Auxiliary heater not working 6.1

[DaveBillinge]

Had our 6.1 for 5 months and still don’t understand why the auxiliary heater cuts out overnight and won’t restart leaving us quite cold by 4am!! VW say it’s meant to cut out after 2 hours as a safety feature but don’t understand why it won’t reset at all until I drop the roof and drive a short distance. (Heater error message won’t disappear until I do that). Seems VW not coming clean on a software upgrade required. Any thoughts anybody?

 

[Lightning]

How would that work in the Arctic in winter as a safety feature? I would contact VW customer services and be insistent.

 

[Lightning]

Just to add, I leave the heater on in my T6 literally for weeks at a time, as I live in my van. They are making it up.

 

[Stu@rt]

Isn't it the "heat immediately" vs the "heat continously " options?

 

[flying banana]

thats bollox. i believe there is an update to the software as the screen tends to get all upset when it's been on a few hours. i think soton campers who has 5 T6.1s has taken all theirs to a dealer for the software fix. the T6 heater will run all night no problem so why would the 6.1 suddenly be unsafe to do the same ? always remember dealers talk sh1t.

 

[WelshGas]

Had our 6.1 for 5 months and still don’t understand why the auxiliary heater cuts out overnight and won’t restart leaving us quite cold by 4am!! VW say it’s meant to cut out after 2 hours as a safety feature but don’t understand why it won’t reset at all until I drop the roof and drive a short distance. (Heater error message won’t disappear until I do that). Seems VW not coming clean on a software upgrade required. Any thoughts anybody?

Are you using the Heat Immediately function via the Remote Control fob?
If you are then that’s why.
On the T6.1 I understand you should be using the Heat Continuous function via the Control Panel.
Why they changed things I do not know, probably just because they can.

 

[Bodley]

Are you using the Heat Immediately function via the Remote Control fob?
If you are then that’s why.
On the T6.1 I understand you should be using the Heat Continuous function via the Control Panel.
Why they changed things I do not know, probably just because they can.

Sorry. I have the 6.1 and same issue. We have tried heat continuously and heat immediately. Neither works - it just gives a small puff of cold air. It has been back to VW once already and got a very unconvincing explanation. The only way to make it work continuously is if you put it up to level 10 and then you boil! I will be chasing again.

 

[GrumpyGranddad]

Sorry. I have the 6.1 and same issue. We have tried heat continuously and heat immediately. Neither works - it just gives a small puff of cold air. It has been back to VW once already and got a very unconvincing explanation. The only way to make it work continuously is if you put it up to level 10 and then you boil! I will be chasing again.

That’s disappointing @Bodley
On our 6.1 it works fine in both modes. It sometimes takes a few minutes to kick in and obviously when heat continuously is selected it will still turn on and off depending on the temperature in the van.

 

[Hamish S]

Mine works fine in both modes but needs to be on 7 or above. Does take a few minutes before it really get going though.

 

[Bodley]

Had our 6.1 for 5 months and still don’t understand why the auxiliary heater cuts out overnight and won’t restart leaving us quite cold by 4am!! VW say it’s meant to cut out after 2 hours as a safety feature but don’t understand why it won’t reset at all until I drop the roof and drive a short distance. (Heater error message won’t disappear until I do that). Seems VW not coming clean on a software upgrade required. Any thoughts anybody?

Hi Dave,
Did you get any further with your heater issue? Ours is still not 100% dependable, which is fine whilst in the summer, but winter approaches…,
Cheers

 

[HelenaJ]

Sorry. I have the 6.1 and same issue. We have tried heat continuously and heat immediately. Neither works - it just gives a small puff of cold air. It has been back to VW once already and got a very unconvincing explanation. The only way to make it work continuously is if you put it up to level 10 and then you boil! I will be chasing again.

VW Cali post on this:

Hi all, we recently had an issue running our Auxiliary Heater (2021 Coast) as follows:

• One morning we couldn’t start the auxiliary heater by either the ‘Heat Continuously’ or ‘Heat Immediately’ options. We tried several times, checking the obvious – Fuel, battery charge, vent obstruction, all to no avail. Eventually the Control Panel completely froze, stating ‘Error: Auxiliary Heater’. This ‘locked in’ various settings – Fridge etc.. which we couldn’t turn off. I note that people have had a similar issue with the Electric Roof. Fortunately, our roof, is the manual option.
• We tried our local VW Van Centre who had no idea and would only offer a ‘booked in appointment’ 5 weeks later.
• We contacted VW Assist who kindly performed the following works:

a) Via the diagnostic port, they noted the presence of a fault code which VW state is triggered following running the Auxiliary Heater via the 'Heat Immediate'/Remote Fob option for more than 180 mins, in a parked situation.

b) VW Assist explained that if this happens, VW advise two possible options:

- Use the Heat Continuously option and the Heater should work again.
- Drive the vehicle a short distance, after which the 'Heat Immediate' option should work again.

