944 Heater system

[studog]

Does anyone know how the heater works on the oval dash models?

Mine responds to the controls fine but never gets as hot as it says on the dial.
Even if you set it to full heat it is only warm.
My old dash one could cook toast on the vents on full heat. This is completely
different, mind you I can get fresh air through this one at least!

Anyone got a clue where to start looking for faults?

[softinthehead]

heaters are a perennial 944 achilles heel (just like the electric window motors and the boot release). my old 944 did exactly the same. there is a little plastic widget in the heater pipes that directs/diverts flow, which can fail or seize. it was a relatively simple job for a skilled indie. I think its one of those things that you either do or dont know how to do, so unless you are mechanically very confident it might be better to seek help here. Accessing the system is not for the faint of heart.
Fingers crossed its that. if its the heater control unit itself they are ferociously expensive.

[AJLintern]

Does the engine get up to temperature? If not then it would be the thermostat. I had this problem - never got much from the heater until the thermostat was replaced, now it's hot within a few minutes

[williamp]

Also park the car on a hill/ jack up the front of the car, then bleed the system. Any air trapped will not help matters.

[studog]

Thanks.

looks like I will be taking it apart this weekend!

The engine temp is just fine so I don't think there are any problems there.
I will have a look at the linkages first.

[diver944]

There's an excellent guide in the Garage Shop Manual at www.clarks-garage.com

Specifically the Heater section at www.clarks-garage.com/shop-manual/hvac-01.htm

It should be toasty

[studog]

Cool, I forgot about them.
Many thanks for the reminder.

[me01mp]

Just to hijack the thread. My1986 lux's heater is either on roasting or off.. if the dial is in the blue then yes, its cool air, i like that.. touch the red and i can hear the thermostat click on like you do at home, only it dosn't matter how far into the red i go, its just red hot. there's no gradient of temp.. the only way i can keep neutral is to crack open the sunroof while the heater is on..

Any ideas

[diver944]

me01mp said:

Any ideas

Yes. Look at Section 2 in the Clarks guide, it covers this. Hoepfully its the simplest problem which is the plastic clip that connects the heater flaps. These often snap (both my cars have down this). Good news is a new clip is around a pound at the OPC

[me01mp]

At the risk of sounding VERY village.. what's the Clarks guide? Is that like a Haynes manual?

[tr7v8]

Err its a bit more than the Haynes manual, its a full how to do list of everything on the 944, from simple jobs right up to fairly complicated ones! It's also written by someone who has actually done it more than once so contains all the pitfalls etc.

Jim

[dogsharks]

basically in a nutshell, your heater valve is "toast", and/or you may have a broken vac line.

Go over all those brittle old plastic lines, see if any are broken, be careful not to touch any because they may break. There is an all metal heater valve replacement available from some suppliers.

Regards, DS