pre-cat heater - any photos?
Discussion
Has anyone got photos of what is inside the heater box behind the glovebox on a pre-cat?
I've had a look up through the vent on the bottom of it but there is nothing to see.
My heater is still rubbish so I have a new water valve ready to fit but I'm wondering whats going on when the up/down button is pressed. I can see the motor moving an arm so thats all OK, but I suspect there is a flap inside the box which is either not sealing or not moving and therefore letting air go anywhere.
Incidentally, those little motors are quite strong. I stupidly stuck my finger between the arm and the microswitch on the motor which controls direction, just to see if it had enough oomph to press the switch. It pinched a bit !
I've had a look up through the vent on the bottom of it but there is nothing to see.
My heater is still rubbish so I have a new water valve ready to fit but I'm wondering whats going on when the up/down button is pressed. I can see the motor moving an arm so thats all OK, but I suspect there is a flap inside the box which is either not sealing or not moving and therefore letting air go anywhere.
Incidentally, those little motors are quite strong. I stupidly stuck my finger between the arm and the microswitch on the motor which controls direction, just to see if it had enough oomph to press the switch. It pinched a bit !
@Barreti Thanks Ian, I am a member but I don't use FB very much and didn't think to look there.
If I remember right the video is showing the motor and flap that allows outside air into the cabin... not much use if you have the top down IMHO!
There is a second motor that should be activating the valve that controls how much hot water goes into the matrix to heat the air up that gets blown into the cabin through the vents. That normally varies between hot and very hot if I remember rightly (mine hasn't worked for a while as the motors are shot).
I found an article that I thought explained it all pretty well. Will see if I can dig it out....
If I remember right the video is showing the motor and flap that allows outside air into the cabin... not much use if you have the top down IMHO!
There is a second motor that should be activating the valve that controls how much hot water goes into the matrix to heat the air up that gets blown into the cabin through the vents. That normally varies between hot and very hot if I remember rightly (mine hasn't worked for a while as the motors are shot).
I found an article that I thought explained it all pretty well. Will see if I can dig it out....
Thanks guys, I've got a pretty good grip of the heater motor and heater valve mechanisms and how they work. Most of the photos you will find on here about this are probably mine.
But despite fitting a duct to the motor which is then sealed in above the wheelarch I still don't seem to have a huge amount of air coming through the system to the footwells, so when I had to remove the vent in the passenger footwell to fix it after some fatfoot obviously kicked it and popped off the fins I took the opportunity while I was upside down in the footwell to have a poke around at the matrix box.
Although the direction seems to be working I am very obviously losing air somewhere because I can feel it in the footwell. I just don't know where it might be coming from because everything seems to be connected properly.
So I guess I'm looking for a view of it in general, and specifically how the directional flap works to send air to the footwells.
I think I can guess the latter, but I can't see it to confirm it.
One of these days I'm going to pull the entire dash out and sort this for good.
Oh, I still don't understand the Facebook video. It a flap in the fibreglass, I get that, but where. I guess its a later car with a different mechanism, but it could be very useful if I could understand it so I can figure out if its work copying it.
But despite fitting a duct to the motor which is then sealed in above the wheelarch I still don't seem to have a huge amount of air coming through the system to the footwells, so when I had to remove the vent in the passenger footwell to fix it after some fatfoot obviously kicked it and popped off the fins I took the opportunity while I was upside down in the footwell to have a poke around at the matrix box.
Although the direction seems to be working I am very obviously losing air somewhere because I can feel it in the footwell. I just don't know where it might be coming from because everything seems to be connected properly.
So I guess I'm looking for a view of it in general, and specifically how the directional flap works to send air to the footwells.
I think I can guess the latter, but I can't see it to confirm it.
One of these days I'm going to pull the entire dash out and sort this for good.
Oh, I still don't understand the Facebook video. It a flap in the fibreglass, I get that, but where. I guess its a later car with a different mechanism, but it could be very useful if I could understand it so I can figure out if its work copying it.
Ian, I took these , i dont know if they are any help to you. Its really hard to see inside the box itself, so cant really see what moves without taking it all to bits.
This one is looking inside the box through that white pipe affair. Doesnt show much i know.
This is the best i could get looking inside from the top.
This one is looking inside the box through that white pipe affair. Doesnt show much i know.
This is the best i could get looking inside from the top.
Edited by carsy on Tuesday 8th September 15:07
Yes thats exactly it. The hole in the wing is essentially the size of the matrix you can see. The matrix only seals against the wing through that rubber foam strip you can see. If yours is anything like mine it will have gone all crispy and wont be making any sort of air tight seal at all.
Hmm, I'm not so sure now.
The passenger side dash vent next to the door is not heated.
And I think from memory the one next to the radio on the passenger side is connect to it.
But I found this photo and I have no idea what the bit of plumbing pipe I've marked attaches to.
This goes directly to the drivers side dash vent
Anyone know what it attaches to on the other side of the bulkhead?
The passenger side dash vent next to the door is not heated.
And I think from memory the one next to the radio on the passenger side is connect to it.
But I found this photo and I have no idea what the bit of plumbing pipe I've marked attaches to.
This goes directly to the drivers side dash vent
Anyone know what it attaches to on the other side of the bulkhead?
Ian, I dont think it attaches to anything the other side of the bulkhead, it just picks up hot air. The other side of the bulkhead is the channel for the hot air supply.
The hot air is channelled between the bulkhead and the black panel/ scuttle affair that you can see inside the engine bay that the bonnet catch is screwed to.
The hot air is channelled between the bulkhead and the black panel/ scuttle affair that you can see inside the engine bay that the bonnet catch is screwed to.
Barreti said:
Is that what the square hole on the heater box is attached to Ian?
God this is complicated!
The square hole on the top feeds air to the windscreen vents and your circled connector, the side round hole on the box feeds the drivers knee vent.God this is complicated!
Here’s my effort to seal the gap with two new seals across the top of the heater box. You are best to remove the heater box as the gap down the back near the hoses is even worse. Sorry its not good news but at least you should be able to improve the airflow. This is why I took drastic action and made a housing to mount the blower motor directly to the heater box as on the 500’s.
Edited by stevesprint on Tuesday 8th September 20:21
Barreti said:
Is that what the square hole on the heater box is attached to Ian?
God this is complicated!
Yes. God this is complicated!
As steve says it will have to all get ripped out n re sealed by the sound of things or better still do as steve has done. Im sure he did some pics somewhere.
Car builder solutions do some small matrix n fans as a small unit which would mount like the later cars.
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