2010 Fiat Ducato. 'Secret' air vent in dash?

[namwaldog]

We've had our current van over two years and only just discovered a 'secret' air vent in the dash.
Opposite the passenger seat their is a shallow lift up "glovebox" on the dash..

When this it open there is a sliding hatch about 3" x 1" which when slid across to the right reveals a mesh.

Am I right in assuming that it is simply an air vent??

Barry

 

[TM59]

Works great with aircon. Keeps a bottle of water nice and cool.

 

[suavecarve]

Is that not the secret cocaine smuggling compartment or is your design different to ours ?

 

[Howard H]

I think it’s a sort of cool box if you have the air con on it keeps bottles and cans cool .

 

[Camping Gaza]

And it's great for keeping a kebab warm in the winter.

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[namwaldog]

Its where I keep my Rolex, iPad and £2000 cash but I'm wondering if its where they introduce the gas on Aires?

 

[Marty Gilly and Pup]

It also heats up with the rest of the system as you will find out if you put your sweeties in their. Converted my bag of fangtastics into one gigantic one!

 

[MikeD]

As said earlier a cool box with the air con on and a water warmer if you don't.

 

[swiftsteve]

It's great for cooling wine on the move, making drink driving a far better experience,

 

[MR. FUSION]

It's the poor man's cool box that stays the temperature of the heating system, we rarely use it in fact I had forgotten about it

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[Deneb]

It's so secret they only tell you about it if you've got an owner's handbook

 

[DuxDeluxe]

And it's great for keeping a kebab warm in the winter.

.....or some nice warm prawns when you sell the van on......

 

[Lozsing]

not much use in a motorhome just put stuff in the fridge lol

 

[Madcaravanner]

Yep it's a cool box handy for vans but not motorhomes and it works whether the aircon is on or not (MInes bust again ) and has kept me a drink cold quite nicely

 

[Langtoftlad]

My MH is based on the Citroen Relay which allegedly is ""identical" to Fiat/Renault, so I'm told...
And yes I have a small glovebox on top of the dash....
And yes I knew it was a "coolbox"...
But it differs from the OP's inasmuch as there's no sliding cover;

However, there is somesort of stop to the right, suggesting that a slider is/was/could be an option.

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[Deneb]

My MH is based on the Citroen Relay which allegedly is ""identical" to Fiat/Renault, so I'm told...
And yes I have a small glovebox on top of the dash....
And yes I knew it was a "coolbox"...
But it differs from the OP's inasmuch as there's no sliding cover;

View attachment 320894

However, there is somesort of stop to the right, suggesting that a slider is/was/could be an option.

Various items are altered or deleted during production as part of the continuous improvement process AKA cost cutting. Current vans no longer have the vent at all I'm told, at least on the base specification.

 

[Kingham]

I’m going to have to check mine. I have the storage compartment, but can’t recall ever seeing a vent (unless it’s a ‘current’ van as described above) ?

 

[Deneb]

I’m going to have to check mine. I have the storage compartment, but can’t recall ever seeing a vent (unless it’s a ‘current’ van as described above) ?

This coolbox subject was mentioned recently on an owner's forum, from where it became apparent that it wasn't present on any of the newest Euro 6 vans.

However, just because the grille may be present in the storage box, it doesn't necessarily follow that it is connected to the air distribution pipes behind the dashboard! The easy way to find out is to switch on the Aircon or heating and see if hot or cold air is blown through it

 

[Jimbohorlicks]

I have one in my Peugeot base Eldiss, euro 6 and it is connected to the fan blown air system, hot or cold

 

[RogerThat]

Vent present on my Euro6 also

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[Deneb]

How old are they? The vans without have all been manufactured within the last few months and also no longer have the dashboard tablet holder as standard, only as an extra cost option.

But I am personally aware of vans going back several years which have the grille in the storage box but which do not have the cooler function.

 

[Wellington]

My daughter discovered hers, keeps her chocolates solid in this heat. I thought she was just wittering, but it really dies keep things chilled while the air con is on.

 

[RogerThat]

How old are they?

Mine's 2018 on a Peugeot base. I don't have the slidy-cover but I the vent is in place.

Mine also didn't come with the tablet holder, just the pop-up clip board, which I've since replaced with the tablet holder

 

[TheMachMan]

Bit of a thread bump here, but our 2019 has one of these without the slider. Is it ok to blank it off? On a few occasions it has cooked my phone, causing it to power down! Don’t see the benefit.

 

[gus-lopez]

Bit of a thread bump here, but our 2019 has one of these without the slider. Is it ok to blank it off? On a few occasions it has cooked my phone, causing it to power down! Don’t see the benefit.

Yes because with the slider that is all it does, blanks it off from heating or cooling.

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[EuroTrotters]

there is a similar thing in the Glove Compartment of 2006-2016 Mercedes Sprinters

 

[scobiej]

Bit of a thread bump here, but our 2019 has one of these without the slider. Is it ok to blank it off? On a few occasions it has cooked my phone, causing it to power down! Don’t see the benefit.

Just recently picked up my new van based on a Ducato and same issue. Installer had brought the USB cable to the head unit in through that and on the way home, my neatly packed away phone cut out due to being fried. I guess I just blank that off somehow. Seems weird they have removed a sliding vent door.

 

[TheMachMan]

Just recently picked up my new van based on a Ducato and same issue. Installer had brought the USB cable to the head unit in through that and on the way home, my neatly packed away phone cut out due to being fried. I guess I just blank that off somehow. Seems weird they have removed a sliding vent door.

I ended up taping it over.

 

[Pausim]

Just recently picked up my new van based on a Ducato and same issue. Installer had brought the USB cable to the head unit in through that and on the way home, my neatly packed away phone cut out due to being fried. I guess I just blank that off somehow. Seems weird they have removed a sliding vent door.

It is where I put my phone to keep it cool, it gets the benefit of the air con.

 

[pelican]

We've had our current van over two years and only just discovered a 'secret' air vent in the dash.
Opposite the passenger seat their is a shallow lift up "glovebox" on the dash..

View attachment 320815

When this it open there is a sliding hatch about 3" x 1" which when slid across to the right reveals a mesh.

View attachment 320816

View attachment 320817

Am I right in assuming that it is simply an air vent??

Barry

Location and details in owners manual along with other useful info

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