Today I.....

Tested the DEFA aux heater installation on my BHC car by running it for half an hour.

This was fitted over a year ago but I never got round to working it out last year. Decided to plug it in and get a feel for how it works.
The background : external temperature around 14 degrees. Coolant temperature on 15 when I switched it on (ODB reader plugged in with the ignition key turned to just before starting).

When plugged in, you hear a gentle noise of moving liquid rather like when someone runs a tap in a different part of the house emanating from around the coolant / oil heat exchanger and somewhere near the alternator. The return pipe from the oil heat exchanger is where the heater is plumbed in, and the first signs of something happening is that the pipe above the heater immediately warms up. After about 15 minutes you can feel heat in the pipe returning from the oil heat exchanger to the heater, and by 30 minutes the pipe leading to the base of the coolant expansion tank is physically warm. The pipe immediately above the heater by this stage feels like warm bath water - my guess would have been 40˚C or so, backed up by the reader suggesting it was mid 30s ˚C.

I'm now convinced enough by how it works (not that I shouldn't be given how prevalent these are in colder climes than ours), and am going to get a digital timer so that it can be switched on from the garage power point around an hour before the car is needed as it gets colder over the next few weeks. I can also swap on a spare slightly damaged ridged service panel from the garage that I will modify enabling the socket to be accessed through the fourth Audi ring without leaving the whole service hatch open to the elements - probably insert a grommet or something similar.

Postscript - Monday morning 0550am .. borderline freezing fog conditions, Colour DIS says air temperature 2 degrees, coolant temperature 3 degrees. Remove DEFA from timer as it hasn't switched it on, and plug into normal socket. 0625, air temperature 2 degrees, coolant temperature 22 degrees. Just need to work this clockwork timer socket thing out so that it turns the power on at 0530 as planned instead of having to do it manually.

Edit .. or buy a digital one with a clear user interface and use the clockwork one for something else!
 
Postscript - Monday morning 0550am .. borderline freezing fog conditions, Colour DIS says air temperature 2 degrees, coolant temperature 3 degrees. Remove DEFA from timer as it hasn't switched it on, and plug into normal socket. 0625, air temperature 2 degrees, coolant temperature 22 degrees. Just need to work this clockwork timer socket thing out so that it turns the power on at 0530 as planned instead of having to do it manually.

Edit .. or buy a digital one with a clear user interface and use the clockwork one for something else!
Push the pegs in for the time ⏲️ you want on 😆
 
Today I met an A2 "expert" in a supermarket car park, who didn't even know he should put higher octane fuel in his FIS and that he told me the diesels are a 1.6 golf diesel engine 😄.
His FIS isn't running right, I recommended WOM but he knew someone better but won't divulge who 😅. I wished him luck and moved on quickly. Every day is a school day.
 
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Today I met an A2 "expert" who didn't even know he should put higher octane fuel in his FIS and that he told me the diesels are a 1.6 golf diesel engine 😄.
His FIS isn't running right, I recommended WOM but he knew someone better but won't divulge who 😅. I wished him luck and moved on quickly. Every day is a school day.
If he has an FIS that probably explains why it's not running right - it'll be layering the injected fuel upside-down.
 
Today I was about to fix the broken airbox, after driving through an unwanted puddle 2 weeks ago, but instead I had to put the battery on charge, as the engine didn't even crack and only showed 10.1v. After the 2-3 weeks non-stop rain, it's caused the battery to drain after just a few days, but today was the worse.
Surprisingly the charger showed 14v just in 2 hours. I'm gonna scan the ecu, the underneath tray is dry fortunately, the rain/high puddle might've caused damage further damage.
If a 12v battery goes below 10.5v it usually suffers permanent damage… hope yours is ok
 
Today I found out that my A2 deals with much deeper floodwater than I had previously imagined - thanks to biblical and sustained amounts of rain down here on the south-east Devon coast and a narrow single track lane doubling as a river!

It splashed up over the bonnet at one point but at no point did it try and stall. Awesome little car. Hopefully none has leaked into the sandwich floor compartment where the electronics are.
 
Today I found out that my A2 deals with much deeper floodwater than I had previously imagined - thanks to biblical and sustained amounts of rain down here on the south-east Devon coast and a narrow single track lane doubling as a river!

It splashed up over the bonnet at one point but at no point did it try and stall. Awesome little car. Hopefully none has leaked into the sandwich floor compartment where the electronics are.

When you get a chance, have the undertray off it and check your air filter isn't wet at the bottom. There is a little drainage hole at the bottom of the airbox, through which the engine is quite happy to suck water if you wade deeper than it sits. You got away without hydro-locking it this time but another few inches depth might have been another matter :eek:
 
Today I found out that my A2 deals with much deeper floodwater than I had previously imagined - thanks to biblical and sustained amounts of rain down here on the south-east Devon coast and a narrow single track lane doubling as a river!

It splashed up over the bonnet at one point but at no point did it try and stall. Awesome little car. Hopefully none has leaked into the sandwich floor compartment where the electronics are.
If it's going to become a regular commute, stick a cone filter direct onto the MAF instead. Will give you a couple of feet of extra safety.
 
When you get a chance, have the undertray off it and check your air filter isn't wet at the bottom. There is a little drainage hole at the bottom of the airbox, through which the engine is quite happy to suck water if you wade deeper than it sits. You got away without hydro-locking it this time but another few inches depth might have been another matter :eek:
The filter will definitely be wet, honestly I was really wincing as it was over the level of the sills - luckily I got a bow wave going quickly and the car just kept going with no sign of distress until I got to higher ground - lesson learned about taking that particular route in very wet weather ...
 
Today I . . . Had my 15th MOT pass with Tank, directly after he failed that is, on broken exhaust clamps. It seems that even though he has a full stainless system from Pipewerx, the clamps used where it splits over and around the rear axel, are made from mild steel and had rotted. 10 mins and 2 clamps later, good to go!!

Big thumbs up to Birchwood MOT, sensible blokes who are well into their specialist cars ( in this case, Landy*s, 2CV and Smart For2).
 
Postscript - Monday morning 0550am .. borderline freezing fog conditions, Colour DIS says air temperature 2 degrees, coolant temperature 3 degrees. Remove DEFA from timer as it hasn't switched it on, and plug into normal socket. 0625, air temperature 2 degrees, coolant temperature 22 degrees. Just need to work this clockwork timer socket thing out so that it turns the power on at 0530 as planned instead of having to do it manually.

Edit .. or buy a digital one with a clear user interface and use the clockwork one for something else!
Post postscript :
1 digital timer set up last night on the extension cable in the garage, timed to fire the DEFA up at 0500. Lights on indicating I've not put it in the duff power socket. 0650 - go to unplug car from power cable (experience dictates that if I don't unplug everything assiduously, my other half will get in the car and attempt to drive away in the belief that the A2, like Saturn V, has a system to retract the cables when lift off is attempted (!))... quick look at colour DIS .. external temperature 6.5˚C, coolant temperature 61˚C.

Result.
 
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