Parking heaters, Webasto/Eberspächer etc.

yeh...it was a weard strong wining...never heard it before..toght something is braking down..like power steering pump or something...maybe i make a video clip next time i cold start it.
not sure if it's normal or not.

Does it quiet down after a few minutes.?
And, can you can hear it on the drivers side near the intake, not on the passenger side so much.?

Derek: well.... 5W40 was the first can to grab. Engine rarely gets so hot that it would benefit better oil pressures 40-grad oil gives, so it may be too "good". And of course multigrade oils have much more additives. I'll buy 5W30 next time.

Jason: you got the point! Our electric grid gets lots of beating during long winter and it of course causes pollution, but what you gonna do.
But: if a little masochist lives inside you, you can check our energy production charts here: http://www.stat.fi/til/salatuo/2008/salatuo_2008_2009-10-21_kuv_001_en.html
You've been warned
But really, car owners cannot be punished about these things. I simply think that it's better to get car pre-heated so I can get better mileage per gallon and help my engine to last longer.

Pre-oiler system is totally new for me except using them on military vehicles. Some of my friends are running panzer/tank museum nearby and they drive old russian tanks which use system like that.

-5°F. It tooks 4-5 secs to start Riv. I possibly need to change battery.

hmmm cos i changed the fuel pump...every time i start it i have to wait that the fuel pump makes pressure then start.
whit old one the pressure stayed and it started right after turning the key. now if i straight turn the key it will take longer to start.
sometimes i let the fuel pump work 2 times (turne the key till the pump starts....turn back...and turn again ignition position so the pump starts again and makes pressure...after that it allways starts...even whit -23C it took 1-2 sec to crank and started!...but yeh...the wining sound is somethign new and odd...i think it comes from left side of the car...SC or transmission.

today one worker told me that he started hes car today on morning (Mercedes Benz 315 or something...turbo disel whit automatic tiptronic transmission) and he noticed a strange wining tho..not the alternator...told it came from the transmission...

On cold times it's allways better to keep new filters in (fuel, engine oil, transmission oil and others)
liqueds don't go so good through the old filters..

Timo: I've occasionally heard transmissions whine, but usually in a particular gear position, and usually all the time regardless of temperature. If your whine is on the left and goes for at least several minutes and no more than 10, I'd say it is the supercharger. I've heard mine doing it ever since I gutted the airbox lid.

JT: If the engine was cranking at normal speed for those 4-5 seconds that it took to start, the battery is fine.

Jason: Do you know how many watts or amps the block heater uses?


I know that cold starts are harder on the engine, but as far as fuel consumption and pollution vs a gasoline parking heater or the electric power plants, remember that these cars have heated O2 sensors that only take about 90 seconds to put the PCM into closed loop mode... I've watched the A/F mixture on the scanner start out at 7:1 upon startup, and slowly climb until it locks into 14.7:1 when the O2 sensors go into closed loop. This also makes the converter light off sooner. In the old days, it took about 5 minutes for the system to go into closed loop.

PS - Since there was some talk about oil on here, I thought I'd mention something else incredibly stupid I discovered about those brilliant GM engineers: After all these years, they are still setting the oil light to only come on at two PSI! We shouldn't call them "idiot lights", but rather "idiotic lights"... They come on to tell you that you've already burned up your engine. I lost the engine in my Eldorado because the top of the motor stopped oiling on a long trip, but the damned oil light never came on!

2PSI, that is idiotic and also good to know.
Now I'll have to add an Oil Pressure gauge in the spring along with a voltmeter.
What do think about the oil pressure accumulator in the winter. Wouldn't this unit have a hard time pre-oiling with thick cold oil.?
I would think it would or should be mandatory to use a synthetic oil with one of the pre-oilers in the winter.
I still like the idea of pre-oiling though. I can't see any downside to it.

JT Newman wrote:

But really, car owners cannot be punished about these things. I simply think that it's better to get car pre-heated so I can get better mileage per gallon and help my engine to last longer.
-5°F. It tooks 4-5 secs to start Riv. I possibly need to change battery.

right. Do you have a block heater ? Less than 10% or 98 rivieras got them from the factory, I don't know about 1996. They are pretty cheap to buy aftermarket. Probably a lot cheaper than the heaters you mention. It should be more to get you through the winter.

Have your battery tested. It's probably on its way out.

He mentioned in his first post that he had no way to power an electric block heater.
That's why he is exploring the purchase and install of a self contained gasoline powered unit.