We had no idea of the 180 min ‘Heat Immediately’ limitation so when the Auxiliary Heater failed to start, we tried both ‘Heat Continuously’ and ‘Heat Immediately’ options. Neither worked and eventually the Control Panel locked up, displaying the error message mentioned earlier.

The solution to reset the Control Panel is unbelievably, by pulling a single 5A fuse. Do this with the ignition off, wait a minute or so, plug back in. The Control Panel should then be active again. On the 2021 Coast, the required 5A fuse is the single Orange fuse, under the passenger seat, on the row nearest the front of the vehicle (see pic).

VW Assist then proceeded to clear the error message, but I don’t this this was necessary to get the Heater Working again.

Regarding the Auxiliary Heater temperature settings, in common with other posts, we have to set this at either 9 or 10. I've no idea why VW can't calibrate/graduate this to utilise the lower numbers - maybe we are too soft!

 

[Thirteencharacters]

Thanks for your information Dave, it saved the day for us recently.

We had the same error, but our situation was worse, as we also had the electric pop up roof “popped”…
This meant we couldn’t move the van, and we were going to have to extend our camping plot rental till we could.

Contacted my dealer, who is a major supplier of vans in the country, and they had no idea.
I am an engineer, and so asked for a fuse allocation diagram (the first vehicle I ever owned without one in the manual or on the fuse lid cover).
They said they couldn’t do that, as I might cause a problem by pulling fuses out….

I noted that I already had a problem and wanted a fuse allocation sheet for identification of the fuse users.
If a single item on the van stopped working in future, how would you ever know where to look?

They then declared they didn’t have one, and their in house specialist recommended I just get the vehicle towed to a dealer with roadside assist.
After informing him that it couldn‘t be driven or towed with the roof up, he suggested that I cut the headlining and release the hydraulics to drop the roof.
Hence going from being concerned that I cause a problem, to asking me to create one!

The van is brand new, and once again I indicated that this was likely to be nothing more than a reboot requirement for the control panel, and to go and consult his wiring diagrams to locate the fuse I needed to pull.
Otherwise I was going to have to start unpacking the van, buy some tools and disconnect all 3 batteries.
They wouldn’t (or couldn’t) do that, and stated I had no option but to call roadside assistance.

So I started to trawl the internet to find the information I needed, and your post succinctly identified the fix.
Pull one fuse under the seat for 10 seconds, with the ignition off.

Sorted!

I had also seen some other posts about pulling 4 fuses in the drivers side fuse box, but no idea which ones they are, as the fuse identifier is moulded into the carrier underneath the fuse-think about that….

So thanks for that, but on a general observation.

I note your post was in 2021

Why am a able to buy the unit in 2023, with no 5 second hold down reset on the control panel (which I understand the T6 has), and with the same quirks with the heat immediately or heat continuously anomaly.
Timing out after 120 seconds, until the van is driven again.!

This issue should have been fixed with an update a year ago.
It caused us to lose a day of our holiday sorting it out, and if I had not seen your feedback-possibly a lot more damage could have been caused.

Thanks again

 

[yossarian]

Thanks for your information Dave, it saved the day for us recently.

We had the same error, but our situation was worse, as we also had the electric pop up roof “popped”…
This meant we couldn’t move the van, and we were going to have to extend our camping plot rental till we could.

Contacted my dealer, who is a major supplier of vans in the country, and they had no idea.
I am an engineer, and so asked for a fuse allocation diagram (the first vehicle I ever owned without one in the manual or on the fuse lid cover).
They said they couldn’t do that, as I might cause a problem by pulling fuses out….

I noted that I already had a problem and wanted a fuse allocation sheet for identification of the fuse users.
If a single item on the van stopped working in future, how would you ever know where to look?

They then declared they didn’t have one, and their in house specialist recommended I just get the vehicle towed to a dealer with roadside assist.
After informing him that it couldn‘t be driven or towed with the roof up, he suggested that I cut the headlining and release the hydraulics to drop the roof.
Hence going from being concerned that I cause a problem, to asking me to create one!

The van is brand new, and once again I indicated that this was likely to be nothing more than a reboot requirement for the control panel, and to go and consult his wiring diagrams to locate the fuse I needed to pull.
Otherwise I was going to have to start unpacking the van, buy some tools and disconnect all 3 batteries.
They wouldn’t (or couldn’t) do that, and stated I had no option but to call roadside assistance.

So I started to trawl the internet to find the information I needed, and your post succinctly identified the fix.
Pull one fuse under the seat for 10 seconds, with the ignition off.

