Heater not working

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Re: Heater not working

Postby vauxhallbitz » Sun Feb 21, 2016 11:08 pm

Water appears to be flowing past the top of the radiator when you run it with the cap off, thermostat is opening. It was fine before I drained the system to change the grommet.
I thought it might still be an air lock but am no expert.......
The pipe coming out of the heater was stone cold so I opened the system at the highest point (the pipe going into the matrix) refilled the system and then I got hot water coming out of the matrix but only as far as the bottom hose.
The fact it was running perfectly before all this makes me think it could be an air lock.
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Re: Heater not working

Postby dann01 » Mon Feb 22, 2016 5:51 pm

Or a blocked system.

How does the water in the system look. Rusty? Mucky?

Have to say, the first thing I do with any old car I happen to acquire, is drain the system and refill with a couple of tabs of calgone (Yes, the stuff you use in dish washers and washing machines to break down calcium build up.) If the car has been run on tap water for years, it's a given that some of the waterways are gonna be restricted with build up. Rust from the block will also do it. Old rads collect lots of *Bleep* in the bottom of the veins too.

Run it for a few days, get it up to temp every time. Then drain and back flush. Refill and repeat until all hoses get warm/hot.

Then drain, back flush and refill with distilled water. Distilled is all I will use in Darth as we live in a very hard water area, and but for the antifreeze, it's as clear of bits and slime and rust.

Hope this helps.

Dan
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Re: Heater not working

Postby 1972nail » Mon Feb 22, 2016 7:49 pm

Another thought.....you obviously had the valve disconnected and the cable removed so.....is the cable connected up correctly, i.e. is the valve opening correctly? Or have you swapped the hoses over so they connect onto the valve the wrong way round?
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Re: Heater not working

Postby vauxhallbitz » Mon Feb 22, 2016 9:30 pm

Thanks guys, water is crystal clear, new radiator fitted last year so should be OK.
Heater hoses can only go on one way, the valve is operating OK.
I keep going back to the fact that everything was working perfectly before this.
I will try the Calgon and refill the system once again through the top heater hose rather than through the radiator.
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Re: Heater not working

Postby vauxhallbitz » Sun Mar 06, 2016 6:31 pm

Just spent the whole day trying to clear this airlock with mixed success. One minute you get hot air and both pipes in and out of the heater are hot, the next only the inlet is hot. When you take off the outlet pipe at the bottom radiator hose there is no water in it. If you fill the pipe with water and start again you get hot air from the heater but the bottom radiator hose remains cold.
I am convinced that the pump is OK but may have to change it to be sure, has anyone else had this problem?
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Re: Heater not working

Postby dann01 » Tue Mar 08, 2016 2:13 pm

My money is on the heater matrix being fluffed up.

Dan
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Re: Heater not working

Postby vauxhallbitz » Tue Mar 08, 2016 5:39 pm

Hello Dan,

Is the best thing to flush it out with a hose??

Regards, Fraser.
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Re: Heater not working

Postby jpsmit » Tue Mar 08, 2016 7:06 pm

vauxhallbitz wrote:Hello Dan,

Is the best thing to flush it out with a hose??

Regards, Fraser.


Do they have CLR in the UK? I have used it on a heater matrix with very good effect.

http://www.jelmar.com/CLRbasic.htm
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Re: Heater not working

Postby dann01 » Thu Mar 10, 2016 11:03 am

Trouble is, they are a pain to get at and remove/replace... Fred has a good line on getting a replacement I do know, but before you go that far...

Put an open ended hose on both inlet and outlet... Plug the outlet, and fill matrix with water with a couple of diluted Calgone tabs in it... Leave for a day, then flush out as much as you can using a hose pipe or pressure hose. If it is the matrix, you should see all sorts of crud come oozing out.

If nothing else, this will help you decide if you need a new matrix or not.

Dan
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Re: Heater not working

Postby vauxhallbitz » Sat Mar 12, 2016 8:05 pm

Just spent another afternoon on this and think that the problem is the thermostat, I removed it and now have warm water circulating through the bottom hose.
This thermostat was "New old stock" fitted last year, the fourth one I fitted before I got one to work!
Obviously these NOS items are not up to the job, does anyone have a supplier for decent thermostats?
I understand that there are different temperatures but I got the correct one (88 degrees) I think.....
By the way has anyone managed to test a thermostat by dipping it in boiling water, I have tried many times with several different ones without success.
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