Bought the car recently, with a fault mentioned by (Russian) vendor:- "The heater doesn't work".
o - Heater blows on fan speed position 1,2 - not on others - duff switch?
o - "Heater makes bad smell on hot, I don't like it, so don't use" - what could this be?
o - Aircon does not seem to work. Out of gas? Is there any way that I can check for positive pressure (there's a black knorled knob on a metal aircon pipe, is this for re-gassing)?
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Taking this one step at a time,the heater fan issue could be a fault with the fan speed resistor.This is a fairly cheap fix ;the part is around £25 and access is behind the glovebox.Smell from the heater when on hot could be the matrix leaking.This is a major repair and probably cost more than the value of the car.Lastly ,the a/c fault could require a re-gas ,but I would be very surprised if this was not the only issue.Yes ,the black plastic dust covers are the access ports for the a/c sytem.hth
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>> Taking this one step at a time,the heater fan issue could be a fault with
>> the fan speed resistor.This is a fairly cheap fix
Argh, the whole thing was only £350! It's 14 years old, but seems remarkably good (so far, touch wood).
>> Smell from the heater when on hot could be the matrix leaking.
Where might it leak *to*? I see no evidence of loss of fluid fron the radiator top-up thingy.
>> Lastly,the a/c fault could require a re-gas ,but I would be very surprised if this
>> was not the only issue.
Same here. If there's positive pressure, maybe, but... but.
>> Yes ,the black plastic dust covers are the access ports for the a/c sytem.hth
If I undo this, is fluid likely to spurt out, or is there something I can press inside that will give an indication that there's +ve pressure (i.e. by making a drop of gas spurt out under pressure)?
TYVM for your reply.
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the heater matrix will be leaking to the inside of the car, its an expensive fix because all the dash and stuff needs to come out. Check for stained carpets around the front footwells.
The aircon is going to cost a minimum of 40 quid to investigate, thats the cost of an aircon top up, or a recharge can of sealer/fillup. You connect the can to the plastic cap covered port. If you use the can and it dont work, dont take it to an aircon specialist just accept its toast.
As we warned you, you dont get trouble free 350 quid cars.
Last edited by: Zero on Mon 7 Jun 10 at 22:36
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I might be talking out a hole in my backside (i'll pre-empt the "nothing new there then"!)
But with the AC service port don't use your finger to release the valve to test for pressure, there's a danger of frostbite.
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>> But with the AC service port don't use your finger to release the valve to
>> test for pressure, there's a danger of frostbite.
Oooh - so there's a possibility of a check? If I undo the cap, is there something to press? The reason I ask is that I don't want to undo the cap if it's going to let all the pressure out in one go!
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>> the heater matrix will be leaking to the inside of the car .. Check for stained carpets
>> around the front footwells.
No evidence of leaks inside. No evidence of loss of coolant.
>> The aircon is going to cost a minimum of 40 quid to investigate
I asked about checking for positive pressure, not having it checked.
>> As we warned you, you dont get trouble free 350 quid cars.
Pfft. Don't use the inclusive "we", please, it's unbecoming.
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The aircon low pressure side should be running at around 25psi, so with the engine running and the a/c switched on, unscrew the black dust cover and using a thin screwdriver poke the middle of the valve briefly to see if any refrigerant escapes under pressure. If it does, then a top-up may be all that you need. It was all that was needed 2 years ago when I bought my escort.
Disclaimer: Venting refrigerant to the atmosphere is very environmentally unfriendly so make sure you don't do that ;-)
Last edited by: Dave_TD {P} on Mon 7 Jun 10 at 23:11
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Volkswagen Passat - 96 1.8 Heater and aircon issue. - carmalade
