Interior heater - Where do I drill??

[Sire]

Hello fellow A2 owners :-)


About 4 months ago I installed a engine block heater in my A2. It's nice to have a warm engine in the winter, but the interior is still cold. So I have now bought cables and an interior heater so I don't have to drive off in an ice cold car anymore.

http://wup.defa.com/en/wup_products_interiorheaters.html

However I ran into some problems when I was about to install it. To get the cable inside the car I have to drill a hole in the firewall. But it seems to be double layerd! I don't dare to put the drill into the firewall without knowing what's behind it. (electric cables, water hoses etc.)

Can someone be kind enough to post a image that shows where the cable goes through the firewall?

I have an 1.4 petrol.

Kind regards
Glenn

[Skipton01]

There is a large bundle of cables that go through the bulkhead below the bottom corner of the windscreen on the passenger side (assuming that you have a left-hand drive car).

Lift the bonnet and look at the bulkhead behind the brake fluid reservoir - you will see where the cables disappear. Removing the glovebox should allow you enough space to get to the other side. You will probably have to use a pull-through first - a stiffer piece of wire or a special cable puller.

Cheers,

Mike

[Sire]

Thank you for the quick reply Mike :-)

When I was looking for a spot to drill a hole I saw the bundle and tried to use a strip tie (right word?) and see if I could feel it with my fingers in on the inside. But no luck. It was too far up behind the dashboard.

Is there alot of work to remove the glovebox? (thinking of the airbag)
I could only see two torx-screws under the dash. I guess there are more screws, but I can only see these two.

[Skipton01]

There are 5 screws in total to remove the glovebox:

2 underneath, that you already know of
3 inside, along the top edge when the door is open. 1 of these is behind the little ridged coin holder, which you need to prise out with a flat bladed screwdriver.

The airbag has separate mounts and is not affected by the glovebox removal. However, be careful when you undo the last screw, as the glovebox drops down and you can snap the wires that are attached to it.

When you have removed the glovebox, you'll see a thick layer of gray foam rubber which is next to the bulkhead. You'll have to get your fingers behind the top corner of this to get to where the wiring comes through.

Whatever you do, please don't drill through the bulkhead, as you can cause major damage if you are not VERY VERY careful! You have been warned.

Cheers,

Mike

[Sire]

You have been most helpful.

I'll print this guide out and give it another go tomorrow.
(I will not drill a hole)

Thanks again :-)

[Skipton01]

I notice that you have a petrol car.

There is another option you could use:

At the bottom of the compartment in the drivers footwell, there is a hole where the Lambda sensor goes through, and lots of other wiring.

If you can run the wires from the engine bay underneath the car to this point, you will find it much easier.

However, to protect the wires, you should use a protective corrugated pipe and secure it to the chassis at regular intervals. It will be easy to do this if you have ramps or jacks.

Cheers,

Mike

[Sire]

Well, the cables is actually one big "cable" wich is about 15 mm in diameter, and it isn't very long.
It looks like this:
http://www.calix.se/consumer/img/layout_4/grenledningssats_530.jpg

So I think I'll go with the first option.

[Sire]

I have now successfully installed the interior heater :)
Hopefully I'll get some pictures up tomorrow.

Thanks again for your help Mike!

I am VERY pleased with the result :D

[Skipton01]

Excellent! I look forward to the photos. I presume it's pretty chilly over there at the moment?

Once again, glad to be of help.

Cheers,

Mike

[Sire]

Here it is!

http://www.site-b.se/misc/heater_1.jpg

Ok, here it is:
It's very small in comparison with a regular heater.
http://www.site-b.se/misc/heater_2.jpg

Well, not too cold. 2.1 degrees celsius. But i'm easily cold.
What about you? How cold do you have over there?

[Xiter]

For this purpose, there is a suitable plug in the right hand side wheel house...

[Sire]

Why did you have to go and show me that now when the heater is already installed? ;)

Well, it feels better to have the cable in the engine bay where it won't get sprayed with water, dirt and salt.

[Xiter]

Why did you have to go and show me that now when the heater is already installed? ;)

To show you that there is more than one road to Rome :)

Well, it feels better to have the cable in the engine bay where it won't get sprayed with water, dirt and salt.

Indeed, but when I was doing the same job it felt like an easy way to get to Rome :)

As you might have noticed, I've sealed the hole and cable pretty good with silicone, and on top of that the inner wheel housing is providing even more protection. When I first removed it I was surprised to find the body behind it very clean.

