Discussion
Hi Guys,
I have an annoying issue with my recently acquired Chim that I need some advice with.
Ever since I got the car the heater has been pumping out hot air, even when I set the controls to cold. In fact I lie, it did once blow out coolish air after lots of fiddling with the controls but it soon reverted to its preferred "Melt" setting.
Just been out for a drive today and if anything it has got worse, having now settled a not previously revealed "Molten Lava" setting.
After reading and posting on the topic below I already suspected that it might be the heater valve.
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
I have now contorted myself under the dash on the passenger side and have found the potentially offending item. For clarity the cable from the adjuster wheel on the dash is certainly connected to the valve, and the valve arm is happily moving backwards and forwards as the control wheel is turned.
Am I right in assuming that even with the control arm working there is a good chance that the internals are essentially buggered, hence the system's apparent determination to reach and then lock on to a "Surface of the Sun" temperature independent of the control and fan settings?
Next, can anyone tell me if this is the right replacement part? If not can someone kindly point me in the right direction? Thanks.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HEATER-VALVE-NEW-VW-CADD...
Last, is there a trick to changing this part without becoming fully double jointed and growing an extra arm? Seems silly to send the car to the menders just for this small job but it does look a little tricky.
Thanks in advance for the help.
PS: the car is a lightly used Yr 2000 5 litre model if that makes any difference.
Cheers
TD
I have an annoying issue with my recently acquired Chim that I need some advice with.
Ever since I got the car the heater has been pumping out hot air, even when I set the controls to cold. In fact I lie, it did once blow out coolish air after lots of fiddling with the controls but it soon reverted to its preferred "Melt" setting.
Just been out for a drive today and if anything it has got worse, having now settled a not previously revealed "Molten Lava" setting.
After reading and posting on the topic below I already suspected that it might be the heater valve.
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
I have now contorted myself under the dash on the passenger side and have found the potentially offending item. For clarity the cable from the adjuster wheel on the dash is certainly connected to the valve, and the valve arm is happily moving backwards and forwards as the control wheel is turned.
Am I right in assuming that even with the control arm working there is a good chance that the internals are essentially buggered, hence the system's apparent determination to reach and then lock on to a "Surface of the Sun" temperature independent of the control and fan settings?
Next, can anyone tell me if this is the right replacement part? If not can someone kindly point me in the right direction? Thanks.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HEATER-VALVE-NEW-VW-CADD...
Last, is there a trick to changing this part without becoming fully double jointed and growing an extra arm? Seems silly to send the car to the menders just for this small job but it does look a little tricky.
Thanks in advance for the help.
PS: the car is a lightly used Yr 2000 5 litre model if that makes any difference.
Cheers
TD
I wasn't getting quite the 'molten lava', but still annoyingly hot, and found after looking that the valve wasn't closing properly simply due to the cable needing adjusting. With head in footwell, looking at the valve there are 2 stops either side of the lever - with the temperature set to cold, this lever wasn't against the stop so was letting a small amount of hot coolant through. After adjustment it's now nice and cool.
You may already have checked this, but I thought it worth mentioning as it saved me an awful lot of trouble.
Rich
You may already have checked this, but I thought it worth mentioning as it saved me an awful lot of trouble.
Rich
Thanks Rich, will take a look at this too, although based on the temperatures I am seeing I suspect the internals are basically banjoed.
Come to think of it I would not be at all surprised if the valve internals have bloody melted!
By the way, how come the Clever Trevor version (which looks identical to the ebay one to my untrained eye) is 4.5 times the price?
Clever Trevor option:-
http://www.clever-trevor.net/TVR/Parts_details/P01...
ebay one:-
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HEATER-VALVE-NEW-VW-CADD...
I'm probably missing something, like the fact that the TVR one is rated to 1000 degrees centigrade, which justifies the huge price differential!
TD
Come to think of it I would not be at all surprised if the valve internals have bloody melted!
By the way, how come the Clever Trevor version (which looks identical to the ebay one to my untrained eye) is 4.5 times the price?
Clever Trevor option:-
http://www.clever-trevor.net/TVR/Parts_details/P01...
ebay one:-
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HEATER-VALVE-NEW-VW-CADD...
I'm probably missing something, like the fact that the TVR one is rated to 1000 degrees centigrade, which justifies the huge price differential!
TD
Thought I would update you all on the heating / cooling issue.
So, I have now replaced the heater valve - after a huge struggle and many many swear words.
Points to note: I got much more than a few drips when I disconnected the pipes. In fact coolant pissed out everywhere so I had to plug the pipes to avoid significant loss of fluid! Much swearing and dampness.
Most difficult part: Getting the cable clip back on the new valve. It took me absolutely ages to get it back on because mine was a bit bent out of shape. More swearing and a small amount of blood loss.
Most annoying part (other than the above) - well the fix did not work. The old valve was fine when I finally checked it for leaks but I figured I'd change it anyway given that I had a new one and I had already removed the old one. Went out for a test spin and it is still blowing very hot air even on coldest setting.
