Many months ago I repaired & replaced my radiator which of course meant replacing all the coolant too. Since this event I have never had warm air from any of the cabin vents. I naturally assumed that the system just had an airblock and needed bleeding.
The workshop manual details a simple procedure to do this which involes removing the upper hose from the heater core at the bulkhead, raising it 4"and filling the system slowly until coolant is seen escaping from the exposed hosebarb. Easy eh.
The ambient temp in PH has actually been pretty cool for a few weeks now and I have wanted warm air on a few occasions. So, I had a couple of hours today to have a look. The bulkhead xonnections for the heater hoses are a totally pain to get to.. but I managed to remove the upper one to go through the bleeding/filling properly. Then I saw this insert stuck into the heater hosebarb!! ...
that cream coloured insert is a bit rubbery - there is certainly no way thro for any liquid - i tried a small screwdriver down the centre but it is blocked.
Obviously that would explain the lack of heat but I'm puzzled by that blockage. I am about 70% sure that I did used to get heat from the cabin vents ....before the radiator was removed but obviously I couldnt have..if that blockage thing was either fitted...or left in there from the factory....
I realise that in UK there is no way that a car would leave the factory with a non-working heater ...but in PH it is entirely possible. Several cars here are not even produced with heater matrixes - so no provision to heat the cabin at all .... cooling / aircon only. There is a possibility that it might be something that is done for the PH market.
This is a long shot..but..anyone seen a heater hose inlet like that before?
.next chance I get I will remove the other hose and see what that one looks like too.
Then its dilemma time! ... do I attempt to remove the bung? ... pull it out? in order to get hot coolant flowing ..and heat? If I do that I have to hope that it is a REAL heater matrix ...and that it is sound and will pass water properly without leaking.
Wish I knew the answers .... I really would love to have heat available right now.....
ohh..yeah..good point ... i guess it could be - it seemed to be totally bonded to the metal .. I gave it a little tug but it didnt seem to want to move or come out of there
... one other thing I noticed is that the hot coolant flow FROM the engine goes to the LOWER heater matrix barb. The one in the pic is the upper one..and is connected to the return line back to the engine. Traditionally I would have expected the hot flow to go to the upper one ...so that as it was cooled in the matrix, it would tend to flow to the lower one naturally. Not sure how relevant that would be tho.. given the flow rate.
That rubbery insert might be some kind of one-way non-return valve also .... in which case flow direction would be critical. Lots of unknowns...
ohh..yeah..good point ... i guess it could be - it seemed to be totally bonded to the metal .. I gave it a little tug but it didnt seem to want to move or come out of there
ohh..yeah..good point ... i guess it could be - it seemed to be totally bonded to the metal .. I gave it a little tug but it didnt seem to want to move or come out of there
so ... after much googling it turns out that these are indeed bungs/plugs used to prevent coolant flow through the heater matrix in the cabin. It seems they are often fitted by dealers in PH to effectively disable any vehicle heater. I can see why, because its normally damn hot here and having a red hot heater core in the cabin would be crazy. However, for the last month or so ..it has been actually cold - esp. after dark ... climate change!!
Anyway... I removed both hoses from the barbs and prised out the 2 plugs ...
anyway...both plugs removed ..and coolant now flowing successfully thro the matrix - cabin heat at last.
To maximize the aircon. Maybe install a turn valve to close the flow when heat not needed. Many other makes, like Hondas with manual air cons, had a valve driven with steel cable. It closed the flow when turned the temp knob to cold.
I think a regulal ball valve for hot water is ok. But the hole in the ball must be near 18-20mm, because otherwise the valve restricts the coolant flow and the result is like before.
So my advise is to buy a bigger valve and with the couplers reduce the inlet/outlet to correct size.
Strange when you think about it, but that's what at one time would have been regarded as normal practice. My old Ford Anglia from decades ago had a tap on the engine that you turned on in winter and turned off in summer to stop hot water going round the heater matrix.
there's no way it will be with a bowden cable from inside the cabin ..lol. That nonsense takes me back to old Austin A-Series engines with their heater valve ... damn things would seize up and/or leak in a heartbeat.
I will just use something hand operated - simple, but reliable . ie. no leaks.
I only need to operate it 2 times a year ... really only likely to need the heater for 2mths in 12. Nice to have the option now tho.
there's no way it will be with a bowden cable from inside the cabin ..lol. That nonsense takes me back to old Austin A-Series engines with their heater valve ... damn things would seize up and/or leak in a heartbeat.
I will just use something hand operated - simple, but reliable . ie. no leaks.
I only need to operate it 2 times a year ... really only likely to need the heater for 2mths in 12. Nice to have the option now tho.
The honda valve must have a way to secure the lever in place. I do not know the inlet/outlet hose diameter.
Back in the day, they where 15-16mm. Now 18-20mm
Think you'd have had penguins as passengers last week - even in Norfolk we got down to -14 - must have been chilly in Braemar at -23! PH sounds quite nice....................I assume Philippines
yes, Philippines - was a nice sunny 28deg today. Changed a front wheel hub/bearing that DHL delivered yesterday. Nice & quiet on the road again now.
The permanently hot heater matrix doesnt seem to be overwhelming the cabin so far. So long as temp. control is down at full cold then the air coming out of vents is exactly that - full cold. Will see what happens when summer arrives proper in the next few weeks and the temps hit the mid 30's, but so far so good.
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