Sorted!

I had also seen some other posts about pulling 4 fuses in the drivers side fuse box, but no idea which ones they are, as the fuse identifier is moulded into the carrier underneath the fuse-think about that….

So thanks for that, but on a general observation.

I note your post was in 2021

Why am a able to buy the unit in 2023, with no 5 second hold down reset on the control panel (which I understand the T6 has), and with the same quirks with the heat immediately or heat continuously anomaly.
Timing out after 120 seconds, until the van is driven again.!

This issue should have been fixed with an update a year ago.
It caused us to lose a day of our holiday sorting it out, and if I had not seen your feedback-possibly a lot more damage could have been caused.

Thanks again

Did you have a look in your California supplement? Fuses detailed in there.

 

[Thirteencharacters]

Thanks Yossarian

You are right and much appreciated.
It shows the California related fuses only.

Nothing listed for the rest of the vehicle systems unfortunately.

Thanks again!

Barry

 

[andyinluton]

You are right and much appreciated.
It shows the California related fuses only.

Nothing listed for the rest of the vehicle systems unfortunately.

Barry

It might only cover the California bit re fuses but it does tell you exactly which ones to pull to reset the control panel & sort the problem you had.

The original T6.1 manual didn't have that info.


If you are stuck just call VW assistance if you are under warranty, they will send someone out to sort it.

 

[Thirteencharacters]

Thanks for that.

Yes, got there in the end-but not with the manual or the dealer.

Their technical specialist could not advise or refer to the manual descriptions.
He simply hadn’t heard of it before.

Definitely good experience for the future.
I now know more than the specialists!

Appreciate your comments!

 

[scabrero]

Apart from the “heat immediately” runtime limit already described there is a TPI to replace the heater wiring loom on vehicles manufactured before June 2021.

The power wires cross section is not enough causing a voltage drop so heater shuts down due to undervoltage.

Mine was shutting down when leisure batteries voltage went below 12.2v, now it keeps running even below 11.8v. Check your wires, if power cable is 1.5mm2 instead of 2.5mm2 it must be replaced.

 

[Thirteencharacters]

Thanks and I will check that.

Our vehicle is only 8 months old, so hopefully its already modified.

Interesting history around this topic!

 

[calibusje]

To put in my two-penny worth: most of the inconveniences come from the fact that in the early moments of the t6.1 almost nobody knew how to use the new operating screen of the t6.1. There would be no (or at least much less) 'issues' with heating, leisure batteries, readings of waterlevel,... The functions are rather complicated but also actually logical and clear if you know how its used and what the purpose is.
Still, that so many issues were mentioned is understandable. Let me explain:
Why then do so few people know about the specific use of the rather overcomplicated screen with all its functions and features, especially in the early years of the t6.1? Due to the far-reaching savings at Volkswagen (to compensate for the huge losses due to Dieselgate), the dealers everywhere no longer received an explanation as before when an update or new cali appeared every time. They used to get the explanation at Volkswagen in Germany itself, this later became a CD with all the information on it and then always less and cheaper until, with the t6.1 with its completely different electrical system and new screen, there was, so to speak, an A4 sheet with some explanation only on the front. So the dealers also knew nothing about it and could therefore not pass on any knowledge about its use. The result: the so-called issues with the operating screen, which are actually kinda... none. Of course, there are other problems -real faults- that are indeed a bug but are separate from what I'm talking about here. This all was told by the people of Camper Centrum Amersfoort and my own dealer in Bruges, Belgium. Both are relatively large dealers who sell a reasonable volume of California's per year and thus saw the change in 'education' they got from Volkswagen itself on the then newest cali. If only vw would have informed them the proper way, the image about the t6.1 -with its somewhat overly complicated control panel, I know- wouldn't have been presented so negatively then and even now (and then also often by cali owners of previous generations). Amongst others, Camper Centrum Amersfoort in the Netherlands have built up a great deal of know-how about the t6.1 (and about the previous ones too, of course) through experience and self-finding. The t6.1 and his central control screen deserves better than how some people look at it now. Or should some of them better wait for the t7 cali and then say how much better the previous one is...
I myself find the t6.1 a very suitable travel companion, and even dare to say that it is in many facets as good as our old t4 westy we had and better in others.

 

[scabrero]

I am finding a pattern in this forum.

Everytime someone post a problem or complains about a failure another one appears talking in favor or VW justifying the problems. Too many fanboys? Too many undercover commercials?

I am sorry but no excuses. There are real problems PLUS poor customer service PLUS lack of information to dealers. Triple screw up from VW, it is no longer what it used to be in the past.

 

[calibusje]

I am finding a pattern in this forum.

