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n13l pm
08-01-2008, 03:35 PM
Found out during xmas I have heated mirrors.. /pan

I dont have a button for heated mirrors soo I always thought that I only have electric/folding mirrors.. until the day I used my rear window demister on a freezing day!!

I-S
08-01-2008, 03:45 PM
Yes, they're very useful for clearing rain from the mirrors as well. All UK spec cars have these.

HMG1K
08-01-2008, 04:14 PM
I onlly found this out the other day! Usually there's a little logo etched to the mirrors of a rear window demister meaning they are heated (at least my 6G Galant had this) but the 8Gs dont...

Nothing much happened with the mirrors with the heated rear screen on - until Sunday when the mirrors were misted up... and BINGO! Demisted mirrors!

Physician
08-01-2008, 05:46 PM
.......... All UK spec cars have these.

Not sure about that Isaac ........ mine is a Japanese model (grey import) and it has the heated mirrors.

I-S
08-01-2008, 06:23 PM
I didn't mean to imply that the VR4s didn't... I just didn't know since I don't know little details like that about the japanese spec cars. However, that doesn't change that all UK spec cars have them...

TAR
08-01-2008, 07:21 PM
/Grrr /Grrr /Grrr

My Legnum has 'open the window and wipe em with your fingers' mirrors.

/Grrr /Grrr /Grrr

Johnny_Cashed
08-01-2008, 07:39 PM
Yep, I have heated mirrors too, very useful with the cold snap as they managed to melt the ice very quickly - was cool seeing them steam too! Only read about it on here, never noticed it before. They are only useful for about 2 weeks a year though.

Rambaud
08-01-2008, 07:46 PM
Yep, I have found them very useful. :)

ANTHONY
08-01-2008, 08:13 PM
My Legnum has 'open the window and wipe em with your fingers' mirrors.

I also have that option on my legnum,must be standard in an import

Zaid
08-01-2008, 08:14 PM
Heated mirrors are essential, i love it when I see the mist evaporating!!!
However some cars have heated whipers (like some Legacy) and washers (like some BMWs) which can be handy as well.

HMG1K
08-01-2008, 09:22 PM
I just discovered the 'bring the wiper stalk up a bit and it wipes once' feature, as mentioned on a previous thread... I was one smiling, beaming, guy!

Paul Beazer
08-01-2008, 09:28 PM
The ones on my dads old volvo 460 caught fire once!!!

Nick VR4
08-01-2008, 09:36 PM
Yes I have heated mirrors and the heated low part front screen

HMG1K
08-01-2008, 09:38 PM
Yes I have heated mirrors and the heated low part front screen

Is that standard on VR4's or all Galants / Legnums..? I've found the demist front and rear on my Elegance is super-fast! Could the heated lower part of the screen be it..? :thinking:

I-S
08-01-2008, 09:48 PM
No, it's on "cold area" spec japanese cars. UK cars don't have the heated wiper bed. I'm sure my GLS had washer nozzle heating because on a cold morning with frost on the bonnet, two melted patches would quickly appear around the washer nozzles. My GDI doesn't seem to (perhaps they went with the headlamp washers, which I'm starting to miss...).

g6acb
08-01-2008, 10:01 PM
I'm sure my GLS had washer nozzle heating because on a cold morning with frost on the bonnet, two melted patches would quickly appear around the washer nozzles.


I'm sure my car has this too... both the dead gls and the classic.... but I did hijack the the bigger washer bottle and piping / motors from the gls in to the classic :inquisiti



headlamp washers, which I'm starting to miss...).


me too.... just dont think the big sticky out things will suit the facelift bumper so on the lookout for some suitable nozzles :pimp2:

miller
08-01-2008, 10:25 PM
I'm sure my GLS had washer nozzle heating because on a cold morning with frost on the bonnet, two melted patches would quickly appear around the washer nozzles.

Am betting its more due to the fact the washer bottle is long and slim and sits two inches away parralel to the engine, so warming quickly.

If it is heated, wow how cool is that!

Mike

Zaid
08-01-2008, 10:36 PM
I just discovered the 'bring the wiper stalk up a bit and it wipes once' feature, as mentioned on a previous thread... I was one smiling, beaming, guy!

Am supried your car has this facility, mine doesnt!

Zaid
08-01-2008, 10:44 PM
Is that standard on VR4's or all Galants / Legnums..? I've found the demist front and rear on my Elegance is super-fast! Could the heated lower part of the screen be it..? :thinking:

One thing I realised with the climate control demisting, why doesnt the fan go to full power, and why doesnt it make the air circulate inside only as with some other cars, and what effects does selecting the temprature have while the demist button is on?

Johnny_Cashed
08-01-2008, 11:04 PM
If you hit the windscreen demist button, the fan bumps up to one bar off full power, I'm not sure what you mean? Also, if you have air circulating inside only, wouldn't that make demisting slower as there'd be more moisture in the air?

