Climate Control Features

[Flakmunky]

Hi,

I keep noticing new features of the climate control system which really make it stand out compared to other cars I have had. I wondered if anyone else was aware of these or whether there were any I didn't know about? A cars heating and ventilation are possibly often overlooked, however Audi have obviously really thought about the systems in their cars.


Previous cars (VW, Seat, Pug) would shut the central vents off if the driver and the passenger had different temps selected, probably because they were both fed off the same pipe behind the dash. The A4 must feed them seperately as you can get hot air out of one and cold out of the other.



The little £15 pipe I retrofitted to the glovebox to keep drinks cold always feeds cold air no matter what the setting of the Climate Control.



The climate control slows the fan down when you press the PTT button for the SDS.



The system engages air recirc. mode automatically when you engage reverse



And when you use the wash wipe. Presumably so the car doesn't fill with horrible smells



It also engages recirc when you have the system set to Hi or Lo so it heats / cools quicker. Note that for these three examples the recirc light doesn't come on but you can hear it is on.



On the TDIs there is an electric heater which heats the air until the engine is up to temperature



When the temp is set to High and the fan is set to full, the system will automatically close the central vents. When the car has warmed up it will open the central vents but just before it does it will reduce the speed of the fan so as not to blast you in the face.



The knobs to turn the vents on and off are backlit



The vents have 'presets' in the centre when you are adjusting their direction



The footwells have vents from the dash and from the transmission tunnel

[Issac Hunt]

If only it wasnt so noisy at motorway speeds in 'AUTO' mode, its awfully noisy if you dont have the radio on. You can detect a real wind-noise in all the B7's I have driven (So I know my car isnt at fault!) Not a patch on my mates 3-Series which is a shame!

[Flakmunky]

Can't say I've noticed excess noise in mine... Will try it on the drive home tonight!

[Issac Hunt]

I must've driven 10 B7's after my dealer told me 'they are all like that Sir'. indeed they are all the same! Turning off the air-con totally really reduces interior cabin noise a lot.

It could me much more refined IMO, maybe I am more tuned into it than some drivers as I drive a lot of different cars. In my mate's BMW turning climate on/off makes no noise difference. You dont notice it with the stereo on so its no big problem but it does annoy me on a 25k car!

[kodkod.84]

I love the illuminated wheels on the vents- as well as the fact nearly every button is illuminated too.

Comment I always get from my mates at night is 'It's like a plane cockpit in here isn't it'

:D

[Flakmunky]

Especially with the RNS-E and the MFSW!

[Audi A4 Lover]

Especially with the RNS-E and the MFSW!

OH YES! I love the way the wheel lights up, just adds that little something extra!

[pompey83]

Hi,

Must check all these toys out when I get back in the car later.

Flakmunky - I'm intrigued by your £15 glovebox cooler. Can you tell me more or let me know where I can find details of how to.

Cheers.

P83

[Flakmunky]

Hi,

If you have a look at the back of the glovebox, in the deepest part you can see a pre-cut circle. This is for cars with the coolbox fitted in the glovebox. As a factory fit option you get a second box in the glovebox with a vent at the back. This second box costs about £70 and I will probably buy this at some point in the future, however the pipe from the A/C unit to the glovebox is about £8 and the vent itself which fits to teh back of hte glovebox is about £10.

To fit you remove the glovebox, cut out the pre-cut circular hole and then on the side of the A/C fan unit is a rubber bung. Remove the bung, fit the pipe and then refit the glovebox, making sure the pipe is poking through the hole then screw on the vent.

The air coming through the vent is always cold. Putting your drinks in the glovebox will keep them nicely chilled on a long hot drive.

On Etka, the coolbox looks to be insulated and I will probably go for this in the future but for now, for less than £20 and 20 minutes work you get a nice coolbox!

My Golf had this but the air was not as cold as the Audi's.

EDIT: Its great when SWMBO is driving as you can keep your Becks cold...

[pompey83]

Cheers Flakmunky... It was exactly the SWMBO driving/Becks combo I was most interested in!!!:beerchug:.
One final thing, did you buy the parts at a main dealer or via VAGParts? Either way can you remember what they were called?

Many thanks.

P83

[Flakmunky]

Hi,

I have approached VAG-Parts a couple of times for custom orders but they have taken so long to get back to my emails that I have given up on them for anything that isn't shown on their website. In any case, I have often found my dealer to be very competitive on price, especially when you take in to account the postage. If it is in stock, my dealer orders them and has them ready for me the day after I order them, if you order on a Thursday night they will be in on a Saturday morning.

Will check Etka and post the part numbers for you later - but be warned my pooter trashed the 'security descriptors data stream' day before yesterday resulting in a complete format / reinstall so it may be a few days befoer I get back to you...

[pompey83]

Thanks again for your prompt reply. If you can post the part numbers great but don't spend ages finding them on my account. I can just as easily go and bother some poor sod on the parts desk!:biglaugh:

Good luck with the 'pooter... sounds nasty!

P83

[kodkod.84]

What is ETKA? Is it like some retro-fitters bible- could be interested in a copy if it is.

[pompey83]

Aha!!

Even as a relative newbie I think I can answer that one It is VAG's internal parts database (a bit like the old micro films that main dealers used to use) this is accessed by the parts department and it has visual depictions of every assembly and part numbers for all VAG models I believe. (Like a mega Haynes manual I suppose!)

