L reg Escort Diesel - Heater problems

[myothercarsa2cv]

Hello All, please help!

I am currently enjoying freezing journeys to and from work each morning!

The heater seems to have gone, and I'm not sure what to do to fix it myself. The blowers work fine on all settings, but there just seems to be no heat. The is no light either but that has been out for a good year or two without affecting the heat.

Any help or suggestions would be much appreciated. I really am a novice at all this stuff tho, so I am happy to take it to a garage, but I thought it might be a quick easy job I could do myself first!

Many thanks in advance!

 

[cjbigboy]

Could be a few things

1. Stuck thermostat not allowing warm water to circulate through heater matrix. Is your temp gauge reading normal? Do all the coolant hoses feel hot after a journey? If not, maybe the thermostat is stuck either open or closed

2. The Cold/warm air flow is control by a flap over the top of the heater matrix. when in the cold position the flap is closed, hot position the flap is open. Usually these are controlled by a cable which can either break or become detached. Others a motorised and the motor packs in

3. Can't remember if there is a heater valve on an L Reg escort, if there is and it is faulty, again may not allow hot water to circulate to heater.

Cheers

CJ

 

[PIPERPETE]

what is the position of the temprature needle when driving? are you sure theres enough water in the header tank?

 

[myothercarsa2cv]

Thanks for your input guys.

In response to your comments/questions.

The car did overheat last spring when I have a leak in the water pump, this has now been fixed and the temperature gauge is reading fine. Thinking about it, the heating hasn't worked since then I don't think, but obviously over the summer I didn't use/need it. I topped up the water and anti-freeze over the weekend, but that doen't seem to have had any impact.

I can hear the flap opening and closing when I move the dial from blue-red and back again.

Don't know if this makes diagnosis any easier...?

Thanks again for your thoughts.

 

[johnwr]

I would see if both heater hoses are getting hot, if not they may need bleeding. This is genarally easy to do, with the engine running, slowly remove the heater hose very slightly and see if any air is coming out then the coolant should come through (hot, be very careful). If not then the heater matrix may be blocked and may need flushing out with a garden hose.
Hope this helps. johnwr

 

[myothercarsa2cv]

Thanks johnwr.

i forgot to mention that i have a Turbo diesel so it appears that stops me from easily getting at the pipes. I am told that it must be the matrix or the pipes leading to them that are at fault (as said above) but i think i must accept defeat and take it into a garage at the weekend as i am not aware of how to access the pipes without going in from beneath the engine!

Thanks again for all your help and suggestions.