Paul Beazer
08-01-2008, 11:07 PM
It doesnt go on full power until the engine coolant has reached a certain temp, thus ensuring the engine warms up quicker. My V6 does this.

Zaid
08-01-2008, 11:11 PM
If you hit the windscreen demist button, the fan bumps up to one bar off full power, I'm not sure what you mean? Also, if you have air circulating inside only, wouldn't that make demisting slower as there'd be more moisture in the air?

Yes the fan doesnt go to full power when pressing the demist button for some reason, no matter how hot/cold the engine is.

I guess you are right about the moisture. Some cars, such as the Mondeo, do the opposite though, i.e. the air circulates inside only...

HMG1K
08-01-2008, 11:16 PM
Am supried your car has this facility, mine doesnt!

Hav you tried it gently...? I always did the full pull forward on the stalk to squirt water on the windscreen... The posting I read on here last week said about a gentle pull up and you get one-wipe! A 'proper' pull up and it's the usual squirt & wipe...

This must be standard on the Galants / Legnums... I can't see them having re-designed the stalk function over the years... And I don't ever remember reading about this in the manual - plus there's no icon on teh stalk to hint to what it can do!

Nip outside and give it a try! :happy:

Johnny_Cashed
08-01-2008, 11:21 PM
Switch the climate control off and it will I'm sure, mine does anyway. But you're right about with the climate control staying low until the engine warms up.

ANTHONY
08-01-2008, 11:21 PM
I've just discovered a yellow plastic scraper but it only does the drivers side... the wife can do her own

Zaid
08-01-2008, 11:30 PM
Switch the climate control off and it will I'm sure, mine does anyway. But you're right about with the climate control staying low until the engine warms up.

Mine does that but not when the dimist button is on..

Another thing regarding the climate control, on very long motorway journeys, mine doesnt seem to operate properly, especially in winter... for example i set the temp to 24, hot air kicks in for a while and then it feels cold... i more or less have to control it manually!

Zaid
08-01-2008, 11:34 PM
Hav you tried it gently...? I always did the full pull forward on the stalk to squirt water on the windscreen... The posting I read on here last week said about a gentle pull up and you get one-wipe! A 'proper' pull up and it's the usual squirt & wipe...

This must be standard on the Galants / Legnums... I can't see them having re-designed the stalk function over the years... And I don't ever remember reading about this in the manual - plus there's no icon on teh stalk to hint to what it can do!

Nip outside and give it a try! :happy:

Will try it tommorow first thing in the morning :)

I-S
09-01-2008, 12:28 AM
Another thing regarding the climate control, on very long motorway journeys, mine doesnt seem to operate properly, especially in winter... for example i set the temp to 24, hot air kicks in for a while and then it feels cold... i more or less have to control it manually!

No no no... it IS working properly, you've misunderstood the difference between Air Conditioning and Climate control.

Air conditioning simply adds the ability to cool air down to a basic heater. You set the knob to determine the temperature of the air you want coming out of the vents.

Climate control.... does exactly that. It controls the climate inside the car. The temperature you set on the system is the target temperature for the inside of the car. Thus if you set it to 21C then on a cold day it will blow warm air and on a hot day it will blow cold air. What you're observing is that it blows hot air until the temperature inside the car has reached the 24C you set, after which it starts blowing cooler air (probably very much around 24C in fact).

As for recirc vs intake when starting off... that depends on whether you're using the AC or not. The air conditioning system also dehumidifies the air, so if you have AC on then recirculating the air helps it to warm up much faster, and the moisture is not a problem. If the AC is off, you'll mist up very quickly if you recirculate. You will notice that when you press the demist button, it automatically engages the AC (snowflake symbol appears).

Zaid
09-01-2008, 01:29 AM
Climate control.... does exactly that. It controls the climate inside the car. The temperature you set on the system is the target temperature for the inside of the car. Thus if you set it to 21C then on a cold day it will blow warm air and on a hot day it will blow cold air. What you're observing is that it blows hot air until the temperature inside the car has reached the 24C you set, after which it starts blowing cooler air (probably very much around 24C in fact).


Thats my understanding of climate control as well, but when temprature is below or above 24 for example, I expected to get a mixture of cold and warm air from time to time to keep the temprature fixed. I also expected to see the fan blowing at different speeds on long journeys for faster and more efficent climate control?

It might be the case that the system takes time to response and am not patient enough!

Zaid
10-01-2008, 12:48 AM
Hav you tried it gently...? I always did the full pull forward on the stalk to squirt water on the windscreen... The posting I read on here last week said about a gentle pull up and you get one-wipe! A 'proper' pull up and it's the usual squirt & wipe...

This must be standard on the Galants / Legnums... I can't see them having re-designed the stalk function over the years... And I don't ever remember reading about this in the manual - plus there's no icon on teh stalk to hint to what it can do!

