Access to heater valve
Discussion
I'm having a few minor probs with the heater where by the hot is 'mildly warm' and the cold is 'less mildly warm'. The actuation of the controller isn't great, so I'm guessing that where the cable goes into the valve (as shown in the steve heath bible) isn't working ad it should be.
The problem I have though, is just how do you access it?
Do I need to take the dash right off to get at it ? I can't see any easy way to get in from either the driver or passenger footwell without looking like I have to cut the carpet
I've read on here before that it's a simple job, but is there a trick I'm missing ??
Any advice would be greatly appreciated
Cheers
Graeme
The problem I have though, is just how do you access it?
Do I need to take the dash right off to get at it ? I can't see any easy way to get in from either the driver or passenger footwell without looking like I have to cut the carpet
I've read on here before that it's a simple job, but is there a trick I'm missing ??
Any advice would be greatly appreciated
Cheers
Graeme
The round heater temp switch access is with the dash top off
The 3 10mm nuts need to come off. It takes a time the first time you do it but alot quicker the next time. Do a search on here for dash removal or look in the Chimaerapages link
The heater valve where the cables end up is in the passenger footwell on the left behind where the door hinges are . Coulb be either end
The 3 10mm nuts need to come off. It takes a time the first time you do it but alot quicker the next time. Do a search on here for dash removal or look in the Chimaerapages link
The heater valve where the cables end up is in the passenger footwell on the left behind where the door hinges are . Coulb be either end
On mine, the carpet simply pulls away from the front of the passenger footwell, exposing the battery etc, and also the flap of carpet on the left-hand side of the footwell will just pull back, exposing the heater valve.
You can then stick your head down there, look up and see the wire that actuates the heater valve, and if you're a good enough contortionist you can reach up and operate the heater control wheel while watching the end of the wire move.
You can then stick your head down there, look up and see the wire that actuates the heater valve, and if you're a good enough contortionist you can reach up and operate the heater control wheel while watching the end of the wire move.
Dr Mike Oxgreen said:
On mine, the carpet simply pulls away from the front of the passenger footwell, exposing the battery etc, and also the flap of carpet on the left-hand side of the footwell will just pull back, exposing the heater valve.
You can then stick your head down there, look up and see the wire that actuates the heater valve, and if you're a good enough contortionist you can reach up and operate the heater control wheel while watching the end of the wire move.
That sounds like exactly where I've been going wrong. I was told you could access it from the passenger footwell, but I just assumed it'd be on the right side of the F/W behind the actual heater controller.You can then stick your head down there, look up and see the wire that actuates the heater valve, and if you're a good enough contortionist you can reach up and operate the heater control wheel while watching the end of the wire move.
I didn't think to look on the left hand side carpet as I guessing just assumed there wouldn't be anything there.
I'll check tonight and report back
Thanks for taking the time to reply
Cheers
Graeme
Yep, I think this is the right thing:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VW-Audi-Heater-Valve-Qua...
I've got one that's waiting to be fitted, in the hope that it'll make my aircon a bit colder. I predict plenty of swearing and spilt coolant!
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VW-Audi-Heater-Valve-Qua...
I've got one that's waiting to be fitted, in the hope that it'll make my aircon a bit colder. I predict plenty of swearing and spilt coolant!
Edited by Dr Mike Oxgreen on Wednesday 24th August 07:00
Right, I've ordered the valve off eBay. The one on the above link is sold now, so found another brand new one for the similar price of £7.50 Inc postage (racing green wanted £42 plus postage for exactly the same part !!)
Anyway, now all that's left to do is drain the system out and fit it.
I'm fully expecting one of the fiddliest jobs of my lif judging by how hard its going to be to access all the little clips and j/clip bolts.
Anyway, now all that's left to do is drain the system out and fit it.
I'm fully expecting one of the fiddliest jobs of my lif judging by how hard its going to be to access all the little clips and j/clip bolts.
Good innit. Biked to Sunny Hunny on Saturday. Didn't spend a penny on fuel but the Jelly Babies cost me a right packet 
graeme4130 said:
Anyway, now all that's left to do is drain the system out and fit it.
On a recent thread about this, someone said that it's possible to do this without draining the system, and without spilling too much coolant. I suppose if you close the existing valve, disconnect one side and quickly connect the new valve into the free hose (with the new valve in the closed position as well), and then try to do a quick changeover on the other side - this might work. A washing-up bowl in the footwell would probably be a good idea!One thing to watch out for is the little clip hsimg the cable onto the body of the valve. No way is mine going back on.
I found that three 3.2mm cable ties do the job nicely.
May also be worth getting "an assistant" to hold the control knob on cockpit fully off so you can get cable on the valve in the right place. I didn't and my "off" is now the middle of the dial - but I don't care as I have cold air now!!