Although it is for main dealers only a quick Google will no doubt bring up many helpful file sharing resources with copy of one or other database.

I guess therefore you could easily say it was a retro-fitters bible if you can get a copy. There's also something called ErWIN which is a publicly accessible version (for a fee of course) via VAG websites. Supposedly for non main dealers and "skilled amateurs".

Hope this makes sense!

P83

[kodkod.84]

Cheers for that info- how you enjoying your SE S-Line Pompey?

You got the version 2 with the RS4 alloys and black optic pack? or is it the orignal one like mine.

[Flakmunky]

Audi dealerships have access to ETKA and ELSA.

ETKA = Parts Catalogue
ELSA = Workshop manual

Between them they are essential...

The pair are often sold on Ebay, whether they are legitimate licenses I couldn't say.

I have a friend in a dealership with access to both... ;)

[Rusk]

A note on the op. I have noticed now it is cold outside and I am using the heaters that the central vents do not seem to work. The vents on either sides blow hot but the middle two don't blow at all not even cold. However when I put the climate control to below 20 so cool or cold all vents work. What could cause this? :1zhelp:

[pompey83]

Cheers for that info- how you enjoying your SE S-Line Pompey?

You got the version 2 with the RS4 alloys and black optic pack? or is it the orignal one like mine.

Loving it thanks! Drives great and now it's got 14k on the clock the engine is beginning to loosen up a bit. Plenty of toys too, RNS-E, bluetooth, mirrors etc.

I suppose it is the v2 (didn't know there was a difference), it does indeed have the RS4 alloys and black optics... looks pretty cool in phantom black IMHO. :D

After 12 years of BMWs and really not being inspired by the new 3 series I felt like a change and glad I did. The only downside is the apathetic treatment given out by the Audi dealership when at the BMW dealers you really get looked after, even if you have only spent as little as £25k on one of their cars! :confused:

[auroan]

The coolbox retro fit is defo going to be my first mod to my new motor then. Any joy on the part numbers ? If not I'll have a dig around vagcat.com

[MPM]

A note on the op. I have noticed now it is cold outside and I am using the heaters that the central vents do not seem to work. The vents on either sides blow hot but the middle two don't blow at all not even cold. However when I put the climate control to below 20 so cool or cold all vents work. What could cause this? :1zhelp:

This is by design, it is to stop the windows misting up on cold mornings by putting the warmer air over the windows. (It's in the manual somewhere i think).

It always annoys me when i have a warm hand on one side and the central hand is freezing :p

MPM :D

[Rusk]

This is by design, it is to stop the windows misting up on cold mornings by putting the warmer air over the windows. (It's in the manual somewhere i think).

It always annoys me when i have a warm hand on one side and the central hand is freezing :p

MPM :D

Great thanks MPM :bigok: Seems like one of those very clever and something you couldn't live without but still annoying features :approve:

[pompey83]

The coolbox retro fit is defo going to be my first mod to my new motor then. Any joy on the part numbers ? If not I'll have a dig around vagcat.com

Found this on another VAG forum. http://www.audiworld.com/tech/int48.shtml It may possibly be a B6 in the pics, I'm not sure but it certainly looks a lot like my car and that's a 2007 model. Maybe someone better qualified could confirm.

The part numbers are
8E1816311 AIR HOSE x 1
8E08207014PK AIR OUTLET x 1

I'm of to the parts desk. (Well not yet actually! Why would you want a cooled glovebox when it's like Siberia outside?):aargh4:

Hope this helps.

[kite]

Found this on another VAG forum. http://www.audizine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=223252

The part numbers are
8E1816311 AIR HOSE x 1
8E08207014PK AIR OUTLET x 1

I'm of to the parts desk. (Well not yet actually! Why would you want a cooled glovebox when it's like Siberia outside?):aargh4:

Hope this helps.
Factory fitted coolbox also has a plastic liner and door, so that link is only half a retrofit.

[auroan]

Just double checked the part numbers on vagcat.com and they are for the LHD model.

For RHD is would appear you need;

8E0820701 and 8E0820701 4PK

[Flakmunky]

Factory fitted coolbox also has a plastic liner and door, so that link is only half a retrofit.

Kite - thats the bit that costs £70... I haven't got it yet... But I will and will post pics when I do.

[Flakmunky]

This is by design, it is to stop the windows misting up on cold mornings by putting the warmer air over the windows. (It's in the manual somewhere i think).

It always annoys me when i have a warm hand on one side and the central hand is freezing :p

MPM :D

When it warms up it will reduce the fan speed and then open the central vents...

[kite]

Kite - thats the bit that costs £70... I haven't got it yet... But I will and will post pics when I do.
ahhh mine was factory fitted :D

[Flakmunky]

Could you post a piccy or two, please? I haven't seen it and am wondering what it looks like and how much of the glovebox it takes up.

[kite]

Could you post a piccy or two, please? I haven't seen it and am wondering what it looks like and how much of the glovebox it takes up.
It takes up a lot of the box, Ill post photo's later.

[kite]

pix of chilled glovebox.
Please excuse the mess !

[Flakmunky]

thanks - its a bit bigger than i thought!