I'd like to fit a permament power cable that ends in the drivers area, accesible from the exterior of the vehicle without the need to open the bonnet, doors tailgate. The obvious point is where a towing hook power cable is routed up infront of the spare wheel. Its then just a case of routing it down to the front, (don't know how much of a job that would be, I wouldn't want to go near any of the air bags.) Are there any alternatives, like coming in from the front?

The reason being I'd like to have the same setup as my previous car where I had a mains powered Defa Fan Heater fitted. That car had pillarless doors, which meant the window had to drop a cm before you could open it and in freezing weather it wouldn't, even if it did the door would freeze shut as well. I got fed up standing outside each morning for 20 minutes with a hairdryer defrosting the door, so enter the Defa.

I had it hooked over the front seat flap, canted over to point at the door and it could be left in situ for the winter. It was connected to a power cable I had routed from under the drivers seat, under the carpet to the side of the car and then back into the boot, through the rear wing vent flap and down to the rear diffuser where I had a capped plug (flymo) velcro'd onto the rear diffuser shelf. So in the evening, if it was going to be icy in the morning, I would simply plug the car into a power cable connected to a Programmable plug socket, set to come on half an hour before I got into the car. Door would open, windows wouldnt need scraping, interior wasn't cold.

It won't be a necessity on the Freelander like the previous car, although I have read one account of one person having to climb in the tailgate because all the doors where frozen, but seeing as I already have it, it would be a nicety.

hey mate, I see that nobody has posted.. so I will go ahead and do it : )

I am in sweden and the Defa kits are really popular here, with the small plug on the front that connects to both a heating element with waterpump to circulate hot water around the block and of course give you the extra plug inside the car to warm the cabin.

I have a Diesel, and the last LR I owned with a diesel engine (defender) really did need the Defa, of course it would be a problem when I was out shopping for example and had no access to a plug to connect the car, and perhaps I am just a little spoiled when I write this but there is really very little need for a Defa on the FL2.

Its often below -10 here in the mornings, snowfall during the night is common. I go out, the roods open just fine and I start the car... I turn on the window warmers and walk around the car with a brush and a scraper, I do the side windows only and brush the bonnet and roof (so that the snow doesnt slide over the windshield under braking). I pift the window wipers and give them a little knead to lossen off any ice that has collected in them... I put the stuff back in the boot, take off my jacket and jump in the car, by this time the windows are all clear from the wires in the glass.

I turn on the seat warmer and start connecting the phone to the bluetooth for some internet radio, then I drive.

Within a couple of minutes its actually hot air coming out of the blowers, a complete revilation!.

You will likely have the issue of the alarm going off as well from the Defa cabin heater unless you decide its ok to have the car unlocked on the drive while you hit the switch from inside the house in the morning... and that is fine, but remember that the FL2 screams "I am unlocked" by sticking its wing mirrors out.. and anyone that is interested in checking what is in side, surely knows this...

If you fold the door mirrors before locking the car they will stay folded when you unlock it until you unfold them.
To fold the mirrors press and hold both mirror control buttons at the same time, repeat process to unfold.
Useful when putting vehcile into a garage with slightly narrow doors.

LRswe,
thanks for replying, the alarm is not something I would ever have considered, would it really set it off? If that's the case I don't think its something I will do. I was only going to fit it because I already have the kit and it worked well but I think I'll wait and see how I get on first. If I have probelm with frozen doors maybe I'll look at it again.

For reference though, all the Defa equipment seems to get installed up front in the engine bay, so is there a hole in the firewall for the cabin heater cabling to pass through?

Cheers.