBSgAegQICBAC&biw=1536&bih=730&dpr=1.25

 

https://uk.vicedeal.com/products/car-diesel-engine-12v24v-oil-sump-heating-the-o-engine-oil-m12-preheating-plug-tank-m14-electric-heating-rod-m10?variant=UHJvZHVjdFZhcmlhbnQ6MTQ5MTc4NzMx&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAnfmsBhDfARIsAM7MKi0IGYziTsba7R0HigmZXsR9UJIldzFQHNL0xt9xC6K2CV1m76rh2OUaAjoWEALw_wcB

 

Thanks. AG Falco

[51MM3]

31 minutes ago, AGFalco said:

Can you use the engine heater that uses the sump plug entry method? 

 

 

 https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=597300995&rlz=1C1CHBF_en-GBGB917GB917&sxsrf=ACQVn0-BHkfO_lmk1wAj81retTQ0_lGFkw:1704919082625&q=car+engine+heater+to+sump+plug&spell=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjGl6nC1tODAxXUZ0EAHaR-BEsQBSgAegQICBAC&biw=1536&bih=730&dpr=1.25

 

https://uk.vicedeal.com/products/car-diesel-engine-12v24v-oil-sump-heating-the-o-engine-oil-m12-preheating-plug-tank-m14-electric-heating-rod-m10?variant=UHJvZHVjdFZhcmlhbnQ6MTQ5MTc4NzMx&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAnfmsBhDfARIsAM7MKi0IGYziTsba7R0HigmZXsR9UJIldzFQHNL0xt9xC6K2CV1m76rh2OUaAjoWEALw_wcB

 

Thanks. AG Falco

 

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 

[AGFalco]

33 minutes ago, 51MM3 said:

Oil heater could be preferable

Don't forget that the engine also has an oil temperature sensor as well that might influence engine starting/running.

Cold coolant water but hot oil signals at the same time?

 

Thanks. AG Falco

[51MM3]

7 hours ago, AGFalco said:

Don't forget that the engine also has an oil temperature sensor as well that might influence engine starting/running.

Cold coolant water but hot oil signals at the same time?

 

Thanks. AG Falco

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 

[51MM3]

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.