[Jules59]

Wife's Freelander 2 has a very effective electrical heater for cold weather demisting/defrosting as standard - warm air comes out in seconds well before the diesel heats things up.
Should my 2009 E91 330D MSport have one ?
If so, how is it activated ?

[AlwynMike]

Your car shouldn't and doesn't have an electrical heater for the screen.

With a couple of exceptions, it is only the Ford group that has these (hence Land Rover, Volvo etc)

Mike

[Jules59]

Ive not made myself clear, sorry.
Im not talking about electriacl heated windscreens (with little wires inside the glass) as used in the Ford group but about the heating of the air used for demisting. Some cars have a electrical heater to warm the air immediately whilst the engine is heating up.

Wife's Freelander doesnt have a heated windscreen but has a electrical booster heater of some sort to rapidly heat up the air blown onto the screen. I hadnt realised just how effective it was until I drove her car yesterday.

Should my car have one?

[Jules59]

Further to this and the reason Im asking is that my Manual says next to a picture of the Defrost button...

"quickly removes ice and condensation from windscreen and the front side windows. To do so, also switch on the cooling function"

This does not make sense to me.
To do so "rapidly" the defrosting air needs to be heated. With what? , the engine is below zero !
Why does the cooling function need to be ON? What cooling function are we talking about?

[Jules59]

"cooling function" is the air conditioning button. Why on earth dont BMW just say aircon !

[Jules59]

On realOEM there is an auxillary heater with a wire - looks like a flat metal plate.

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...54&hg=64&fg=40

I think this is the heater Im talking about. So it looks like I should have one. But Im not sure mine is working.

[xenon]

Not fitted as standard on any Exx UK models.

[Jules59]

Originally Posted by xenon

Not fitted as standard on any Exx UK models.

Which might explain why I thought it was not working after I compared it our Freelander.

So in that case how does my BMW de-ice my windscreen in the manner quoted in the manual ie
"quickly removes ice and condensation from windscreen and the front side windows..." ?

Or is quickly actually no faster than any other car without electrical defrosting systems ?

[Frobius]

No faster. Just blows dehumidified air.

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by Jules59

Which might explain why I thought it was not working after I compared it our Freelander.

So in that case how does my BMW de-ice my windscreen in the manner quoted in the manual ie
"quickly removes ice and condensation from windscreen and the front side windows..." ?

Or is quickly actually no faster than any other car without electrical defrosting systems ?

The diesel models do have the electric auxilliary heating element fitted, (PTC element) my 330d certainly had it, and it starts warming the screen and cabin within a 1/4 mile or so.

In fact now I'm back in a petrol BMW I miss it, as my car is much slower to heat the cabin this time of the year, as it doesn't have the PTC heating element, now have to wait for the coolant to warm up.

HighlandPete

[phil200tdi]

Most modern diesels have a PTC heater due to the time they take to get warm.

The freelander 2 also had the option of an Auxilliary water heater (like a webasto heater) but this was generally only sold in colder countries like Norway etc..

My 335i is fine after a couple of mins, wish I had heated seats tho!

[Jules59]

So it sounds like I do have a PTC heater in my 330D after all.
This evening it was -3 when I left work at 1930. I could feel warmish air blowing out after I'd travelled about 500m preceeded by a few mins of idling whilst I cleared the ice of the screen. Would the diesel warm up that quick ? No temp gauge in my car to tell me
Im going get my greenhouse thermometer and take some measurements. Plus Torque Pro can give me coolant temps.

[CarAbuser]

I'm yet to find anything quicker than my nectar card for removing ice. My old focus had the magic Ford heated glass and even then it took an age to defrost.

You can check coolant temp in the hidden menu: http://e90.wetpaint.com/page/BC+hidden+menus

[sylonien]

My 335i/M3 both defrost / deiced the front screen so quickly!
Really really impressed. Been -2C all night outside and neightbours were out there in the cold scratching for ages and I just sat in my car, heated seats, pressed that button for the front screen.

Typed an email on the phone, the song was in about 2:30mins and it was defrosted already when I used the wiper.

I don't know how it does it but I've never scratched the ice since owning the two BMWs.

[rjwojcik]

For what it's worth...

I recon the Beemers do come with some sort of electric heater to help warm up the windscreen. My E82 defrosted the windscreen pretty quickly this morning (it was -5.5c).

My old E34 also had a feature where by you could set a time and it would start defrosting the windscreen (for around 15 minutes). So, I would set it 15 minutes before I would leave the house.

There's also talk of coding this feature on the Onesie (see http://www.babybmw.net/viewtopic.php...43036&start=60 on page 5). The explanation is that the feature is disabled for certain markets.

Anyway, I'm gonna talk to my indi to see if they know about it.

[jimbo666]

That timed heating feature would be magic. Lets hope it's do-able!

[IanS100]

I tried my 320d e90 yesterday, ignition / engine off but after a couple of minutes hovering my hand over the screen outlets, the jet of subzero air had turned my fingers blue & I was on the way to frostbite, so I'm guessing there's no heater on my 2010 M Sport Plus!

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by IanS100

I tried my 320d e90 yesterday, ignition / engine off but after a couple of minutes hovering my hand over the screen outlets, the jet of subzero air had turned my fingers blue & I was on the way to frostbite, so I'm guessing there's no heater on my 2010 M Sport Plus!

Engine off.... this is a high demand function and will be governed by the energy management system.

I don't know the exact command strategy, but it is regulated (amidst other criteria) for under/over voltage, so can't imagine it is even available without the engine running.

HighlandPete

[sylonien]

The timer thing only blows air (most likely cold) from the outside.
Tried it to warm car up and but all it does is circulates the air for hot climates?

On the other hand, the 'REST' button suppose to use residual heat from the engine to keep the inside warm when the engine is off.

But still that defrost features works magic.

[xenon]

Originally Posted by HighlandPete

Engine off.... this is a high demand function and will be governed by the energy management system.

I don't know the exact command strategy, but it is regulated (amidst other criteria) for under/over voltage, so can't imagine it is even available without the engine running.

HighlandPete

Agreed. Warm air comes out of my F10 almost immediately, but only if the engine is running to power the ceramic heater,

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by xenon

Agreed. Warm air comes out of my F10 almost immediately, but only if the engine is running to power the ceramic heater,

That's how I recall the 330d, never tried it with the engine off.

Wish the 535i had the PTC heater, it is the only negative about the car. Miss the fact the 330d diesel, like your car, would start giving cabin heat almost immediately.

Now when I get to the next village (3-miles) and ECT is about 53 - 55C (similar to the diesel at around freezing temperatures) I'm no where near at the same cabin heating. It is just warm, where the 330d would be pumping out loads of heat and even adjusting the face vent temperature back to cooler levels.

HighlandPete

[Frobius]

I've pm'd the chap over at babybmw about how to code in the fan timer. If your car has the electric heater matrix then it should be possible to defrost the car by timer! Lovely!!