Heater is rubbish!

[lukelog]

Hi folks,


Odd one, the heater in my 1.3 is a bit rubbish. It takes a while to get warm at all, and then when it is warm, it's pretty tepid.

It comes out of the windscreen vents a lot warmer than the feet and side ones. The engine is a little slow to get up to temp but nothing crazy or worrying, sits half way on the gauge happily.

It's an aircon model so doesn't have a blocked pollen filter, and the coolant is topped up.

Any thoughts?

Cheers.

 

[plmval]

Hi folks,


Odd one, the heater in my 1.3 is a bit rubbish. It takes a while to get warm at all, and then when it is warm, it's pretty tepid.

It comes out of the windscreen vents a lot warmer than the feet and side ones. The engine is a little slow to get up to temp but nothing crazy or worrying, sits half way on the gauge happily.

It's an aircon model so doesn't have a blocked pollen filter, and the coolant is topped up.

Any thoughts?

Cheers.

1. Check that the heater water control valve is fully opening and that the directional air control flaps are fully opening and closing

2. Heater can be improved by reverse flushing out the crud that builds up over time in such an old cars heater matrix.

3. Replace old tardy tired OEM 82* C thermostat & upgrade to a new higher temp thermostat 88*C.

4. Reverse flush radiator & engine block to remove corrosion crud & replace anticorrosion antifreeze coolant.

Approximately one hours work for a fitter in fully equipped workshop, or a bit of a DIY mission worth doing. Have fun?

 

[lukelog]

Cheers plmval, off to google how to do number 1!

 

[nissan boy]

r matrix.

3. Replace old tardy tired OEM 82* C thermostat & upgrade to a new higher temp thermostat 88*C.

do you have any more info on this,
my 1.3 does take a while to warm up specially in the cold and can also be a pain as the heater can cool the engine down (only happens when its cold) its oem thermostat is ok and does work,
just interested as it may help

 

[plmval]

do you have any more info on this,
my 1.3 does take a while to warm up specially in the cold and can also be a pain as the heater can cool the engine down (only happens when its cold) its oem thermostat is ok and does work,
just interested as it may help

Item 2 has been covered before by others with more detail knowledge who have needed to upgrade to 88*C. Use the search function on MSC, and search: 88* C Thermostat. However be warned , there is so much info that you may lose the will to live before you get through it.

Additional thoughts’ include inadequate heater hot air output maybe also be due to a slow running fan and or debris restricted part blocked air ducting & heater matrix dirty exterior surfaces due to a lack of a pollen filter.

I replaced my OEM 82*C stat on a 19 year old K11 for 82* C aftermarket stat that produced a just adequate heater in the mild Devon climate. The OEM stat had an outside diameter of approx. 52 mm iirc? I was unable to quickly easily find a higher temp stat to match the precise required OD dimension, therfore I went for the qickest easiest partial solution and compromised with a 82* C aftermarket stat.

A temporary piece of cardboard in front of the radiator to blank off approx one quarter usually suffices during the now rare, due to climate change, occasional cold periods and is a lot less hassle and cheaper way to raise overall engine/heater temp?
A simple life hack that gets the job done on an old banger for little effort and cost? Just keep an eye on the temp gauge. Good luck improvising.