webasto thermotopz in 2004 e53 x5

[omodos]

Hi there to all, ok I have this heater in the engine bay, and just want to know how it works, fires up? does it firstly 'kick' in automatically when temps are under 5c? and does it take a large current draw from battery whilst I keep the key in the 'pre-ignition' position before I start (being a diesel I turn key one notch and leave for about 15-20 secs then fire up car) ....and if it does draw current, does it continue to draw current whilst car runs?

and does it also take into account the temp of the coolant in engine, so say it fires up early morning when temps are below 5c and so is coolant, will it fire up again after car sits for a few hours temps are still at 5c yet engine is warm?


thanks

[Denis O]

Suggest you put Webasto into the search function and you will immediatey be presented with around 80 pages of information.

[omodos]

thanks, I downloaded the manual off webastos site....still tempted to  pull fuse 59 to disable it altogether...just isn't needed out here, and on a cold startup pretty sure the engine oil is more important rather than have a preheated cooling system.....

[X5Sport]

The Webasto is there to warm the engine.  Diesel is a 'cold' fuel and in cold weather Diesel engines take longer to warm up.  The Webasto system warms the coolant to warm the engine block faster and get the car off it's 'cold running' mode which uses more fuel - even with the unit running - much faster than would happen naturally, and the cabin heating is just a by product of the whole process.

If you are happy to have higher overall fuel consumption and the engine and gearbox in 'cold' mode then that's fine, and that is what will happen if you pull the Webasto out of service.

Later models don't get the Webasto unit as the cooling loop design is different and the engine warms up faster.  It can be specified simply for Aux heating as that is all it does.