Upgrade advice needed

Intech

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 25, 2005
Location
S. Central Pa USA
TDI
2003 Jetta GLS, 1999.5 Golf 2 dr
I hope that this is the right place for this request. This is directed at our mostly Northern members that are used to this crappy cold weather we're having here on the East coast. Short of letting my Jetta idle all night (I did it once in Winter when my wife was rushed to the hospital, and I couldn't stay in her room), I'm looking for suggestions, advice, etc. to deal with this cold (zero degrees last night). Yesterday morning it was so cold that my oil alarm went off when I was starting it, and the oil hadn't gotten to the pressure switch yet because it was too cold. My New Years resolution, now, is to have a block heater installed this Summer, but since Winter just started, I'm open to suggestions for right now. Thanks
 

Rrusse11

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 23, 2014
Location
PA Deutsch Country
TDI
2002 Golf, 5spd; 05 Jeep CRD
Intech,

It hit -2F in Lancaster, after waiting for the glow plug light to go out,
I started right up. Ran a bit rough for the first 30secs or so, and threw some white smoke, I'm suspicious that one of my cylinders is a bit low on compression. I am running 0-40W oil, the Castrol Titanium Edge, the "Euro" blend. VW spec, full synthetic made in Belgium. I feel running the 0W vs a 5W helps.

Gotta' work light? Stick it next to the oil filter and leave it on overnight, that should help keeping the oil a bit warmer. Any of
the winter diesel fuel additives should help.

Judging by the weather forecasts, we're in for continued cold.
Good luck!


 

Intech

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 25, 2005
Location
S. Central Pa USA
TDI
2003 Jetta GLS, 1999.5 Golf 2 dr
Rrusse11

Thank you for your response, and info. The system wouldn't let me reply to you, so I did it this way. What you tell me, is pretty much all I've thought of, however, you're running 0-40 oil, and I'm at 5-40 Rotella T-6. I was thinking of changing to that, but I just changed the oil last week, so I decided against that for the moment I used to use a drop light for decades when I was running Beetles, but I gave that up when a bad bulb started a fire in my pool house, back in 2010, and burned it to the ground. Instead, I called Oliver, and he hooked me up with Terry up in MN, and he's sending me a Frost Heater today, and Oliver will install it as soon as I get it. After that, it can get as cold as it can get, and the car will be warm and heated up within minutes, and start like it's Summer
 

dandywriter

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 18, 2007
Location
Ottawa (Kanata), Canada, eh?
TDI
2014 Golf Wagon 6M
You'll love the Frostheater! Use your fan sparingly for the first part of your drive - I limit mine to 1 until the heat is starting to go up (using heated seats adds load and you warm the engine more quickly).

I have never had the oil warning go off in my 2006 BRM. I use Fuchs Titan 5W40...

I also recommend blocking the grill with either the pipe insulators or the ID front.

Leaving a window cracked allows heated/moist air to escape when you stop and you don't end up with frost on the inside...
 

Intech

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 25, 2005
Location
S. Central Pa USA
TDI
2003 Jetta GLS, 1999.5 Golf 2 dr
You'll love the Frostheater! Use your fan sparingly for the first part of your drive - I limit mine to 1 until the heat is starting to go up (using heated seats adds load and you warm the engine more quickly).

I have never had the oil warning go off in my 2006 BRM. I use Fuchs Titan 5W40...

I also recommend blocking the grill with either the pipe insulators or the ID front.

Leaving a window cracked allows heated/moist air to escape when you stop and you don't end up with frost on the inside...
When Terry called me last night, we spoke for about 20 minutes, and he mentioned pretty much all you said. He also added that there are instruction with the kit. I'm really looking forward to it. If I had known about this before, I would have had one a long time ago.
 

Lightflyer1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Sep 13, 2005
Location
Round Rock, Texas
TDI
2015 Beetle tdi dsg
You have been here as long as I have and never heard of the Frost Heaters? Wow! You need to expand your forum categories some. Good luck with the heater!
 

Windex

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 1, 2006
Location
Cambridge
TDI
05 B5V 01E FRF
Second the Frostheater advice - I have one in my BHW passat, and it will raise the coolant temps 60 or so degrees in 2 hours use.

