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What kind of parking heater do I have?

M

mwpmorris

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Hi,

I'm still getting used to my 2 year old Beach and this will no doubt be the first of many questions.... For the life of me I can't figure out what kind of parking heater I have. The build-to-order options on the VW site are confusing as is the contradictory information that I've read elsewhere.

I have a control panel above the rear-view mirror where I can turn a heater on when the ignition is off. I can set this to be on for a number of minutes (15-20-35-40 etc) and also set the heat power. I get heat out of the vents even when the engine is stone cold and can smell some exhaust fumes on the outside of the van, although not coming from the main engine exhaust. Going further into the settings on the panel (by holding down a button) I seem to be able to schedule heat by date / time although I haven't tried this.

So it looks like I have the fully-fledged parking heater - but without a remote control fob thing. I've struggled to find any mention of this particular spec anywhere online so it's making me question the type of heater that I actually have. Can anyone shed some light?
 
picture of the controller might help
 
Hi,

I'm still getting used to my 2 year old Beach and this will no doubt be the first of many questions.... For the life of me I can't figure out what kind of parking heater I have. The build-to-order options on the VW site are confusing as is the contradictory information that I've read elsewhere.

I have a control panel above the rear-view mirror where I can turn a heater on when the ignition is off. I can set this to be on for a number of minutes (15-20-35-40 etc) and also set the heat power. I get heat out of the vents even when the engine is stone cold and can smell some exhaust fumes on the outside of the van, although not coming from the main engine exhaust. Going further into the settings on the panel (by holding down a button) I seem to be able to schedule heat by date / time although I haven't tried this.

So it looks like I have the fully-fledged parking heater - but without a remote control fob thing. I've struggled to find any mention of this particular spec anywhere online so it's making me question the type of heater that I actually have. Can anyone shed some light?
You appear to have the standard VW Eberspacher heater which uses your diesel fuel from your main tank to heat the interior. The heater is powered from the van leisure battery, as far as I’m aware. The remote fob came with my own van (2018 ocean) but think it may be an optional extra. I’m sure others will correct me !
 
There are several different diesel heaters fitted
 
Check for a sticker on the inside of the drivers
door similar to below. 55803B53-3886-4170-B462-C9EFCDE4B010.jpeg
 
It was an option to have the remote. Might be worth speaking to a VW dealership who will be able to tell you if it was originally speced. If it was you just need to track down the remote from the previous owner or order a new one and get it coded to your van. If it wasn’t originally speced then you just use it manually from the control panel.
 
Same as my beach was and same controller. Same door stickers as ch1 above too. It controls the parking heater or air heater and does indeed run off the leisure battery. 1 battery in the beach under the passenger seat

IMG-20180624-WA0003.jpeg
 
Thanks for the replies everyone - definitely clears things up. I think I'll investigate to see if I can get a remote for it. Should be handy for the school run in January!
 
That’s not the vw control panel and your heater is after market. Someone on here will confirm what make and whether a remote is an option.
 
That’s not the vw control panel and your heater is after market. Someone on here will confirm what make and whether a remote is an option.

Are you sure? There is a description of it in the manual and it has a child-lock function so that the kids can’t mess with the Climatronic air-con in the back.
 
That’s not the vw control panel and your heater is after market. Someone on here will confirm what make and whether a remote is an option.
I'm afraid that isn't correct. That is the California Beach Control Panel.

 
I haven't got a sticker that specifies any kind of heater - Webasto or Eberspacher, just one for tyre pressures.
When you say you have no Stickers, have you checked the Drivers Door as well?
 
I’m an idiot! Have looked many times on all the pillars for stickers and never noticed the sticker on the inside of my door!
 
liaoyang , this is a factory fit Eberspacher in a Beach. May or may not have the remote module attached so worth a check with original dealer, or any VW dealer who can check on chassis number.
 
Hi,

I'm still getting used to my 2 year old Beach and this will no doubt be the first of many questions.... For the life of me I can't figure out what kind of parking heater I have. The build-to-order options on the VW site are confusing as is the contradictory information that I've read elsewhere.

I have a control panel above the rear-view mirror where I can turn a heater on when the ignition is off. I can set this to be on for a number of minutes (15-20-35-40 etc) and also set the heat power. I get heat out of the vents even when the engine is stone cold and can smell some exhaust fumes on the outside of the van, although not coming from the main engine exhaust. Going further into the settings on the panel (by holding down a button) I seem to be able to schedule heat by date / time although I haven't tried this.

