Originally Posted by ncarter

Ah, you got the GOOD climate control. This is the one that works without fail. The "other" one - the pushbutton unit that seems to be the more common climate control on these cars - gets gremlins after about 15 years and never does what you want it to.



Anyway, here's how it works, if you haven't figured it out already:



- The middle knob is the blower/fan control. It operates independently from the other controls. If you want air to move, be it hot, cold, or ambient temp, rotate this knob.



- The red knobs are heat for left and right sides of the car. This is commonly called "Dual Zone Climate Control" by the marketing guys for new cars, and they charge an extra grand for it on the sticker. Comes free with your 240D. Turn 'em a little bit for a little hot, or all the way for really hot. Hot air tends to blow mainly out the vents on the far left and right; the middle vents don't get so hot. [Tech note: The knobs operate by pulling a cable that opens a valve in the engine bay that allows hot coolant to flow through the heater core. Simple, effective, reliable.]



- The wheel in the top middle controls the A/C compressor. Dial it up to full blue (MAX) for full blast, or turn it partway for basic cooling. Also, at MAX it increases the speed of the blower, even though you didn't turn the blower control knob.



- The horizontally-sliding levers control air flow through different vents. The one in the top center controls the two center vents. The one on the bottom left controls air from the defroster vent (at the base of the windshield) and the one at the bottom right controls air from the floor vents. Maybe vice-versa? Look at the arrows; the one pointing up is defrost and the one pointing down is floor.



- You control air flow from the two side vents by rotating them in place. Rotate them one way, and two little flaps close 'em up. The other way, and they open.





Now, for actual use:

If you're hot and want to cool down, turn on the blower, turn on the A/C wheel, and slide the top center slider all the way left. Ahhh! Cold air blowing on your face from the center vents.



If you're cold and want to warm up, turn on the blower, crank up the heater knob, close the center vents, and point the far left vent toward you. If your passenger is chilly, they've got their own heater knob. If your rear seat passengers are chilly too, make sure you have the floor vent slider open; that controls warm air to both your feet and the back seat.



If it's a nice day out and you just want ambient air blowing around the cabin, just turn on the blower and open up the center vents. This is my "normal" mode since the A/C compressor, sadly, draws a heckuva lot of power from the engine.



If you want to defrost your windshield, turn on the blower, adjust the defroster air flow slider to full, turn on the A/C compressor wheel, and turn the heat up a little bit. The A/C will dry the air and the heater will warm it. This way you've got warm, dry air blowing over the windshield; that's the most effective for defrosting.



If you want cold air on your face but warm air on your feet (most Americans like it this way), turn on the blower and the A/C and open the center vents. Then turn the heater knob a little way up, open the slider for the floor vents, close the far left vent by rotating it, and turn the heater knob a little way up. Perfect!



Now aren't you glad you don't have that lousy pushbutton unit? It's a lot of work, but at least you're comfortable! The poor saps with the pushbutton unit hit "A/C" and get heat, hit "Defrost" and get cold, hit "vent" and get A/C, then finally hit "Off" and roll down the window!



- Nathan

'83 240D "Steiner"

'00 New Beetle TDI

Originally Posted by crazy4diesel

Great description! Thanks.

I'm wondering if there is a control for recirculated air or fresh air? I know there is on vacuum pod in this systems, but I don't know what it does.