Vanette Poor Cold Start

Hey! Your symptoms sound familiar. I had a similar problem with my old Opel Astra – it was a petrol, not diesel. It also ran rough on cold starts and threw some weird codes. It turned out to be a defective heating element messing with the engine management system. Is your Vanette blowing cold air when it should be warm, or is the temperature control off?

I'm not sure if it's blowing cold air, but it takes a long time for the cabin to heat up, even after the engine has been running. How did you pinpoint the heating element as the issue in your Astra? Did you use a multimeter, or did you rely on the error codes?

Well, the error codes pointed me toward the HVAC system. Then, a mechanic friend suggested checking the heating element's resistance. I didn't do the multimeter work myself, he did. He said the resistance was way off, indicating a fault. Given your symptoms and the error code, I'd say it's probable your electric auxiliary heater is defective. It's probably best to get it checked at a workshop, just to be sure.

Thanks for sharing your experience and the suggestion to get it checked at a workshop. I'll book an appointment with my local mechanic and ask them to investigate the PTC heater and its resistance. The mechanic confirmed the electric auxiliary heater is defective. Repair will be about 350€. Thanks for your help!