TDi AFN - Diesel fuel heater... where is it?

[TeKnodriver]

Mornign all,
I remember reading that my TDi AFN has a fuel heater to warm the diesel on cold days / startup...
As I run 100% biodiesel this heater will be most useful in coming cold mornings,
so...
any ideas on where it is - engine bey or fuel tank?
and, how could it be tested?

searched interweb and owners' manual but no info on where it is...

cheers,
P)

 

[ScottD3]

I got the same engine and I got no idea.
I never knew we had one. Be interested to know if we do and where, I also run bio diesel every now and then.

winters coming and its time to drop the palm mixture.

 

[fARQUARE]

i think the fuel heater is just the fuel return from the pump which in turn warms the tank.....

good luck running bio in winter, i did last year allbeit last year was rediculously cold but my car was rendered useless when the bio all waxed up. was frozen in the tank, the lines and the ip in the engine bay. If your going to try it anyway and hope for a milder winter i might suggest a big bit of wood infront of the rad to keep the engine bay temps up or you will see stuttering at cruising speed and lack of power.

also when the bio froze in the ip it broke the fuel temp sensor so i had to replace that (and buy the tool to open the ip up)....

on the plus side - i'll let you borrow the tool if yours goes!

good luck

 

[ScottD3]

i think the fuel heater is just the fuel return from the pump which in turn warms the tank.....

good luck running bio in winter, i did last year allbeit last year was rediculously cold but my car was rendered useless when the bio all waxed up. was frozen in the tank, the lines and the ip in the engine bay. If your going to try it anyway and hope for a milder winter i might suggest a big bit of wood infront of the rad to keep the engine bay temps up or you will see stuttering at cruising speed and lack of power.

also when the bio froze in the ip it broke the fuel temp sensor so i had to replace that (and buy the tool to open the ip up)....

on the plus side - i'll let you borrow the tool if yours goes!

good luck

never had a problem over the last 4 years or running bio. Granted I never run pure bio.
what was your bio made out of and how was it processed?
when the weather starts getting colder we drop the palm from our mixture and move over to pure rapeseed oil and use acid to process, this help lower the freezing point.

 

[fARQUARE]

no idea - bought from apple fuels in glasgow.

all i know is bio didn't work for me at -15 for 2 weeks

 

[TeKnodriver]

good quality Biodiesel should contatin NO plam oil for above reasons,
reputable suppliers will add witerizers and octane boosters as my North London supplier does...

if not, I add 20% diesel or [ehem...] 2% petrol - [at your own risk...] but the AHU loved it!

I ran it for 3 years in AHU engine with no probs whatsoever

maybe I should just put in new glow-plugs to get it warmer

 

[adamss24]

There is no fuel heater on the 1.9 tdi engine, you can buy aftermarket heaters from USA, they have been using bio for years and their winters are much colder than in uk. Do a search for "frostheater"...

 

[aragorn]

You shouldnt need to block the radiator up with bits of wood. Thats what the thermostat is for.

If the stat is working, no water will flow thru the radiator util the engines up to 90c.

Some pugs have a heated fuel filter housing, which may help a little, but its not going to fix it if the fuels waxed so badly the engine wont start as it uses engine coolant.

 

[B5NUT]

you can get covers to stop cold air geting to the rad & engine, but it's got to be bloddy cold to use something like that, and I don't think we will ever see that sort of temp in the UK

 

[fARQUARE]

the wood is not to effect the water temp, it's to stop wind chill on the ip which is in direct air flow.

 

[B5NUT]

I would look to do some sort of velcro cover setup where it could easy be removed.

 

[aragorn]

In that case, shield the IP itself, not the radiator.

 

[ScottD3]

IP?
Internet protocol?

 

[aragorn]

Injector Pump

 

[fARQUARE]

ran fine all last winter using the wood (its actually more like 2mm fibreboard), secondly i'm sure that i've seen threads where people use stats in tdi's that open at higher temps as there is some sort of performance gain.....

the chipboard in front of the rad has had no ill effects, only gets used in winter - which remember are much harsher up here in scotland than the occasional frosts you sometimes get down south.

third, i remember reading an article in a motorbike mag which indicated that if you were riding at 70mph at 0 degrees, the windchill was -27! i'm not kidding when i say it was -15 for >2 weeks last winter, i'd like to know the windchill on that...
i guess thats starting to get to the bottom of the operating range for most vehicles with no winter packs.

fourth, in most cold counties i've been to in the world people block their rads with card or a plastic bag or something. Doesent make it right but i know what helped my cold running issues.

 

[aragorn]

I know all about scottish winters, i'm scottish myself.

We used fibreboard on craigs S4 last winter because its thermostat was fubar and the guage wouldnt even move off the stop. But the problem is if your then driving in slow moving traffic, or stuck stationary etc, then the airflow thru the rad is substantially reduced. Craig had has temp guage showing 105c a few times an that was with only half of the radiator covered.

Its dodgy at best, and we only did it because changing the stat on the S4 is a rediculous job that we didnt even want to contemplate in 12" of snow!

I'd suggest if you've never changed it then fit a new stat, as it'll probably be tired, and then go from there.

 

[Mike B]

Radiator covers used to be quite popular cos they can help an engine warm up quicker but they had to be monitored for overheating .Had one on a 50s ford pop when we we were married in 67 and someone rolled the blind closed so the thing burst its top hose on the way to the airport but those in the following cars gave us a lift and recovered the car which was covered in rusty water and it was fixed when we got back.Gave me something else to think about on honeymoon!

 

[fARQUARE]

changet it twice on this car.
remember diesels run way cooler than petrol so can do with as much heat retention as possible in winter

 

[ScottD3]

Sounds like you need the adjustable grill that ford has introduced on its cars.
or some form of Venetian blind set up.