VTR heaters not getting hot

20th October 2012, 16:29

Hi Guys,
Just recently got my first saxo as a run around for the Mrs but I seem to have a problem with the heaters not getting hot.

I've changed the thermostat and flushed it through and put in new coolant. I have bled the system as per the guide I found on here and have water coming out of all the bleed points but still no hot air out of the heaters.

The car gets to just over half way and the fan kicks in fine so no problems there I have then re bled the system and all is fine but still no heat.

I made sure I had a bottle that was higher than the system but still no luck.

Anyone got any other ideas.

Cheers

20th October 2012, 17:56

Could be that you`ve still got an air lock in the system,hence no heat mate.

20th October 2012, 18:01

I did think that so I was going to let the car cool down and try again tomorrow.

20th October 2012, 19:01

are the pipes into and out of the heater matrix warm? if one is hot and the other is cold, it could be a blocked matrix

20th October 2012, 21:21

Is the heater matrix working ? Does it blow cold air ?

20th October 2012, 21:37

When the heaters are on, does the engine temp fluctuate at all? Other than going just over half way and back down when the fan is on, does it ever get higher than that?
That would indicate an air lock, otherwise i'd be leaning towards the heater matrix having a problem.

21st October 2012, 11:44

hi karlb1,
After taking the car for a drive the temp gauge does rise to about 3/4 then back down again. The heater does get slightly warm and both pipes in and out of the matrix seem warm. i have tried bleeding again but doesnt seem to have done much.

21st October 2012, 11:58

To me that would indicate either a faulty thermostat or an air lock.

Thermostats don't cost a lot from Citroen, so to play it safe I would fit another thermostat (make sure it's the right way and get it from citroen, i know some blueprint copys can fail quickly). Then disconnect a rad hose to drain the coolant, flush it through with water then fill with coolant and repeat the bleeding procedure.

I haven't really dealt with a saxo cooling system in a while but from what i remember that should sort you out.

When the temp changes on the guage does the air coming out of the heaters change temp? (ie, does it go cold when the temp guage rises) As this would show up as an air lock in the system.

I'd try that as soon as you can to prevent head gasket failure..unless it's already happened, as i had this on my Toyota MR2.

21st October 2012, 12:02

cheers karlb1, The thermostat was only changed yesterday so would have thought that would be ok. I'll try and bleed the system again and hopefully its just airlock as you say.

21st October 2012, 12:04

You could try takign the thermostat out and heating it up in a pan of water to see if it opens correctly at the right temperature.

Does the air from the heaters change temperature at all after the car's heated up? like does it go cold when the gauge is higher?

21st October 2012, 13:15

it does seem to get cold when the car heats up and on a longer drive it was fluctuating between half way and the top. The fan kicks in when it should. I have checked the bleed valves again and I am getting a steady stream of water of all them but still only warm air from the heaters.

21st October 2012, 19:13

I've just realised what i might be doing wrong. I've been doing the bleed points in reverse order. Could this be causing a problem?

21st October 2012, 20:09

It could have something to do with it, im not sure, but its worth doing it asap to try and help since you can do that when you have a spare few minutes