So it looks like I have the fully-fledged parking heater - but without a remote control fob thing. I've struggled to find any mention of this particular spec anywhere online so it's making me question the type of heater that I actually have. Can anyone shed some light?
You do NOT have the parking heater. You have the optional programable upgrade to the low temperature coolant heater which is standard on all T5/T6, and without the upgrade cannot be controlled by the driver (it's real purpose is to lower emissions on cold starts at -5). Advantages: you can preheat the motor, which reduces wear and allows you to preheat the interior, and it has a setting to ventilate the van in hot weather, all through the dash outlets. Disadvantages: it uses a heavy amount of leisure battery, which is why you can only program it for 30-40 minutes. The only viable option for through the night heating is the parking heater, which is a separate machine that uses a fraction of the battery. I hope this clears up a little of the mystery surrounding the optional programable coolant heater, which is a misunderstood but useful device. Volkswagen explanations of these devices on the configurator are exceptionally stupid, even for them. A third and completely independent capability is the REST setting on climatronic. This uses engine coolant residual heat to heat the van for about half an hour after you turn off the motor, useful for getting ready for bed if you don't have the parking heater. In all the reading I've done of the Forum, I believe this is the first time these three devices have been identified and explained. Three...Two...One...
 
You do NOT have the parking heater. You have the optional programable upgrade to the low temperature coolant heater which is standard on all T5/T6, and without the upgrade cannot be controlled by the driver (it's real purpose is to lower emissions on cold starts at -5). Advantages: you can preheat the motor, which reduces wear and allows you to preheat the interior, and it has a setting to ventilate the van in hot weather, all through the dash outlets. Disadvantages: it uses a heavy amount of leisure battery, which is why you can only program it for 30-40 minutes. The only viable option for through the night heating is the parking heater, which is a separate machine that uses a fraction of the battery. I hope this clears up a little of the mystery surrounding the optional programable coolant heater, which is a misunderstood but useful device. Volkswagen explanations of these devices on the configurator are exceptionally stupid, even for them. A third and completely independent capability is the REST setting on climatronic. This uses engine coolant residual heat to heat the van for about half an hour after you turn off the motor, useful for getting ready for bed if you don't have the parking heater. In all the reading I've done of the Forum, I believe this is the first time these three devices have been identified and explained. Three...Two...One...
If he had the control panel next to the mirror HE DOES have the air heater. I had one in my beach too. The heater lives in the same spot under the sliding door same as the ocean and blows out of the b pillar. Not the dash vents. That is the parking heater
 
The control panel for the optional programable coolant heater is in exactly the same place. The only way you know you don't have the parking heater is that you can only program it for 30-40 min at a time. I know from personal experience, the Westfalia agency in Vic, Spain that imported my 2014 Beach from Germany said it had the parking heater. When I asked them to demonstrate it on pick-up, even they were surprised, and a little embarrassed that I knew more about it than they did. They installed a Webasto parking heater for free, and now I have both, which I love. However, the control panel next to the mirror only controls the coolant heater, the parking heater has a separate non VW control panel, which I am not thrilled about, although it works brilliantly.
 
The control panel for the optional programable coolant heater is in exactly the same place. The only way you know you don't have the parking heater is that you can only program it for 30-40 min at a time. I know from personal experience, the Westfalia agency in Vic, Spain that imported my 2014 Beach from Germany said it had the parking heater. When I asked them to demonstrate it on pick-up, even they were surprised, and a little embarrassed that I knew more about it than they did. They installed a Webasto parking heater for free, and now I have both, which I love. However, the control panel next to the mirror only controls the coolant heater, the parking heater has a separate non VW control panel, which I am not thrilled about, although it works brilliantly.
I see. I remember now I could set mine on infinity. Level 1 to 10. And I had 2 stickers in the door.
 
The control panel for the optional programable coolant heater is in exactly the same place. The only way you know you don't have the parking heater is that you can only program it for 30-40 min at a time. I know from personal experience, the Westfalia agency in Vic, Spain that imported my 2014 Beach from Germany said it had the parking heater. When I asked them to demonstrate it on pick-up, even they were surprised, and a little embarrassed that I knew more about it than they did. They installed a Webasto parking heater for free, and now I have both, which I love. However, the control panel next to the mirror only controls the coolant heater, the parking heater has a separate non VW control panel, which I am not thrilled about, although it works brilliantly.
You can also tell the difference if you install a voltage meter to monitor leisure battery usage. The Beach comes with no way to monitor the draw or state of charge of the leisure battery, unless you install one, which I have. The coolant heater drops the voltage from 12.9 (fully charged) to 12.3 almost immediately, due to the draw of the dash vent mechanism, while the parking battery has an initially strong draw during ignition, which backs off to almost nothing after a couple of minutes. That's is why it can run all night while the coolant heater would flatten the battery, and why the control panel, which looks identical to the parking heater, has such a short time limit.
 
The coolant heater must have a coolant pump also to run then if the engine is off? Are you on night shifts too.... Same as me?
 
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