heater does not get hot

I'ts no wonder the heater has trouble.

Today was around 40 degrees and I watched my temperatures going to work on my
Autoxray.

Got to 100 degrees after 1 mile or so.
Got to 130 after 4 miles. (point the electric heaters turn off.)
Got to 160 after 7 miles, almost at work.

And this is with my carpets blocking half the radiator.

Temerature dropped below 160 on my last mile too, when I slowed down on the city streets.

Regarding the electric heat. Easy to tell when it is going when car is cold. Just compare
air temp at dash vs at floor vents. Floor only is electrically heated engine will heat both.

 

Hi Boris:

Regarding the diesel fuel gelling up, that happens here too. The fuel blenders, especially truck stop operators like Petro Canada and Esso, are *very* careful to blend to season.

A coworker of mine with a 2004 VW Golf TDI had a lot of trouble with his VW this winter. I helped him figure out what was going on, as VW cars are usually good winter starters here if you plug them in. His was gelling up all the time, and the fuel filter finally clogged in Jan at -40.

He was buying his diesel at a small corner station half a block from his apartment building. That's a strict no-no. Who knows how long that s*** was in the bottom of the tank? Years maybe??

We then hopped in my Prius and drove on the North Perimeter bypass around Winnipeg to just outside the airport. There is a large Esso truckstop here that does high volume business. Also there is a PetroCanda on the East side that is high volume.

Since he started using the truck stop to get fuel, he has had zero problems. Though he still has an irrational fear of fueling up next to a Kenworth.

Remember that winter-blended diesel fuel can result in an up to 20% loss in fuel economy. And may increase emissions too. So it's a trade off.

As far as the motor stopping in city traffic, I will report that once the temps get to -20 C or colder, the motor does *not* turn off. It runs all the time and the battery SOC is always, and I mean *always* full green.

Another thing you have to watch out for is that at -30 and especially at -40, all-season tires lose almost all the little grip they provide on polished ice. Ice melting agents also stop working at that temp too. So it's important to use soft, squishy winter tires and/or studs.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(tomdeimos\";p=\"70170)</div>

Tom:

You should have been here in January at -40 to conduct your little science experiment. I wonder if at city speeds the motor would ever exceed 120??

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jayman\";p=\"70184)</div>

Temperatures in lower Germany (Bavaria) went as low as -44 C a while ago. I believe that at those temperatures modern TDIs really have problems with heavy mixtures. An older (2nd gen VW Golf) can probably accept whiskey if you pour it in...

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jayman\";p=\"70184)</div>

I would, if I were you, try driving in 'B' to see if it generates more friction (thus heat) this way. If you get enough heat if you are driving faster (highway speeds) than this could be the answer.

Boris

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(BorisSlo\";p=\"70210)</div>

Hi Boris:

You bring up an interesting point. It appears that at extreme conditions, certainly WRT temperature or "real" abuse, our modern electronically-controlled equipment can't deal with it. In the Far North they need to use special synthetic oils, heaters on the fuel lines and sumps, and even then it's not certain.

For the vast majority of the "civilized" Western world, electronic controls over engine operation have greatly benefited us: improved fuel economy, much reduced emissions, better safety, etc.

Once you get on the "wrong" side of -30 C, things rapidly change. Many modern plastics will crack if exposed especially to temperatures of -40 or colder. A fresh battery with proper charge will still freeze at around -44 C. A good modern synthetic 0W-30 or 0W-20 motor oil will turn solid at around -54 C.

There is a good reason that the former USSR used "obsolete" technology like vacuum tubes, and nasty smoky diesel trucks like the Kamaz, in Siberia. In extremely cold conditions, mechanical rotary fuel injection is far more reliable than modern unit injection.

This is recognized in the West especially when ultimate durability in harsh conditions takes precedence over fuel economy and emissions:

http://www.osti.gov/energycitations/produc...osti_id=6731763

As an example, my 1984 Ford F-150 pickup was built in Canada and from the factory had an EGR blockoff plate and no emissions controls. Although it has never gotten more than 12 MPG, it also has never left me stranded. It needed fairly frequent fiddling with the Holley 390 carb I used to have on it, the "newer" Edelbrock 500 carb is much less picky.

Or much like those early 80's Lada cars that Canada used to accept in trade for the wheat we shipped to the USSR. Compared to American cars of the same period, and *especially* compared to Toyota cars, they were cheap nasty cars. But anybody with basic mechanical skills could keep one on the road forever, or at least until the body finally rusted out. I think they even had points in the distributor! I think they were a copy of the Fiat 1200??

There was a documentary in the late 90's called "Overland To America" which featured adventurous Britains attempting to drive Ford Escourts (I don't think the Focus was out yet) eastwards all across the Continent to the Eastern most part of Siberia, then a cargo plane to Alaska and then driving down to eventually get to New York City.

They had specially-equipped Kamaz 6x6 trucks as part of their convoy across Siberia, and those brutish, nasty Kamaz trucks saved their a**. Even with synthetic motor oils, once the temperature hit -55 C, the Ford's quit. Then they became snowbound in a blizzard for several days with temps near -65 C.

Once they dug the trucks out, they hooked up chains to the Ford's and towed them behind the Kamaz trucks for a few days until they hit warmer climate and could finally start the Ford's. If Central Canada got just 20 degrees colder in winter, cars would break down on the highway and motorists would freeze to death.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(BorisSlo\";p=\"70210)</div>

I tried that this afternoon and didn't notice any difference in heater performance. The driving was unpleasant though as the motor really raced. I think on the highway the motor is working due to the air resistance at 100 km/h, even then it can take 20-30 km before the heater really starts blasting hot air.

However, I did use a similar "trick" when I had my 2000 GMC Sierra pickup truck, and in that vehicle it worked well. It had a 4L60E 4 speed electronically controlled automatic transmission.

If I just drove around in "D" it picked *very* low shiftpoints for maximum economy and low emissions. In winter, although the heater worked the motor cooled off too much. In summer, the A/C didn't work very well.

That pickup truck had a feature called "Tow / Haul," which was a button at the end of the column shifter. If you enabled Tow / Haul, the shiftpoints were 2,500 RPM minimum, and empty it shifted *very* firm. Around the city though, this was enough to keep the motor warm in winter. And in summer, the much higher engine RPM's helped the A/C work much better.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jayman\";p=\"70188)</div>

Tom:

You should have been here in January at -40 to conduct your little science experiment. I wonder if at city speeds the motor would ever exceed 120??
[/b][/quote]

I'm sure you're right. Mine is almost there when it is just 0 degrees F here. I'd put more carpet back to block more of the radiator now that I can monitor the temp, but I expect the real cold is over here I'll work on making it adjustable for next
season.

I estimate my old diesel car which also had a small engine, warmed up in about half the miles this car takes and it could stay hot enough to pump out heat down to 0 degrees at least.

I feel some heat when the water gets to 100, but 170 is where
it starts to feel like a real car heater! I often don't get there.