Y reg Fiesta diesel with Endura Di engine. The heater takes ages to give warm air. Even on a run it doesn't get really hot. When stopped at the lights, at tick-over, after about 10 seconds the air temperature from the heater cools noticeable. When you pull away and have some engine revs, after 10 or 15 seconds the air heats up again, but its never really hot. Is this more likely to be due to a blocked heater matrix, thermostat or water pump or is there another possibility?
Thanks
Thermostat would make the car take forever to warm up, but it'd still get hot in bad traffic. Have you got a temp guage?
It's winter? My Focus will cool noticable on the temp gauge if you blow air through the heater matrix in winter. Try setting recirculate for the interior air.
No temperature gauge unfortunately
According to the owners handbook only models with A/C have re-circulate control. There's no re-circulate control in my car's heater cluster. Does anyone know if there is an adjuster somewhere for this in a Y reg Fiesta diesel car?
Is this the first vehicle I've owned that doesn't allow re-circulate?
Thanks
Another new thermostat!
Tim..
I'd think stuck on cooling fan or stuck open thermostat. The engine should get hot enough to run the heater pretty sharpish and stay hot.
The first thing I'd check on this is the heater control valve. It's mounted in the centre of the bulkhead under the bonnet. You'll see the two coolant hoses going into it from the engine side, with a rubber cover over it, two hoses going out the other side to the heater matrix, and an electrical connector. Easiest way to check it's working, is to start the engine (the engine must be running!!!), set the heater control to the centre position, and feel the valve. You should feel it pulse every second or so. If it's not pulsing, take the electrical connector off, and connect a 5W bulb to the connector (a 5W capless bulb is ideal if you don't have a suitable holder for to take a normal bulb). It's got to be a 5W bulb to simulate a suitable load on the control unit. If the bulb doesn't flash (either stays on or doesn't come on), then the control unit has most likely died (it could also possibly be a bad connection from the tacho feed from the alternator).
If the bulb flashes the control valve is most likely knackered, but it could also be a blockage (the sludge tends to dull the pulsing, to the point it's not noticable). I have seen a couple of these with blocked cooling systems for no apparent reason, which just so happened to be Y-reg DIs. Have a look in the coolant headertank. The coolant should be a yellowish/orange colour (provided it's never been replaced with blue/green stuff). If the coolant is brown, and stinks (not of your usual antifreeze smell, but more a fishy smell) then the complete engine will need flushed. If the coolant has mayo floating on it and a black appearance, then the oil cooler has most likely failed (yet another common fault), and it'll need replaced along with a complete engine flush.
If you need anymore help, just shout.
As usual Moray's comments are spot on.
The heater control on these is the same as the Ka which often fails / plays up too!
Tim..
It's a diesel - I'll bet it won't. You can idle a Focus for a half hour at
-5 and it never comes off the bottom of the guage.
Moray, the oil cooler failed some months ago causing oil to get in the cooling system. The cooler was replaced and I ran the car for two days with Ariel washing powder and water as the coolant to try and clear it out (Now using the correct Ford recommended antifreeze). Maybe the matrix is not completely clear or the control valve as you say. Is it possible to remove the heater control valve and clean it out? Also can I disconnect the two heater matrix hoses in the bulkhead and flush the matrix out?
Thanks for your help
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