Remote Start, Climate Control and Supplemental Cab Heater

[Graypowerstroker]

Hey all - question on your experience with remote start in cold weather.

I will say as the temperatures drop in my new truck, I have not been happy with the climate control during remote start. I have a Lariat with Supplemental heat, heated steering wheel, and heated seats.

When using the remote start, the truck does not get warm for A WHILE -- especially warming up the windshield when there is frost on it. I conducted a test where I remote started the truck with me in it in the morning and the heat barely turns on -- the temperature from the vents is cold and the blower speed is very low. Every other vehicle I've owned when the car remote starts in cold temperatures, defrosters are set to max.... I would expect that the supplemental heat would send hot air up to the windshield first and foremost.

Anyone have any theories? Is it possible to fine tune these setting using forscan? Can anyone with supplemental heat comment on how quickly they have hot air dumping from the vents?

 

[DIG]

There are 2 settings for climate on remote start. One is last settings. The other is automatic. Maybe check that you have it set to automatic instead of last settings. I have a 6.7 with supplemental heat and remote start all the time and the cab is warm in the 10 minutes I let it run for.

 

[PapaRaptor]

I am thrilled with mine. Heats up so fast compared to other diesel trucks I had, and the steering wheel gets so warm I need gloves. It totally rocks.

 

[DIG]

There are 2 settings for climate on remote start. One is last settings. The other is automatic. Maybe check that you have it set to automatic instead of last settings. I have a 6.7 with supplemental heat and remote start all the time and the cab is warm in the 10 minutes I let it run for.

To add to this; when it’s cold outside and I remote start the truck the heated seats turn on to max, the steering wheel heat turns on, the rear defroster comes on and the auxiliary heat comes on. (Settings set to automatic) I can’t remember if the front defroster comes on or not. I’ll pay attention to that in the morning, but everything else I wrote above I know 100% comes on when it’s cold out.

 

[Deeds486]

I've noticed the exact same issue with mine. I feel like the supplemental heat doesn't actually start kicking on until you get in the truck and press the ignition button but it does seem to heat up quick after that. I might just start turning everything up before getting out to see if that helps.

 

[mattdm]

Well its only been hovering around freezing here, I absolutely love the supplemental heat in mine. I usually only start it as im headed to put my shoes on so it only gets a minute or two at most before im jumping in but its already taken the edge off in the cabin and within a few minutes of driving its comfortable. Ive never had gas vehicles that warm up that quick nevermind a diesel.

 

[knaffie]

I've not been impressed with the supplemental heat in my 2015 or my 2022. If it's this slow to make heat with it, I can't imagine how long it would be without.

 

[cookiemonster]

Is there any way to confirm the rapid heat is running? Other than putting your hand over the center vents?

 

[Wirelessguy]

Is there any way to confirm the rapid heat is running? Other than putting your hand over the center vents?

You might be able to use Forscan. I know it can monitor events like charging state, alternator request, and clear codes so I would imagine it can see any of the data coming from one of the several modules. If you don't have Forscan I can try it out when I get home this evening. I don't know for sure but it may require one of the paid versions but I believe you can pay for just a month.

 

[NitroTremor]

Mine works awesome with remote start, both key fob and Ford app. Rapid heat is an appropriate description IMO. As mentioned above, I would check the settings for “remote start” and see if Automatic is selected.

 

[RyanP]

mines great i remote start it in the morning, sometimes twice usually runs about 20 min or so and its up to over 100 deg for oil and antifreeze and its decently warm in it. 5 min driving my kid to school its super warm and by time i drive another 10 min i gotta turn the seats off and turn the temp down its so warm

 

[SomethingRandom]

Depending on how cold it is, you guys might have overly optimistic expectations on the supplemental heater.

It's a 1000w electrical heating element. It will heat the air. How fast it will heat the air depends on the temp of the air coming in to the heater. How cold the ducts are. How cold the air in the cab is. Cab volume (Eg. Reg cab will heat up faster than a crew cab). Is the supp heater helping warm the truck up faster? Yup. Is it going to bring a truck from 0 to 70 in 5 mins? Nope.

 

[Vermonster]

This morning I plugged in the truck at 6:40am. I tried to use the remote start at 7:15. The truck just did a quick horn beep, and didn't start. This was with the fob, not with the app.

So I went into the truck and pressed the start/stop button and it did the delay start to warm up things up for my school drop off. When it started it sounded like an old cummings for the first 3 seconds. It was 9F outside, so likely I didn't have it plugged in long enough, and need to have it receive a few hours - not what I asked of it. Sorry big girl.