Nip outside and give it a try! :happy:

You right it worked :) nice one :) kept on playing with it all day!

noelweston
10-01-2008, 09:43 AM
Climate control.... does exactly that. It controls the climate inside the car. The temperature you set on the system is the target temperature for the inside of the car. Thus if you set it to 21C then on a cold day it will blow warm air and on a hot day it will blow cold air. What you're observing is that it blows hot air until the temperature inside the car has reached the 24C you set, after which it starts blowing cooler air (probably very much around 24C in fact).


Isaac, I'm with Zaid - this isn't my experience either with my VR-4 or my partners' FTO with apparently the same climate control unit. In previous cars with CC, yes - set the control to the required temp (usually 20C) and leave it there - interior of car maintains the same temperature at all times.

With the VR4 and FTO, it starts at 20C and is quite warm. Then, after 30-50 miles (depending on how enthusiastically we're driving) the temperature of the interior drops, and the CC temp has to be put up a degree or two, just to stay comfortable. It's not unusual for us to finish a long trip with the CC set to 30+ degrees. Someone did post on here a while back (can't remember who, sorry) that they thought the heater module was actually heating itself up over time and giving falsely warm readings, thus reducing the output temperature constantly. Don't know if this is right, or if there's any way to fix it, but it certainly tallies with what we see in our cars.

n13l pm
10-01-2008, 12:22 PM
How does the unit check the inside temperature? When I removed the climate control unit I noticed a pipe that plugs in loosely to the back of the unit? is that how it checks the temperature, or is there sensor else where?

HMG1K
10-01-2008, 01:06 PM
You right it worked :) nice one :) kept on playing with it all day!

Fabulous !

HMG1K
10-01-2008, 01:07 PM
Isaac, I'm with Zaid - this isn't my experience either with my VR-4 or my partners' FTO with apparently the same climate control unit. In previous cars with CC, yes - set the control to the required temp (usually 20C) and leave it there - interior of car maintains the same temperature at all times.

With the VR4 and FTO, it starts at 20C and is quite warm. Then, after 30-50 miles (depending on how enthusiastically we're driving) the temperature of the interior drops, and the CC temp has to be put up a degree or two, just to stay comfortable. It's not unusual for us to finish a long trip with the CC set to 30+ degrees. Someone did post on here a while back (can't remember who, sorry) that they thought the heater module was actually heating itself up over time and giving falsely warm readings, thus reducing the output temperature constantly. Don't know if this is right, or if there's any way to fix it, but it certainly tallies with what we see in our cars.

Me too - how do I set it to be constant hot?! I'm driving around on 32c the majority of the time!

Paul Beazer
10-01-2008, 01:33 PM
How does the unit check the inside temperature? When I removed the climate control unit I noticed a pipe that plugs in loosely to the back of the unit? is that how it checks the temperature, or is there sensor else where?
If you look in the recess where the temp control knob is, there are 4 or 5 small slots which draw air from the cabin into the control unit to measure the cabin temp.
That hose goes from the slots to the back of the unit. Make sure its clear from fluff etc and the hose itself isnt blocked either. Might be worth giving it a hoover out?
I find that mine does fluctuate in temp on longer journeys too.

Nick Mann
10-01-2008, 02:47 PM
Someone did post on here a while back (can't remember who, sorry) that they thought the heater module was actually heating itself up over time and giving falsely warm readings, thus reducing the output temperature constantly.

A combination of myself and The Vee, here:

http://www.clubvr4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12607

bradc
10-01-2008, 07:12 PM
In winter I will often jump into the car and set the temp tp 32C and maybe have the fan on 1 at first, then after a couple of minutes and I've warmed up I will put the temp down to say 25C which is where it will blow out warm, but not hot air. After 10 minutes it starts blowing cold air, so I change it to 26, then after another 10 minutes it will be 27, and so on. The highest I've ever had it blow cold air was at 28C, which is mostly the opposite of what people are experiencing in this thread!

noelweston
11-01-2008, 12:15 AM
Paul and Nick - thanks for the additional info. That wasn't the thread I (thought) I remembered, but it was actually more informative.

I've got to go to Southampton and back at the weekend, so I'll see if I can have a look at the vents and the pipes before then. It would be a lot more comfortable if it worked right ... failing that, gloves and scarves at the ready !

I did have a stereo and phone kit fitted shortly after I got the car, as did my better half with her FTO, so things could have been disturbed.

Zaid
11-01-2008, 12:32 AM
Someone did post on here a while back (can't remember who, sorry) that they thought the heater module was actually heating itself up over time and giving falsely warm readings, thus reducing the output temperature constantly. Don't know if this is right, or if there's any way to fix it, but it certainly tallies with what we see in our cars.

It might be that the heat coming out from the stero that is effecting the heater module on long journey, as referred to on the above given link...

Zaid
11-01-2008, 12:35 AM
Just found out that the sensor on top of the dashbord is a Photo sesnor, I thought this one was the outside temprature sensor, any ideas what this Photo sensor is used for in our cars?