I found that three 3.2mm cable ties do the job nicely.
May also be worth getting "an assistant" to hold the control knob on cockpit fully off so you can get cable on the valve in the right place. I didn't and my "off" is now the middle of the dial - but I don't care as I have cold air now!!
You don't need to drain the system but should be prepared for 100cc or so to leak out.
It is a b**** of a job to get the wire back onto the valve because the clips require a degree of force that is difficult to achieve in the position of a contortionist.
You should probably fiddle with it first; my problem is that the wire, when it is at its coolest, is also puched far out and flexes at its limit, rather than moving the valve. As such the valve never completely shuts, although it is significantly better after changing it.
Enjoy!
Rich
It is a b**** of a job to get the wire back onto the valve because the clips require a degree of force that is difficult to achieve in the position of a contortionist.
You should probably fiddle with it first; my problem is that the wire, when it is at its coolest, is also puched far out and flexes at its limit, rather than moving the valve. As such the valve never completely shuts, although it is significantly better after changing it.
Enjoy!
Rich
Arise, dead thread!
I have finally got around to replacing the heater control valve, having had the new valve sitting in a drawer for about a decade!
It is a right b
d of a job, to be honest. Let me share a few tips that I’ve learned during the course of the job...
I have finally got around to replacing the heater control valve, having had the new valve sitting in a drawer for about a decade!
It is a right b
d of a job, to be honest. Let me share a few tips that I’ve learned during the course of the job...- It’s worth putting a sheet of polythene down in the footwell, and tuck it up and over the ECU to make sure it doesn’t get wet. That said, only about 50ml of coolant came out, but better safe than sorry.
- Access is tight, very tight. I couldn’t get a screwdriver in there to undo the Jubilee clips holding the hoses onto the valve, and it was a good hour before I had an attack of the bleedin’ obvious and realised that the heads of Jubilee clips are hexagonal, and I could get my socket set’s ratchet driver in there.
- I used a pair of hose clamps to isolate the valve, and this worked surprisingly well.
- Even after undoing the Jubilee clips, pulling the hoses off the valve required much persistence and swearing. As I say, about 50ml of coolant escaped from the valve and from an inch or two of hose above it.
- Unhooking the end of the control cable from the arm of the valve is pretty much impossible until you’ve completely freed the valve from the hoses, and even then it was reluctant to come off. I decided to drill out the little hole on the new valve’s arm by a mill or so to make it easier to hook the cable onto it. I’m glad I did this.
- Once I’d got the old valve off, I was able to blow through it to a certain extent, even when it was closed. By contrast the new valve was utterly airtight when closed. So I was pretty sure the old one was letting a dribble of hot water go through.
- For reassembly, you want to hook the control cable onto the valve’s control arm first, otherwise it’ll be impossible later.
- The end of the control cable is held in place by a very tight clip that holds it in place against the body of the valve. The positioning is critical: if you clip the cable too far towards the valve body then the valve will reach its “cold” end stop before the dashboard control wheel reaches its end stop. This is a particular problem on cars with aircon (like mine), because you might not be able to activate the microswitch to turn the a/c on. Conversely if the cable is too far away then the dashboard control will reach its end stop before the valve is fully closed, thus you’ll always have warm air. So make sure you carefully note the exact position of the cable before you unclip it.
- Amazingly, I managed to remove that clip without it pinging off into interstellar space, but it could easily happen. I had taken the precaution of buying a couple of spares off eBay, which also allowed me to figure out how they fit onto the valve before starting the job. I recommend getting a couple: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VW-MK2-Golf-Genuine-Mat...
- My plan for reassembly was to fit the bottom hose first, then use a syringe and a bit of aquarium tubing to fill the valve with water to reduce the amount of air I introduced. A fine plan, but I found it too difficult to reattach the top hose with everything else in place and had to detach the bottom hose. You might have better luck, or more strength and dexterity.
If it's any help to those reading this thread and thinking - mine does that too - mine did that too.
An early morning drive in October was long johns time.
I gave the problem to Mat Smith, who thought it must be straightforward.
He eventually found the cause when he had to change the heater fan - my heater matrix was covered in the accumulated st of 20 years and 100,000 miles of driving.
st cleaned off, matrix re-inserted, heater is now as warm as toast.
Before cleaning
after cleaning
An early morning drive in October was long johns time.
I gave the problem to Mat Smith, who thought it must be straightforward.
He eventually found the cause when he had to change the heater fan - my heater matrix was covered in the accumulated s
t of 20 years and 100,000 miles of driving.s
t cleaned off, matrix re-inserted, heater is now as warm as toast.Before cleaning
after cleaning
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