Freezing inside!
Discussion
My Chimaera is absolutely freezing inside, even when heater is on full. There are massive drafts, one which gets your right hand when holding the steering wheel, one in the driver's footwell and a massive draft in the passenger footwell that is gets very cold when moving at speed. Are they all like this? I've tried my best to find the source but no joy. I don't have a cold-air vent, or at least none I can find and the footwell blowers are on full. It's a late 97 Chimaera 400. Any help appreciated!
Some of the vents are fresh air only on some cars, so are you getting any heat out of any of the vents?
Assuming that the engine is warm!, and the temperature control is set to 'hot', then it may be that the cable has come adrift at the dashboard. If this is the case then the valve would not open, and you wouldn't get any hot water through the matrix.
I have read in Steve Heaths book that sometimes these can be connected incorrectly so it may be worth trying it on 'cold'.
The valve can be reached from within the passenger footwell, and it may be possible to manually select 'hot' at the valve and bypass the dash controller, otherwise you will need to take the dash top off and check the cables.
Assuming that the engine is warm!, and the temperature control is set to 'hot', then it may be that the cable has come adrift at the dashboard. If this is the case then the valve would not open, and you wouldn't get any hot water through the matrix.
I have read in Steve Heaths book that sometimes these can be connected incorrectly so it may be worth trying it on 'cold'.
The valve can be reached from within the passenger footwell, and it may be possible to manually select 'hot' at the valve and bypass the dash controller, otherwise you will need to take the dash top off and check the cables.
The temperature selector does work as I can change the temperature from cold to boiling hot. The air flies out of the middle two vents and the passenger dash vent, but is very poor out of the driver's dash vent. The footwells only have one vent in each, and hot air does come out of them. But from somewhere else, freezing cold air rushes in and you can hardly feel the heated air from the footwell vents.
Had this on a my griff 500, what had happened is the the hot
ter valve in the passangers footwell had slipped and was only ever coming partialy open. in a griff its a valve in the rubber pipe with a motor attached, it has had a blod on tipex 
on it to indicate the full position, and it was not returning to it..
HTH..
ter valve in the passangers footwell had slipped and was only ever coming partialy open. in a griff its a valve in the rubber pipe with a motor attached, it has had a blod on tipex on it to indicate the full position, and it was not returning to it.. HTH..
meeko said:
The temperature selector does work as I can change the temperature from cold to boiling hot. The air flies out of the middle two vents and the passenger dash vent, but is very poor out of the driver's dash vent. The footwells only have one vent in each, and hot air does come out of them. But from somewhere else, freezing cold air rushes in and you can hardly feel the heated air from the footwell vents.
The drivers dash vent is cold air only, and has its own speed knob under the dash. Same as in the drivers footwell, the right hand side vent is cold air only. Designed to allow you to keep cold air blowing at yourself to keep you awake! Just close these and you'll be a lot warmer.
Or just take the roof off and stop moaning
jimothy said:
The temperature selector does work as I can change the temperature from cold to boiling hot. The air flies out of the middle two vents and the passenger dash vent, but is very poor out of the driver's dash vent. The footwells only have one vent in each, and hot air does come out of them. But from somewhere else, freezing cold air rushes in and you can hardly feel the heated air from the footwell vents.
The drivers dash vent is cold air only, and has its own speed knob under the dash. Same as in the drivers footwell, the right hand side vent is cold air only. Designed to allow you to keep cold air blowing at yourself to keep you awake! Just close these and you'll be a lot warmer.
Or just take the roof off and stop moaning
Driver side cold air blower was an option i beleive. also one of the centrsal vents (in a griff any way0 is ope to the outside ie the air stream comes form outside with FWD movement only.. IIRC
Put your left hand under the steering wheel, and feel around on the transmission tunnel for a vent with 3 flaps on it. Turn that around so that it blows air to your ankles.
On the opposite side is a vent with a twisty knob bit, close that, and then turn the driver's side vent (right of wheel) off using the selector switch underneath it, and by closing the wheel on the vent itself.
You should be a bit warmer now.
On the opposite side is a vent with a twisty knob bit, close that, and then turn the driver's side vent (right of wheel) off using the selector switch underneath it, and by closing the wheel on the vent itself.
You should be a bit warmer now.
Notwithstanding any of the above comments, I had a very similar experience in my '99 450. Winter 03 - not long after getting it, first long cold drive (across Eire) with wife in passenger seat. Her legs were freezing despite heater working v' well. Faster the speed the worse it got eventually stopped and had a look in the passenger footwell, nil obvious really. Just noted that the hole - in what would ordinarily pass as the inside of the A post (where the door hinges are)- where the wiring doom (sorry - loom, genuine typo, left in for weak comedy effort 
) passes through the shell had foam rubber packing and it seemed to be coming from this area. Moving the foam so that it was properly wrapped around the loom and blocking / sealing the hole cured the problem at a a stroke. My '99 car doesn't have separate cold air vents in either footwell (wish it did in the summer). Never fail to get nice and toasty in the car even roof down in the winter so cold legs shouldn't be a problem if all is well.
>> Edited by tahiti450 on Tuesday 1st March 18:53
I'm also having a freezing right ankle (but warm left ankle) in my 1999 450. The cold air seems to be coming in through the gaps in the shell around the steering column and just above the bonnet release.
There is *no* fresh air vent on the right hand side, just the warm vent with the three flaps. I've also disconnected the bodged tubing to the drivers' dash vent and pointed what little warm air that comes out into the footwell too.
Currently stuffing random bits of rolled up bubble wrap into the various gaps on my side....
There is *no* fresh air vent on the right hand side, just the warm vent with the three flaps. I've also disconnected the bodged tubing to the drivers' dash vent and pointed what little warm air that comes out into the footwell too.
Currently stuffing random bits of rolled up bubble wrap into the various gaps on my side....
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