No Heating in Car !!!!!!!!!!

[sean irwin]

Hi i have a renualt clio 1991 , the is no heat coming out frm my fan i have changed the fuse and no joy !!!

i have being told it will cost 400Euro to get the heater replaced
but it also could be the Rheostst , (which is a lot cheaper to fix)
is there any way in which you can find out which one ???

i need help and its getting cold!!!!!
:( :( :( :(

[WhipLash]

Until one of the knowledgeable mechanics replies, all I can suggest is a woolly hat and scarf which should cost no more than €20! :evil: ;)

[rivolette]

Hi Sean,

I can suggest to you that you make sure there is no air bubbles in the system, you can do this by removing the radiator cap when the engine is cold, then starting the engine and letting it run for a half hour or so while running the heater inside the car during this time.

Remember you have to keep the radiator cap off to allow the air bubbles to come out. Do the above routine 2 - 3 times. If airblock is your problem, that should fix it.

The other thing I could think of, is if you have a rusty and plugged up heater core, which would mean you need to change it. And I suggest you get a qualified professional to change it. That is what the 400 Euros may have been about.

Good luck

[larsen_huw]

Sean,

As i understand it, your fan is blowing fine, but there is no heat coming through, just cold air.

This sounds like a classic case of the heater matrix being what is technically known as shagged!

As a qualifier, i've never worked on Renaults, so don't know the particular car. However, the heater matrix (on the cars i've driven ... mainly old Fords .... Sierras and Capris) isn't that technically difficult to change. It's just a right royal pain in the arse.

You basically remove as much of the dashboard and centre console as necessary to get the damn thing out .... then undo the jubilee clips, take the old unit out, pop a new one in, and put the whole bloody dashboard back together again.

In terms of technical skills needed, if you can use a screwdriver, you can do it yourself. However, getting interior trim off in such as way that it can be put back is quite a skill, and very time consuming. If you were to plan on doing it yourself, budget a whole weekend, and don't be suprised if that still isn't enough time.

The only other thing to mention is make sure you drain the cooling system before you do this, otherwise taking the hoses off the heater matrix will result in the contents of your cooling system depositing themselves in your car .... not nice driving round in a waterlogged car! :D

All in all, unless you've done this before, you don't need the car on a daily basis or you don't give a toss about the car (always the best way to go for a first atttempt .... on a car you don't mind if you break! :) ) then pay the money to get a professional to do it.

As to the variable resistor (rheostat), you could always take the heater control unit out of the dashboard and prod it with a multimeter to see if it's doing it's job .... but electronics aren't my thing, so can't really advise much about that.

Hope some of that helps, feel free to ask any more questions.

Huw Larsen.