Cure for broken heater

[tomsugden]

I bought my wedge in the summer, and didn't notice at the time that the heater didn't work. As I use the car daily to get to and from work, this could be a problem in the winter months. Then I found this:

[url]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=8004462797&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1[/url]

:thumbup:


I will eventually get round to fixing the heating properly, but in the meantime this is quite a good option.

[hargo]

I had the same problem as you and use mine everyday so I bought a similar ceramic heater that was rated at 150w.

I wasn't expecting a lot but my breath was hotter and did a better job of cleaning the screen

If you do get one it might be worth installing a separate 12v supply to plug it into coz mine kept blowing the fuse !

I stopped using it after 2 trips to work

Cheers

Al

[tallbloke]

Hmmm,
you may find that a 200w demand on the alternator makes the lights go a bit dim when you switch it on.

[rev-erend]

I'm sure if you flush & bleed the heater matrix : you will get it working..

Check the pipes too - many of them will be squashed & missing after all these years.

[grahamw48]

What's wrong with the original ?

[tomsugden]

name said:

I'm sure if you flush & bleed the heater matrix : you will get it working.

When I got the car I noticed that the pipe going into the heater matrix was hot, and the one coming out was cold. I flushed it in both directions, and now the in and the out pipes are both hot, but still no hot air in the cabin . I have opened and closed the valve manually, and taken it apart to confirm it is opening properly, but to no avail. I'm not sure there is much more I can do without taking the dash out to get to the matrix itself ?

[MJG280]

Having had to take the heater out of an 81 280 FHC to get at the wiper wheelbox I'm not surprised they aren't efficient. There were gaps all over around the tubes bringing air into the cabin. The fresh air vents in the dashboard fitted into holes much larger about 3mm all round bypassing the matrix and the body join had gaps as well. The matrix itself seems clear but the supply pipes were kinked. However as one of the pipe connections was leaking into the cabin it kept itself nicely bled and the heater supplied heat despite all this and demisted eventually. Presumably the heat from underneath dries out the leaking water.

Took me 4 hours to remove it. Though I haven't put it all back together yet and there do seem some wires flapping about that I don't remember undoing!

[jmorgan]

Until its sorted, RainX anti mist might work. Does on mine garaged then out into the cold. Not sure if its kept outside or helps with ice. Onbly draw back is it need cleaning and re applying. I found twice a week when I used it that often.

[jchase]

Hi Tom,

You might want to tell us the year and exact model you have as there are at least four different styles of heaterbox I have seen. There are also several ways they are plumbed in, some of which beg belief. And also the state of your engine cooling system - leaks etc can effect the cabin heater dramatically.



-Jim

[tomsugden]

She's a 1989 350i. Loses a little bit of water, but I always top it up and make sure it is full.

Any help appreciated.

[jchase]

Hi Tom,

The 1989 350i probably is the same as my 1986 FHC (a big guess) where the heater feed pipes take different routes to the matrix, one goes up and down and through the passenger firewall, creating airlock number one. The other goes down by the gearbox, and up to the matrix (airlock number two is the matrix itself!). Mine does not have a fluid flow control valve, and apparently others of this era didn't - they use a flap inside the airbox to mix the hot and cold air.

My radiator would only leak when hot, and only for a few seconds after a journey - very difficult to trace. But the effect was a heater that stopped working completely after a few miles of driving - then you had to bleed the matrix , and it would work (in a feable way) for some random amount of journey.

The demister on these cars is not so good, AFAIK nobody has said thier standard wedge demsiter works, apart from a few 400SE owners, who have yet another type of heater box. So best to test the matrix on cabin setting.

You'll need to rebuild the heater box and replumb the hoses to make the demister work - and it is a LOT of effot. I got the pictures to prove it! Oh, and all TVRs are different, so what is inside yours may be unique !

-Jim

[jchase]

Tom,

I got carried away there, I meant to say, fix the leak, and then bleed the matrix at BOTH hoses, you should get the heater working then, but don't expect the demister to work.

-Jim

[rev-erend]

I would check the main radiator for telltale signs that it is leaking : green along the sides (matrix to core).. after all - if it's leaking and air is entering the system one of the highest point on the system is ofter the heater matrix..

So bleeding it will only cure it for a while.

[tomsugden]

Thank you all for the advice. I now have heating that works properly, and demists too

[leorest]

tomsugden said:

Thank you all for the advice. I now have heating that works properly, and demists too

How'd you do it?

[tomsugden]

I flushed the heater matrix in both directions to blow all the crap out, and put some radseal in to cure the leak. So far so good.

[rev-erend]

Excellent..