Electric Coolant Heater
 

I discovered my new S8 has a Webasto heater, which I was going to remove due to my weight saving obsession.
However, then I started reading about usefulness of coolant (block?) heaters, especially making life easier for the engine on cold starts, and also considering our facelift D2's have those plastic cam chain tensioners so a warm start may be easier on them too.

So I decided to keep it until I found it doesnt work. I am considering fixing it, but in the meantime I was searching for a simpler device that doesn't use fuel.

This one from Germany looks good, and has a pump. There is a DEFA one with no pump and lower Watts, but I think I like this one.

Any thoughts?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Engine-Pre...-/350627775651

One bad review on Amazon:
"I got myself last year, the identical part of the Schwalm KG. The installation is pretty easy and after about 40 min of the 2.5 L diesel engine Spang almost without preheating ... but unfortunately those things are not very robust, have now the second wrecked - after only six months. Therefore, only two stars."

Hi Goran,

Don't remove your Webasto -- fix it !!! This is **great** stuff. Check out this thread: http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/showthread.php?t=4105

If you still decide to remove it -- I will buy it from you!

Hi Sergey, I may try to fix it. I dont like that it uses fuel, although I guess that means it will work when away from home on a long trip.
The electric heater seems more reliable. Have you seen the truck version? I'm leaning towards that one if its not too big.

Hot Frog :)
http://shop.strato.de/epages/1011654...Motorvorheizer

Keep it they are awesome when working. as a HGV driver I use these all the time my, I've got the hot air version heating my Office/back room at my unit. I've fitted and repaired the emberspacher version, all the instructions where online very simple really, if there is any problem it will turn itself off and give a flash code to the problem. Webasto seems very similar. Does the vag com not show anything??
Cheers dave

I will try to keep it if I can fix it. Vag com says
No flame - intermittent
Low voltage - intermittent
Elsa win says check wiring to battery, and to check fuel line to burner, I will have a go.
I dont really mind about the cabin warming, I just want to pamper the engine with no cold starts :)

Its the complication of this system that annoys me, special pipe to gas tank, wiring to battery, to dash cluster, modification of coolant circuit (which I'm still trying to figure out what it does). I'm worried the modified the coolant circuit with a electronic valve to heat mainly the cabin, not the engine, which is the opposite of what I want. Only advantage of this over a purely electirc heater & pump is that it will work away from home.

Amongst other things it won't start if the voltage is low so it doesn't totally flatten you battery and leave you stranded, so check the connections and wiring, and very common is the fuel pump and they are not cheap,
On startup normally first the fan and glow plug ( yours may be a spark plug being a petrol) then the fuel pump starts ticking and if it doesn't start getting hot within approximately 90 seconds then it will stop the fuel pump and start a cool down cycle. For a couple of minutes I'll try and find you a link but its normally the fuel pump no delivering enough fuel and it shuts down again good luck.
Cheers dave

The special pipe doesn't go to the bottom of the tank so it doesn't empty it
And it can't be that hard alter the plumbing so it circulates heats the engine ( I thought it did but its a while since I read it) the best thing is the timer! getting in a warm S8 at 5 o'clock on icy morning
Dave

No plumbing required at all for that element, though presumably some electrics; there's already the "resting" heater system which has the auxiliary hot water pump. Obviously designed to take heat from the engine and warm the car, but it will circulate coolant through the engine.