Rickw wrote:

2PSI, that is idiotic and also good to know.
Now I'll have to add an Oil Pressure gauge in the spring along with a voltmeter.
What do think about the oil pressure accumulator in the winter. Wouldn't this unit have a hard time pre-oiling with thick cold oil.?
I would think it would or should be mandatory to use a synthetic oil with one of the pre-oilers in the winter.
I still like the idea of pre-oiling though. I can't see any downside to it.

Tell me about it. But where to put the gage?

Any multi-weight oil is supposed to thin out at cold temps, but then again I was surprised how thick my new Castrol Edge synthetic was at room temperature...

Eldo wrote:

Tell me about it. But where to put the gage?

I'm going to eliminate the ashtray, I think, and put a flat piece of ABS plastic in there and mount the gauges and still be able to close the door/cover for it.

Rickw wrote:

He mentioned in his first post that he had no way to power an electric block heater.
That's why he is exploring the purchase and install of a self contained gasoline powered unit.

his post can mean a several things
does he not have the K05 block heater option ? a block heater probably costs 50$ to buy.
is he banned from using electric block heaters ?
they sell car heaters that run on electricity. You plug it in and leave it in your car. Is that what he can't use ?
Does he just not have access to an outlet ?

the problem is that where he lives/works or so on he dos not have the plug from where to take the electricity for the block heater. thats why he desided not to install it.

Thats what i understood of hes story..

The webasto heater is independent and can be used anytime anywhere.

I watched a couple of the video's on the Webasto unit.
Well, I have emailed the US manufacturer of the Webasto units for more information. Their website cater's to the Diesel Truck market and they also make aftermarket sunroofs for autos and they are big in the Marine industry with A/C units and heaters.
Very little info on car heaters and the re-seller and installer list for my state doesn't list anyone selling or installing the car heaters.
Will wait for there response and see what they have to say.
It seems they are very common in Europe but not here yet.

I don't have a parking lot of my own yet, thus I don't have an electric post where to take juice for engine block heater. I live in city centre and we have shortage for parking lots.
My car is an ex-Florida car without block heater.
Because of lack of lot and post (I've now been on queue for 8 months) I haven't installed it (yet), that's why I'm thinking of buying fuel powered unit, because it runs independently


It was very cold weekend here, temperature dropped to -20°F.

Jari how does your's start whit -20C or even colder?...the coldest i truyed was -25C...just turnign the key 1 time to ignitoin but not cranking. letign the pump make the pressure up...then turnign back in O...and again into ignition so the pump makes agan more pressure and then turn the key to end so it cranks. sometimes 2-6sec and starts.

Wonder how much it needs fot not startign anymore. guess the main reeson is the battery who gives up. Need to change the aftermarket car alar and the new interjor antenna. need to change the antennas wiering a bit so it goes only on when radio is turned on.

i didn't know an interior antenna required power to "come on".
How does yours work.

I have absolutely no problem starting at -30 C, with no preheating of any kind. Fires right up.

mine problem is only the battery...i buyed a new one but cos the car had been in garage for 3 motnhs in works and so on it cone empty many times and now isent so good as it used to be.

not sure how to say but the antenna has a signal strenghtener in it?
when it's on a red led light comes on it to show its turned on.

Ah, an amplified antenna...

Snowdog wrote:

mine problem is only the battery...i buyed a new one but cos the car had been in garage for 3 motnhs in works and so on it cone empty many times and now isent so good as it used to be

On my van which I use only once in a while, I leave a device connected to the battery called a "Battery Tender". There are other versions of this too, but basically it's a smart trickle charger that keeps the battery at full charge. There are some more advanced ones that will occasionally 'zap' the battery to keep the plates from building up a coating of something.

Sounds like big $$$$ for a custom install.

for cars ower 3000CC
Engine cooltantheater petrol/diesel 1300€
Comes whit a 24h timer. whit 3 time setings (can heat the car 3 times a day)
+ for extra € can buy remotes, thermostat (can help heating the engine on running)



one C model for sell in finlands netselling page for 775€

[url]http://www.nettivaraosa.com/viewPart.php?id_part=899385&PN[0]=adv_search&PL[0]=advSearch.php?id=5859474@tb=tmp_find_agent&PN[1]=search_results&PL[1]=listAdvSearchFindAgent.php?id=5859474@tb=tmp_find_agent[/url]

Wow. This is great, but I would have to be living in Greenland to need something like this. I'm thinking a heated garage might be as effective?

what about a oil pan heater? they have been around for years and they are cheap!