Careful if you do put the unit on a timer - if the FrostHeater is powered 1/2 hour before departure, it will warm up the coolant near the coolant temp sensor, but will not have fully warmed the block yet - it can actually make the engine much harder to start as the ECU will "think" that the engine is much warmer than it actually is.

I set my timer to go an about 2.5 hours prior to the time I plan to commute each morning.
 

Intech

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 25, 2005
Location
S. Central Pa USA
TDI
2003 Jetta GLS, 1999.5 Golf 2 dr
You have been here as long as I have and never heard of the Frost Heaters? Wow! You need to expand your forum categories some. Good luck with the heater!
I never heard of them, because, until now, I never had need of them, so I never researched them. I've had five diesels in that time frame, and NEVER had a starting issue until now. I will install it the day after it arrives. From what I've learned, I don't expect anything but good from the installation
 

Lightflyer1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Sep 13, 2005
Location
Round Rock, Texas
TDI
2015 Beetle tdi dsg
No offense intended. It is just they have been pretty widely discussed over the years I thought anyone being around here that long would have at least heard of them. I am in Texas and really have no need at all for one but know of them from reading here. I hesitated to mention them as I thought it would be dumb to even bring it up as they are pretty well known. They are reported to do very well for people. You will still lose heat while idling though in the very cold.
 

Intech

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 25, 2005
Location
S. Central Pa USA
TDI
2003 Jetta GLS, 1999.5 Golf 2 dr
No offense intended. It is just they have been pretty widely discussed over the years I thought anyone being around here that long would have at least heard of them. I am in Texas and really have no need at all for one but know of them from reading here. I hesitated to mention them as I thought it would be dumb to even bring it up as they are pretty well known. They are reported to do very well for people. You will still lose heat while idling though in the very cold.
A lot of people were surprised that I hadn't heard of them, but when something isn't an issue with you, you tend to not pay attention to it
 

turbovan+tdi

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Joined
Mar 23, 2014
Location
Abbotsford, BC.
TDI
2003 TDI 2.0L ALH, auto, silver wagon, lowered, Colt stage 2 cam, ported head,205 injectors, 1756 turbo, Malone 2.0, 3" exhaust, 18" BBS RC GLI rims. 2004 blue GSW TDI, 5 speed, lowered, GLI BBS wheels painted black, Malone stage 2, Aerotur
What weight of oil are you using? Synthetic 5w40 should be just fine. As mentioned, blocking the rad and any form of engine preheater will make a huge difference. :)
 

Intech

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 25, 2005
Location
S. Central Pa USA
TDI
2003 Jetta GLS, 1999.5 Golf 2 dr
What weight of oil are you using? Synthetic 5w40 should be just fine. As mentioned, blocking the rad and any form of engine preheater will make a huge difference. :)
Rotella T-6 since new 5W-40, and I never had that oil alarm come up before on any of my diesels, in fact the 89' always started almost instantly even at below freezing temps. However, now both my cars will get Frost Heaters
 

pebjr

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 8, 2013
Location
Eastern North Carolina
TDI
2009 Jetta; 2015 Golf S
Like the original post, I've been having issues with starting my car in the cold weather. My question is concerning extended warranties. I had the emission recall fixed on my 2009 tdi a few months back and was wondering if a Frost Heater is installed would that void any of the warranty form VW.
 

Jetta_Pilot

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 14, 2005
Location
West Hill, Ont.
TDI
2015 Passat Highline TDI Candy White (SEL Premium) long gone 2002 Jetta TDI
I agree with " Lightflyer1".
I have absolutely no need for a frostheater like that since I spend winters in Mexico since 2001. Though quite often after I have driven through Texas I see on the news that Dallas had snow and a cold spell. But I know/knew of a frost heater because I read threads just for the solutions people come up with for different problems regardless whether they apply to me or not. Sometimes in a totally unrelated thread someone offers up a tip for something which may be of interest.

BTW: I too became a member in 2005.
 

