Ford Fiesta blowing out hot air

[mundo]

I'm having problems with my 2001 Ford Fiesta. It's fine until I go on the motorway and start doing over 70mph, then it starts blowing out loads of hot air through the air vents even when they are closed and the control is set to cool.

I'd appreciate it if someone could point me in the right direction on whether it could be a thermostat or coolant problem or something else.

One other relevant point is that I discovered the coolant reservoir to be almost empty a couple of weeks ago which has never happened before. I topped it up with a pre mixed coolant and it hasn't gone down since.

 

[mundo]

Still got this problem and I've booked the car to go in the garage for this Thursday but does anyone have any ideas about what could be wrong? Thermostat? Radiator?

 

[keyplayer]

Is your car overheating? If the coolant level is not dropping quickly I would say the thermostat is ok. Check that your radiator is not blocked with a carrier bag or leaves or something. Otherwise it could be the coolant valve stuck open, electrically or mechanically. Also check that the exhaust heat shield is still in place around the cat at the engine comp. bulkhead.

 

[mundo]

Thanks Keyplayer, I'll have a look at those things that you mentioned.

 

[mundo]

I took it to the garage and they replaced a valve. I think the heating valve was stuck to full heat all the time. Anyway, only a cheap repair and it's all working fine now.

 

[keyplayer]

Glad you got it sorted but:-

Otherwise it could be the coolant valve stuck open, electrically or mechanically.

What happened to diy?? lol

 

[Glassman]

Just to add to this

The missus drives a Zetec-S Fiesta (W reg). The heater blowers got stuck on hot so I got hold of a new Heater Control Valve from Ford.
The newer HCV (Part number starts 98FU) is not suitable for pre-2005 Fiesta's and you will need to replace the HCV for an older one from a scrap yard with a part number that starts with 96FW.

The newer part supplied by Ford has a design fault in that the coolant is restricted when the heaters are switch off. This will cause the car to overheat at high speeds (usually at 70mph+). If this happens switch the heater blowers up to full heat and the temp should settle again.

Ford have denied that this is a problem but keep an eye on the temp gauge when on the motorway. If it overheats then you have a dodgy HVC.

These newer heater control valves may work fine on brand new Fiesta's but they dont seem to work on Fiesta's built before last year. Hopefully everything will be fine but if you do experience a problem with overheating then you now know what is causing it.

Changing the valve yourself is easy. It is fitted centrally in the back of the engine bay (near the wiper motors) and has 4 hoses going into it. Two of these hoses are at the front and the other two are at the back. Dis-connect these hoses and slide the valve out of the compartment it sits in. It should take no more that 30 minutes to do and is a piece of p!ss to change. Ford will charge you about £140+VAT for parts and labour. Get the part from a scrappy and do the job for about £20.

 

[Arthurloaf]

Hi All (new to the forums so please bear with me)

I read the last post here with interest as i have just replaced a heater control valve on my 1999 fiesta. It was fine for a week and all of a sudden the temp guage started flying into the red and the engine fan comes on constantly.
Contacted fords and they say if the valve is at fault they will fix the prob F.O.C.
Would appreciate your views on this.

Thank you.

Arthur.
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