Everytime someone post a problem or complains about a failure another one appears talking in favor or VW justifying the problems. Too many fanboys? Too many undercover commercials?

I am sorry but no excuses. There are real problems PLUS poor customer service PLUS lack of information to dealers. Triple screw up from VW, it is no longer what it used to be in the past.

May I start with the following: I am not offended or angry at most indignant.
I don't make excuses: I try to explain and by the way it is also my idea about it; everyone has his own idea. Do not forget that every time, with the introduction of each new california, a whole series of 'issues' come up and this also had its reasons. Now there are also reasons.
Anyway: "There are real problems PLUS poor customer service PLUS lack of information to dealers." that is kinda what I wrote: just read it.
In addition: I am very honest when it comes to my cali and have already raised several issues and/ or reacted on them (the ' sagging on the rear' discussion, handling, old concept of the base vehicle, cut corners on quality and more) and have been chastised for it several times by various members here so your comments about an alleged pattern you see (obviously in response to my post from above) is rather irrelevant.
You don't have to be sorry, nor am I because yes, I have certainly become more and more a fan or as you put it a fanboy of the t6.1 and stand by what I wrote. The first 6 months? I wanted to sell it! But I'm so happy I didn't! And my problems were never related to a wire being not thick enough, software or the screen.
Undercover commecials you say? Well, that's your opinion: I don't see how I, as a Belgian, am advertising a company in the Netherlands on an English forum; I always try to keep my dealer's name out of my texts so as not to relate the negative sides I already mentioned of our california. I just want to indicate that those at CCA in the Netherlands are real experts.
May I -almost- end with the following: I also see a pattern: I respect everyone's opinion and idea about the t6.1, but I myself apparently have to remain silent if I say anything:
a: negative and b: positive and try to explain.
To take your pattern even more down a notch, here's what I've posted before:

Cut corners on quality? Possible (& article with some explanation).

Hellow In my post https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/a-bit-long-but-honest-and-personal-review-of-our-coast.45819/ I wrote "Do I think it is the quality vehicle that it is sold for? Not really... and I think I know why. But that's for another thread." Well here's some explanation in an...

vwcaliforniaclub.com

I also place a link with info. It's from my visit to... you know.
https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/thread...per-centrum-amersfoort-the-netherlands.47935/

I hope I don't offend anyone with this post. I'm here for other reasons.

 

[Kemper-van]

Apart from the “heat immediately” runtime limit already described there is a TPI to replace the heater wiring loom on vehicles manufactured before June 2021.

The power wires cross section is not enough causing a voltage drop so heater shuts down due to undervoltage.

Mine was shutting down when leisure batteries voltage went below 12.2v, now it keeps running even below 11.8v. Check your wires, if power cable is 1.5mm2 instead of 2.5mm2 it must be replaced.

View attachment 112823

Can you share more info on this TPI? Does VW execute this automatically, or only when you log a complaint?
My Beach Camper was first registered in january 2021, so clearly manufactured before june 2021…
Thx!

 

[scabrero]

Can you share more info on this TPI? Does VW execute this automatically, or only when you log a complaint?
My Beach Camper was first registered in january 2021, so clearly manufactured before june 2021…
Thx!

The TPI number is 2069697/2 and it is one of the biggest I have seen in terms of time to implement the changes. It also mandates to check for a specific error in the heater control unit logged when it shuts down due to under voltage, which mine of course had. You can check with VCDS or OBDeleven.

I can't share the document because I would be violating the copyright, but you can register in Erwin and pay the 1h flat rate (about 8€) to access vehicle's specific information (TPI, schematics, repair info, etc.). I use to check every three months for new documents.

The TPI's are not like campaigns, they are not proactively checked by workshops. When you report a problem the dealer should check if there is any TPIs for it. Also, if the vehicle is out of warranty you will have to pay the full cost unless the dealer on good faith apply for an exception from VW but they are not required to. This is what my dealer explained to me the first time.

That said, VW is aware of the problem since June 2021 because it was when the changes were applied in production. But the TPI has been published the 5th of May of 2023, almost two years after, when most of the affected vehicles warranty is over. What a coincidence, eh?

 

[hansendenmark]

Had our 6.1 for 5 months and still don’t understand why the auxiliary heater cuts out overnight and won’t restart leaving us quite cold by 4am!! VW say it’s meant to cut out after 2 hours as a safety feature but don’t understand why it won’t reset at all until I drop the roof and drive a short distance. (Heater error message won’t disappear until I do that). Seems VW not coming clean on a software upgrade required. Any thoughts anybody?

 

[hansendenmark]

There are 2 operation ways.
1. Heat immediately.
and
2. Heat continuously.
Check out California Chris' video on the subject. It sounds like you are using option 1. It turns off after 2 hours.