When it did start it went directly to high idle. I always hate that because I feel the icy oil struggling in my heart. lol. I guess I will give it 3-4 hours from now on.

The rapid heater is not as extreme as I had made it out to be in my head, either. I am happy I have it, but it's not cutting the mustard for my unreasonable expectations. I too have the heated seat (drivers), steering wheel, and rear defrost on when I use the fob to start it remotely. The fan seems to be really weak (on low) perhaps, and that has caused me to turn off the bi-view when I am initially driving. On remote start the fan for the front defrost is hardly enough to melt frost on the windshield, as someone else pointed out.

Live and learn, I guess. More time plugged in will really help with I have temps where they are.

 

[knaffie]

I started my 2015 hundreds of times in single digit temperatures and never once plugged it in. Started right up every time. The manual for my 2015 didn't call for plugging it in until below zero Fahrenheit if I recall correctly.

 

[knaffie]

FYI, from the 2022 manual below. Apparently three hours is the sweet spot. And of course it doesn't hurt anything to plug it in if it's warm outside. It just costs money for electricity. My friend in Alaska puts his heaters (there are several on the truck) on a timer so they come on a few hours before he goes to work.

HOW DOES THE ENGINE BLOCK
HEATER WORK
The engine block heater warms the engine
coolant. This allows the climate control
system to quickly respond. The equipment
includes a heater element installed in the
engine block and a wire harness. You can
connect the system to a grounded
220-240 volt AC electrical source.
Note: The engine block heater is most
effective when outdoor temperatures are
below 0°F (-18°C).

USING THE ENGINE BLOCK
HEATER
Make sure the receptacle terminals are
clean and dry prior to use. Clean them with
a dry cloth if necessary.
The heater uses 0.4 to 1.0 kilowatt-hours
of energy per hour of use. The system does
not have a thermostat. It achieves
maximum temperature after
approximately three hours of operation.
Using the engine block heater longer than
three hours does not improve system
performance and unnecessarily uses
electricity.

 

[Vermonster]

I was thinking three hours was the perfect spot. I will likely pick-up that timer I have been putting off and have it auto on and off to meet my needs. One less thing to do in the morning! lol

The remote start has done this twice to me, so I am not sure what the deal is with that. I am well within range when it happens. We did have 20mph winds last night, on top of the 9F degrees.

 

[MTUcrash]

Yea, I put mine on an automatic timer set to turn on 3 hours before I leave in the morning.
Also noticed that the heater doesn’t seem to kick on very high until the engine reaches around 76 to 80 deg F. Then you hear the heater fan start blowing. Don’t know if the rapid heater waits until this coolant temp to kick in? Possibly programmed that way as it is not a high power heater and would not do much without the help of warmish coolant?

 

[cookiemonster]

It is really annoying they give us absolutely no way to know the status of the rapid heater. Is it working? Is it on? Is it off? I can understand maybe hiding it by default for UI simplicity, but giving no way to see it at all boggles my mind.

 

[jasoncw]

FYI, from the 2022 manual below. Apparently three hours is the sweet spot. And of course it doesn't hurt anything to plug it in if it's warm outside. It just costs money for electricity. My friend in Alaska puts his heaters (there are several on the truck) on a timer so they come on a few hours before he goes to work.

HOW DOES THE ENGINE BLOCK
HEATER WORK
The engine block heater warms the engine
coolant. This allows the climate control
system to quickly respond. The equipment
includes a heater element installed in the
engine block and a wire harness. You can
connect the system to a grounded
220-240 volt AC electrical source.
Note: The engine block heater is most
effective when outdoor temperatures are
below 0°F (-18°C).

USING THE ENGINE BLOCK
HEATER
Make sure the receptacle terminals are
clean and dry prior to use. Clean them with
a dry cloth if necessary.
The heater uses 0.4 to 1.0 kilowatt-hours
of energy per hour of use. The system does
not have a thermostat. It achieves
maximum temperature after
approximately three hours of operation.
Using the engine block heater longer than
three hours does not improve system
performance and unnecessarily uses
electricity.

220V?

 

[Vermonster]

Yea, I put mine on an automatic timer set to turn on 3 hours before I leave in the morning.
Also noticed that the heater doesn’t seem to kick on very high until the engine reaches around 76 to 80 deg F. Then you hear the heater fan start blowing. Don’t know if the rapid heater waits until this coolant temp to kick in? Possibly programmed that way as it is not a high power heater and would not do much without the help of warmish coolant?

You're exactly right. When my temp is higher the fans pick up the pace on their own.