heater not working

[Sooperkent]

hey guys,

bought this rx7 recently - had it for roughly 6 months.

now that its wonter time, the windows inside have started to mist up and iv found out that the heater doesnt work.

Iv searched the forums for things similar but not found anything in particular, but i did find fuse diagrams which im going to have a look at replaceing the heater ones if they are blown.

but if this fails has anyone got any other suggestions.
thanks
kieran

[cyman]

hey guys,
 
bought this rx7 recently - had it for roughly 6 months.
 
now that its wonter time, the windows inside have started to mist up and iv found out that the heater doesnt work.
 
Iv searched the forums for things similar but not found anything in particular, but i did find fuse diagrams which im going to have a look at replaceing the heater ones if they are blown.
 
but if this fails has anyone got any other suggestions.
thanks
kieran

when you say heater do you mean the fan works but it doesnt get hot or the fan doesnt work.
 
if its the fan then check your fuses and feed to the switch/fan etc if its the fan works but it doesnt get hot see below
 
what temp is your car running at? the most common thing for this is thermostat stuck open (or removed by a dodgy seller)which keeps the temp down but only really noticable in the winter. other possibilities are blocked heater matrix or the heater switch isnt working. the easy way to rule some of these out is to run the car when stationary until its good and hot and turn the heater to hot and turn it on. if you get nice hot air when you are stopped go for a drive and see if it gets colder and colder. if it does then most likely a stat problem. if you get no heat from the heater when stationary but the fans kick in (so you know everything is nice and hot) its either a switch or matrix issue.

[Sooperkent]

ahh ok, yeah the fan works but it doesnt get hot. so if hot air comes out when stationary then its a thermostat problem but if i get vold all the time then switch or matrix?

i dont think the knob on the other side works either to move where th air is going to (feet etc.) umm is the blocked matrix easy to fix?

if you get no heat from the heater when stationary but the fans kick in (so you know everything is nice and hot) its either a switch or matrix issue.

if by that you mean the cooling fan? i.e. the one that comes on when the engine is hot?

[cyman]

ahh ok, yeah the fan works but it doesnt get hot. so if hot air comes out when stationary then its a thermostat problem but if i get vold all the time then switch or matrix?
 
i dont think the knob on the other side works either to move where th air is going to (feet etc.) umm is the blocked matrix easy to fix?
 
 
 
if by that you mean the cooling fan? i.e. the one that comes on when the engine is hot?

if neither of the switches on the heater controls work then i would say to check the fuse for that(but dont ask me which it is.i\'m sure someone else will point you in the right direction).if the fuse is fine if my memory is correct the heater controls are one unit so prob easier to get a 2nd hand unit and go from there. the heater matrix is not the easiest of things to do. and by cooling fans i mean the ones on the radiator that come on when the engine is hot.

[Sooperkent]

ahh ok well iv had a look around for some diagrams of fuses and found one pposted.
if anyone knows the specific fuse then let me know.
thanks for the help
kieran

[Jono FD3]

The heaters on the FD\'s can be a little temparmental mate... on mine O have to have it in the feet position to demist the screan!! don\'t ask me why, but the feet & screen position have swaped places, lol!!

Best thing to do is this: turn the ignition on (don\'t start the engine) & turn the heater knob from full cold to full hot, you should hear the electric motor run, moving the tap that controles the water flow. now do the same for the position, all the way from the left, to the screen position, again you should hear the motor run. if neather motors run then it\'s a power issue but if they do, then it\'s a matrix issue.

The other thing to bare in mind is this: each car has little quirks!! mine for some reason only blows cold air when it is set to the face position (no mater where the temp is set!) but yet in all other positions it blows hot.... real hot!! to turn the temp up & try each air flow position, checking for warm / hot air!!

Jono

[Sooperkent]

ahh ok cool i shall give it a go, i checked the fuses yesterday and in the main fuse box under the bonnet i found a blown blue 15amp fuse which i think was for air con and under the steering wheel i found a blown 15amp fuse aswel. so ill replace them both and see if it makes a difference.

cheers for the help, ill probably be posting how to fix it next!

[Sooperkent]

hey guys, replaced the fuses but its not made a difference. i tried every setting on the knobs but my fans are not comming on. umm not sure how to fix this?

the fans only come on when i put the aircon button on.

any advise would be very helpfull, as i think it might be a bigger problem if the fans arent comming on, cooling wise.

[Sooperkent]

Best thing to do is this: turn the ignition on (don\'t start the engine) & turn the heater knob from full cold to full hot, you should hear the electric motor run, moving the tap that controles the water flow. now do the same for the position, all the way from the left, to the screen position, again you should hear the motor run. if neather motors run then it\'s a power issue but if they do, then it\'s a matrix issue.

im not sure which motor your talking about, a motor comes on and blows cold air is that the motor you talking about?
or is a seperate motor to come on when the hot air "should" come on.

[Jono FD3]

When you turn the heater knob from cold to hot, you should hear a buzz for about 3 seconds. this is the small motor that opens the heater tap to allow hot water in to the matrix. also the same system is used on the air direction (feet, screen, etc.) if hese are working you should be able to get hot air!! Do this test with the fan speed in the off possition & the engine off but with the ignition on

Jono

[Sooperkent]

ahh ok so i should hear the buzz even with the fan speed off, and if i dont hear this then theres a problem with the electrics yes?
 
if it is the elecrics i take it i should just check all fuses (which i think ive done) and then elecrics behind the facet? and where is the motor than moves the tap? i could check electrics to that aswell.
 
ah nightmare....

[Jono FD3]

Correct mate, fan off & ignition on. the buzz is the motor moving the tap or position flap (depending on which dial you move) the motors are screwd to the sides of the heater box (above the transmition tunnel) they are grey in colour & held in place by 3 screws IIRC. but if both are not working it could be that someone has had the control pannel out & not pluged the switches back in!!

Jono

[Sooperkent]

hi mate, iv checked and there is no buzzing noise and if you mean the coloured wires into the back of the knobs, they were plugged in. i dont know how to get to the motors to check if they are pluged in?

also could it be the small silver/aluminium switches on thew back on the two control knobs that are broken?

thanks kieran

[Jono FD3]

hi mate, iv checked and there is no buzzing noise and if you mean the coloured wires into the back of the knobs, they were plugged in. i dont know how to get to the motors to check if they are pluged in?

also could it be the small silver/aluminium switches on thew back on the two control knobs that are broken?

thanks kieran

It could be the controle knobs themselves that have packed up!! the motors are on the side of the heater system behind the heater controles.... basicaly a little higher than your knee, with one on each side! one on driver side is grey and the one on passengers is orange I think??

Jono

[DR SCHNITZEL]

Ive just fitted a new heater to my car and now my wipers and heater dont turn on, what do you think that could be, im sure it worked when i first done it?