Plus 2 heater

[john.p.clegg]

Dear All

As the title says,I have still got an ongoing heater problem with my Plus2.....it's just not adequate...after checking the heater matrix and hoses...flushing and back-flushing...purging of air...cables operate the flaps OK...flap seals in good condition..Smiths fan works ( as good as it should? )...in desperation last week fitted an 88 degree stat ...and on Sunday drove over to Newark..the heat output was miserable..some times none at all...which leads me to think of cavitation in the pump...I'm going to change the pump module this winter and double check the impellor clearance.

Am I asking too much as the outside air temp. must have been just below freezing ?

What do people know about cavitation ?

Alternative heater matrix/s ?...copper or aluminium ?

That water-wetter stuff ?

Small in-line pump controlled by the heater switch ?

All contributions gratefully accepted..

John

[elanman999]

John,
Whilst my +2 heater is not as good as a modern car it does work OK. And I am running a 74deg stat. So:
Are the water pipes to and from the heater getting hot?
Is the recouperator system working and the system full of water?
How do you check the water level?

How is the air getting out from the heater and into the footwell? My car is an early one without the fibreglass ducts to point the air down. I have cut holes in the trim pieces ether side of the heater to get a good flow of air out. Try removing the trip pieces.
Have you got any holes in the bulkhead letting cold air in?
Perhaps you are asking a bit much when it's zero ambient?
If you had a problem with the pump I would have thought that the engine would have overheated on a run.
Cheers
John

[theelanman]

John
my other +2 did this...
I ended up replacing the heater matrix
ford fiesta IIRC.....about 3mm difference
mine solved the problem straight away.....
I never did an autopsy of the old matrix.....just binned it.....
cheers
G

[Robbie693]

Hi John,

Probably a daft question but have you checked the matrix is getting hot? If the engine is getting up to temp then there should be hot water in the heater matrix, if there isn't then it must be a blocked matrix. If there is then you must be losing heat by it leaking out somewhere other than the vent you've selected (screen or footwell).

I found when I rebuilt my heater that the standard sealing wasn't particularly good:

http://www.lotuselan.net/forums/lotus-twincam-f39/heater-rebuild-t16068-15.html

Robbie

[jeff jackson]

Hi John,
Mine was exactly the same.
I decided after years of warm air from the heater to take it out, take it all apart, and flush the matrix.
I made sure that clean water came out of the matrix BUT, here's the big but, You have to steam all the crud out, I was amazed at the amount of cr#p that came out after I steamed it. I used the hose from my wall paper stripper and worked a treat.
I now have proper heat coming out of the heater!
It takes a while but well worth it.
Kind regards
Jeff 72+2

[john.p.clegg]

Looks like this may be the way forward ( temporary )..until summer and dash out ( ouch!)

http://www.mawsolutions.com/html/ebp15.html

John

[rgh0]

yes that's what I was thinking about - a chemical or steam clean of the core may remove the need for dash out but the booster pump should solve the issue short term at least

cheers
Rohan