Most predictable part: When I checked the cable I realised that DickyP was spot on, the valve was not in the fully closed position even when the temp was set to it lowest position on the dial. In my haste to do manly fixing things I forgot to check the cable position on the valve before I took it all apart.
Most utterly infuriating thing: Once I realised that the cable needed adjusting I decided to remove the cable clip and move the cable - but as soon as I touched it the sodding thing sprung off and disappeared behind the dash and I can't find it now. Even more swearing followed by a big sigh. Anyone know where I can get another one of these clips from? I assume they are as rare as rocking horse sh*t.
The minimally good news - with the cable clip lost and the cable no longer firmly fixed to the heater valve at least I can now set the valve to the fully off position manually. I will see if this results in cool air being blown in to the cabin tomorrow. For now I have given up and turned to alcohol for solace.
All in all a fairly predictable first effort at working on the Chim. It could have been a lot worse - trust me!
Anyway I am sure I'll get there in the end and thanks for all the valuable advice.
Cheers
TD
So, I have now replaced the heater valve - after a huge struggle and many many swear words.
Points to note: I got much more than a few drips when I disconnected the pipes. In fact coolant pissed out everywhere so I had to plug the pipes to avoid significant loss of fluid! Much swearing and dampness.
Most difficult part: Getting the cable clip back on the new valve. It took me absolutely ages to get it back on because mine was a bit bent out of shape. More swearing and a small amount of blood loss.
Most annoying part (other than the above) - well the fix did not work. The old valve was fine when I finally checked it for leaks but I figured I'd change it anyway given that I had a new one and I had already removed the old one. Went out for a test spin and it is still blowing very hot air even on coldest setting.
Most predictable part: When I checked the cable I realised that DickyP was spot on, the valve was not in the fully closed position even when the temp was set to it lowest position on the dial. In my haste to do manly fixing things I forgot to check the cable position on the valve before I took it all apart.
Most utterly infuriating thing: Once I realised that the cable needed adjusting I decided to remove the cable clip and move the cable - but as soon as I touched it the sodding thing sprung off and disappeared behind the dash and I can't find it now. Even more swearing followed by a big sigh. Anyone know where I can get another one of these clips from? I assume they are as rare as rocking horse sh*t.
The minimally good news - with the cable clip lost and the cable no longer firmly fixed to the heater valve at least I can now set the valve to the fully off position manually. I will see if this results in cool air being blown in to the cabin tomorrow. For now I have given up and turned to alcohol for solace.
All in all a fairly predictable first effort at working on the Chim. It could have been a lot worse - trust me!
Anyway I am sure I'll get there in the end and thanks for all the valuable advice.
Cheers
TD
Just in case anyone else loses one of these clips here is a link where you can get one.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VW-MK2-Golf-Genuine-Matr...
TD
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VW-MK2-Golf-Genuine-Matr...
TD
Mine has always had this issue and I thought they all did it 
Anyway, I had a look at the valve and it appears to operate very well but still blows hot when its on cold.
However, I do have air con so it has to hover just above the point when the aircon kicks in.
Is this hindering the valve going to its coldest setting when the aircon isn't on?
Anyway, I had a look at the valve and it appears to operate very well but still blows hot when its on cold.
However, I do have air con so it has to hover just above the point when the aircon kicks in.
Is this hindering the valve going to its coldest setting when the aircon isn't on?
Update!
Have now refitted the valve and adjusted the cable so that the valve closes completely when temp wheel is set to cold.
Because of the incredibly tight and awkward space that all of the heater gubbins fit in to this theoretically simple job was a complete b*stard and took ages.
However, I can report that the blower now blows cold / cool air even on warm days so the fix definitely worked. I also have a spare valve now should anything else go wrong.
One point of interest if you plan to have a go at this: Despite what other have experienced, when I removed the pipes from the heater matrix valve the coolant poured out everywhere - as you might expect really, so be ready for this with a towel and something to plug the lower pipe with.
All good now though, except that in the process of topping up the coolant I discovered that my radiator leaks from the bleed screw! Think its just the bleed screw washer so hopefully not a difficult fix.
TD
Have now refitted the valve and adjusted the cable so that the valve closes completely when temp wheel is set to cold.
Because of the incredibly tight and awkward space that all of the heater gubbins fit in to this theoretically simple job was a complete b*stard and took ages.
However, I can report that the blower now blows cold / cool air even on warm days so the fix definitely worked. I also have a spare valve now should anything else go wrong.
One point of interest if you plan to have a go at this: Despite what other have experienced, when I removed the pipes from the heater matrix valve the coolant poured out everywhere - as you might expect really, so be ready for this with a towel and something to plug the lower pipe with.
All good now though, except that in the process of topping up the coolant I discovered that my radiator leaks from the bleed screw! Think its just the bleed screw washer so hopefully not a difficult fix.
TD
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