[Sire]

Xiter:

You're right about the Rome thing :D

[Xiter]

Xiter:

You're right about the Rome thing :D

So, are you satisfied with the power from the small unit?

I actually have two heaters, one located between the seats which blows hot air on the windscreen and one in the driver's foot well, cable tied to the driver seat of course to prevent forward movement for those rare occasions I have to brake. :)

The one in the driver's foot well is very handy indeed since I drive bare foot all year round, with the exception of wearing socks. :D

[Sire]

I've never had a interior heater before so I don't have something to compare mine with. But yes, I am satisfied with this one.

The only drawback might be that there is only one level of heating. It's eigher on or off. At work there is a limit of 1.200 watt.
This one is 1.350 watt

[Xiter]

You need a 10 amp fuse to run both the engine heater and the interior heater.

I take it there is only a 6 amp fuse at your work?
If that is the case my suggestion is to get a cheap heater with maximum 800W of power from like Rusta or Jula that you can use at work together with the engine heater.

[Sire]

Buy another one just for when i'm at work? Hmm, we'll see about that...

I can run both together, but there's a label on the "electric pole" (don't know the english word for it) that says "Maximum 1200 watt".

They sometimes do random checkups to see how much power you're using.

I could buy a "timer" so the heater isn't on the whole time.

Xiter: are you from Sweden?

[Xiter]

Buy another one just for when i'm at work? Hmm, we'll see about that...

It's your call...


I can run both together, but there's a label on the "electric pole" (don't know the english word for it) that says "Maximum 1200 watt".


1200W, it doesn't make sense to me, a 6 amp fuse will give you 230x6=1380W of power until it pops. A 10 amp 230x10=2300W. The fuse on your electric outlet at work must be a 10 amp since you can run both together. My guess is that the label means maximum 1200W for the interior heater.


They sometimes do random checkups to see how much power you're using.

Oh dear, it amazes me that they have people doing that...Are you still living in the former east Germany? :) I doubt you will be prosecuted for the excessive 150W of power usage.


I could buy a "timer" so the heater isn't on the whole time.


Yes, but if the Stasi personell measures the power when it's on you will be sent to jail for the rest of your life :)


Xiter: are you from Sweden?


Yes sir(e)

[Sire]

Vi får väl se vad som händer. Just nu är det ju inte så kallt...

We'll see what hapends. It ain't that cold now anyway.

Where in Sweden do you live?

[Xiter]

Up north where it's cold and dark this time of the year :)
Got another 3-5 cm of snow last night.
I take it you have a 400W contact heater bolted to the engine block?
What is your opinion of the efficiency of that heater?
The engine heater for a TDI is a direct coolant heater of 550W mounted between the oil cooler and the water pipe. See attached fitting instruction if interested. At my work, automatic timers are built into the electric outlets. The outside temperature decides for how long the pre-heat period will be. Unfortunatley I found this period to be little on the short side so I've actually been thinking of installing another heater. A grand total of 1100W of power.:D

[Sire]

Yep, i've got the contact heater. I'm pretty pleased with it.

[matsen]

Hi,
can you please post a picture that shows where in the bumper you drilled for the power connector? I have a 1,4 TDI.

//Mats

[Xiter]

I didn't drill through the bumber. Since my car doesn't have foglights I put the connector where the left hand foglight usually is.

[matsen]

Thanks Xiter! I put my inlet in the same spot. That worked just fine.

I have some more questions:

- Can you describe how you routed the cables in the enginecompartment?
- Where did you place the joint block?
- When you dismounted the inner plastic wheelhouse, did you manage to reuse the plastic "poprivets" or did you buy new ones?

[spike]

Hi matsen

You can re-use the plastic rivets providing you press in the centre pin about 5mm before pulling the rivet assy out. Push too far and the pin falls out the back of the rivet and usually gets lost.

Cheers Spike

[Xiter]

Thanks Xiter! I put my inlet in the same spot. That worked just fine.

I have some more questions:

- Can you describe how you routed the cables in the enginecompartment?
- Where did you place the joint block?
- When you dismounted the inner plastic wheelhouse, did you manage to reuse the plastic "poprivets" or did you buy new ones?

From the left hand side fog light panel I pushed the cable upwards, near the left headlight and then followed the bonnet seal to the other side, where I routed it into the wheel house. I put the joint block along the way. Can't remember exactly where at this time.
If I remember correctly I didn't need to buy new rivets.