Jetta_Pilot

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 14, 2005
Location
West Hill, Ont.
TDI
2015 Passat Highline TDI Candy White (SEL Premium) long gone 2002 Jetta TDI
Like the original post, I've been having issues with starting my car in the cold weather. My question is concerning extended warranties. I had the emission recall fixed on my 2009 tdi a few months back and was wondering if a Frost Heater is installed would that void any of the warranty form VW.
How do you figure the installation of a frost heater would void any warranty?
My former Jetta and my current Passat came with factory installed heaters.
 

Nevada_TDI

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 17, 2008
Location
Reno, sort of...
TDI
2001 Jetta TDI
It gets quite cold here in Northern Nevada; it gets especially cold in my driveway where my car is parked outside every night. I just installed a Frostheater and I could not be happier. The install was less than 30 minutes and I set the timer for 4 hours every night. It is nice to touch the key and have the engine start w/o smoke and reasonable heat coming from the vents by the time I get out to the main road.
 

turbovan+tdi

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 23, 2014
Location
Abbotsford, BC.
TDI
2003 TDI 2.0L ALH, auto, silver wagon, lowered, Colt stage 2 cam, ported head,205 injectors, 1756 turbo, Malone 2.0, 3" exhaust, 18" BBS RC GLI rims. 2004 blue GSW TDI, 5 speed, lowered, GLI BBS wheels painted black, Malone stage 2, Aerotur
Rotella T-6 since new 5W-40, and I never had that oil alarm come up before on any of my diesels, in fact the 89' always started almost instantly even at below freezing temps. However, now both my cars will get Frost Heaters
I read up the specs, good to -30 deg F. Interesting.
 

pebjr

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 8, 2013
Location
Eastern North Carolina
TDI
2009 Jetta; 2015 Golf S
How do you figure the installation of a frost heater would void any warranty?
My former Jetta and my current Passat came with factory installed heaters.

When the dealer fixed my car for the emission problem they told me any modifications would void the new warranty. Now, at the time i was talking about 2MICRONTECH PURE FLOW filter & CONTAIN FLOW KIT.
So, 2Micron does involve the fuel system, but the Frost Heater doesnt. So I was curious about if I installed the Frost Heater if it would void the warranty. Maybe I should call the dealer and ask the service advisor.
 

Rrusse11

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 23, 2014
Location
PA Deutsch Country
TDI
2002 Golf, 5spd; 05 Jeep CRD
So does the Frost Heater actually circulate the coolant through the block? Ie, does it have a pump as part of the setup?
Inquiring minds would like to know.
Cheers,
R*2
 

Lightflyer1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Sep 13, 2005
Location
Round Rock, Texas
TDI
2015 Beetle tdi dsg
When the dealer fixed my car for the emission problem they told me any modifications would void the new warranty. Now, at the time i was talking about 2MICRONTECH PURE FLOW filter & CONTAIN FLOW KIT.
So, 2Micron does involve the fuel system, but the Frost Heater doesnt. So I was curious about if I installed the Frost Heater if it would void the warranty. Maybe I should call the dealer and ask the service advisor.
The dealer will claim anything will void the warranty. Technically they have to prove it caused and/or involved in some way with the failure. Asking the dealer about something affecting the warranty is pretty much pointless as you already know the answer they will give. If you use aftermarket fuel filters and your brakes fail, they can't void your warranty. If you install the Frost heater and you have a fuel system issue, they can't really void anything without showing cause. It can make the situation more difficult to deal with though.
 

Windex

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 1, 2006
Location
Cambridge
TDI
05 B5V 01E FRF
So does the Frost Heater actually circulate the coolant through the block? Ie, does it have a pump as part of the setup?
Inquiring minds would like to know.
Cheers,
R*2
No pump - the coolant circulation works through convection.

On my BHW, the only issue is that if I try to leave early (within 1/2 hour of the timier coming on), the coolant will have warmed, especially near the coolant temp sensor, but the block will not have heated any.

Can make for some hard starts when the ECU thinks the engine is 2-30 deg warmer than it actually is.

If the timer / heater has been on for an hour or more, convection warms the block nicely. 60 deg f rise in 2 hours for me.
 
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