The story of my car’s grille shutter actuator failure – and replacement – is covered in the recent thread entitled EQA intermittent mechanical rattle.
Prior to that experience, I wasn’t aware that the EQA was fitted with movable shutters. However, given the vehicle’s sophistication, it’s not surprising – after all, our family’s late 1950s Škoda 440 was fitted with a mechanically-operated grille blind and my 1987 Citroën 2CV had a removable plastic grille blanking panel, both of which served a similar purpose.
In the case of the Škoda and the Citroën, those devices were intended to help the vehicle operate in climates far colder than where I live. Does the EQA’s grille shutter serve a similar purpose?
I think the answer is, to some extent, “yes” (i.e. when the battery cooling system becomes heated beyond the optimum temperature range) – and “no”: to assist the battery warm-up when the coolant and battery is below the optimum range. dBC also commented (in the EQA intermittent mechanical rattle thread) that the shutters probably contribute to the car’s aerodynamics. Maybe there are other factors, but it’s apparent that various parameters determine whether the shutters are open or closed. A further question: are they either fully open of fully closed – or is the system so sophisticated that it also controls the amount of opening?
No doubt there’s a technical bulletin which provides the definitive answer to these questions, but in the absence of such information, I thought I’d attempt to investigate the operation of my car’s shutters by temporarily – and non-destructively! (i.e. no holes drilled or other irreversible changes made) – installing some observation equipment.
I mentioned in the EQA intermittent mechanical rattle thread that I planned to fit a reversing camera in the shutter area to observe its operation. Accordingly, I ordered the camera kit and a 4-channel remote relay online.
In the meantime, I fitted a simple ‘idiot’ light to monitor shutter opening and closing. A small LED was attached to the driver’s windscreen wiper arm – almost in line of sight with the HUD – which is activated by a micro switch mounted adjacent to the shutter actuator. The frame of the shutter actuating mechanism moves up or down according to whether the shutters are closed or open. I have adjusted the micro switch so that its (long!) actuating lever is depressed when the shutters are open (LED off).
The camera kit has now arrived, and I’ve fitted the camera – and a bank of 3 LEDs (to illuminate the area when the shutters are closed) – between the shutters and the radiator so that I can observe them opening and closing. All of my observation equipment is powered from the 12 volt car battery via a fused circuit controlled by the 4-channel remote relay device. The camera monitor – which is located on top of the dashboard above the MBUX display – is powered by the cigarette lighter.
I have made some initial observations, but I will report more comprehensively once I’ve gathered more information. At this stage, it appears that the shutters are either open or closed (no part-opening) and typically they are open when the car is stationary in the garage overnight and closed during normal running. But I’ve already learnt that it’s not that simple – and I also acknowledge that my further experience will be limited by the operational circumstances of my car.
More in due course.
Prior to that experience, I wasn’t aware that the EQA was fitted with movable shutters. However, given the vehicle’s sophistication, it’s not surprising – after all, our family’s late 1950s Škoda 440 was fitted with a mechanically-operated grille blind and my 1987 Citroën 2CV had a removable plastic grille blanking panel, both of which served a similar purpose.
In the case of the Škoda and the Citroën, those devices were intended to help the vehicle operate in climates far colder than where I live. Does the EQA’s grille shutter serve a similar purpose?
I think the answer is, to some extent, “yes” (i.e. when the battery cooling system becomes heated beyond the optimum temperature range) – and “no”: to assist the battery warm-up when the coolant and battery is below the optimum range. dBC also commented (in the EQA intermittent mechanical rattle thread) that the shutters probably contribute to the car’s aerodynamics. Maybe there are other factors, but it’s apparent that various parameters determine whether the shutters are open or closed. A further question: are they either fully open of fully closed – or is the system so sophisticated that it also controls the amount of opening?
No doubt there’s a technical bulletin which provides the definitive answer to these questions, but in the absence of such information, I thought I’d attempt to investigate the operation of my car’s shutters by temporarily – and non-destructively! (i.e. no holes drilled or other irreversible changes made) – installing some observation equipment.
I mentioned in the EQA intermittent mechanical rattle thread that I planned to fit a reversing camera in the shutter area to observe its operation. Accordingly, I ordered the camera kit and a 4-channel remote relay online.
In the meantime, I fitted a simple ‘idiot’ light to monitor shutter opening and closing. A small LED was attached to the driver’s windscreen wiper arm – almost in line of sight with the HUD – which is activated by a micro switch mounted adjacent to the shutter actuator. The frame of the shutter actuating mechanism moves up or down according to whether the shutters are closed or open. I have adjusted the micro switch so that its (long!) actuating lever is depressed when the shutters are open (LED off).
The camera kit has now arrived, and I’ve fitted the camera – and a bank of 3 LEDs (to illuminate the area when the shutters are closed) – between the shutters and the radiator so that I can observe them opening and closing. All of my observation equipment is powered from the 12 volt car battery via a fused circuit controlled by the 4-channel remote relay device. The camera monitor – which is located on top of the dashboard above the MBUX display – is powered by the cigarette lighter.
I have made some initial observations, but I will report more comprehensively once I’ve gathered more information. At this stage, it appears that the shutters are either open or closed (no part-opening) and typically they are open when the car is stationary in the garage overnight and closed during normal running. But I’ve already learnt that it’s not that simple – and I also acknowledge that my further experience will be limited by the operational circumstances of my car.
More in due course.
