Arturo Rivas Retrofit parking heater
11/30/2011
M ünchen, Tuesday morning, 7:00 am. Photographer Arturo Rivas scrapes off the window of our VW Sharan with a CD case. The ice scraper is still in the drawer at home, at least the locks are not frozen, so we can start the engine. From today on, trips in thick coats and the desire for a fireplace and tea should be an end. Konrad Wiesgickl at Webasto in Gilching has already installed several hundred parking heaters and will be devoting himself to our VW today. 'Thermo Top Evo 5+' is written on the box. 'This system is particularly suitable for SUVs, minivans and small buses,' explains the technician to us.
The cold car can be preheated with it at the push of a button, a call, SMS or an app signal - scratching ice is a thing of the past . The unit has an output of five kW, so you could alternatively warm an apartment comfortably. Sounds good, there is only one catch: Older vehicles often do not have ready-made installation kits. Wiring harnesses have to be extended and brackets built.
Not for hobby mechanics
Hobby mechanics should, however, consider installing a parking heater keep away anyway. In addition to intervening in the on-board electronics, the system is also connected to the vehicle's coolant circuit. Anyone who unprofessionally reaches into the do-it-yourself kit risks dying the engine. Webasto offers retrofitting for small cars for 998 euros - including assembly. It gets more expensive with larger cars.
Wiesgickl has to find a good place for the heater in the first step. 'We often place them behind the bumper, but on this model it's too tight there,' he explains, finding a good position next to the sill on the underbody. In addition to the actual unit, the system also includes a water and fuel pump, the exhaust and a number of hoses and clamps. The connection between the vehicle's own cooling circuit and the heater is created in the engine compartment. In addition to a warm interior, this also ensures that the engine is preheated when it starts. This eliminates the cold running phase, which is responsible for increased fuel consumption and high material wear.
But a supply and return hose alone is not enough. The heating needs energy. It gets this from the power supply and a fuel line. To get to the car tank, the interior must be exposedwill. The technician retrofits the cap with a valve which, if necessary, delivers fuel to the parking heater motor. He then sips about 0.2 liters per use, which lasts about 20 minutes.
Alarm system also starts because of warm air
It gets really complicated when laying cables. The glove compartment, the left dashboard trim and the controls for air conditioning and heating must be unscrewed. 'The on-board system has to recognize when the heating comes on,' explains Wiesgickl. To do this, poles have to be repositioned and the wiring harness routed through the narrow cavities in the vehicle. A job that regularly confronts professionals with new challenges and the desperate layperson is guaranteed to go to the workshop. Or would you have known that the interior alarm system honks the neighbors out of bed as soon as warm air blows out? '
We bypass the warning system. If the heating starts, it is paralyzed. But don't worry, someone should try to crack open the doors, the warning system jumps on via the contact switch ', he calms down and switches the relay professionally. A small step during the eight-hour workload, which every driver will be happy about in the future.
The next time we use it, we can preheat the Sharan from the breakfast table using a mobile phone signal. In addition to the annoying ice scraping, we will also be spared the threatened ten euro fine for unnecessarily causing exhaust emissions and noise and hopefully the Sharan engine will be safe for a long time thanks to the gentle gear.
