No heating into cabin

As Kate Bush once said "it's a mystery"
Sorry for the thread swerve but that was Toyah (Wilcox). Although Kate did sing about Strange Phenomena on her first album a couple of years earlier. Scary to think that both of those were around 40 years ago now!

Back in the present, this sadly isn't helping Tomscar any ... apologies :)
 
Have you checked the water pump? Could be broken, especially if it's plastic.

RAB
 
Have you checked the water pump? Could be broken, especially if it's plastic.

RAB

I think it was working before I took it all apart again to re install the pipes the right way round .... there was a steady flow back into the expansion tank and think that would indicate it was working earlier.
I stripped the housing out again and swapped the heater matrix pipes to the right position ... those pipe clips are a nightmare, took longer to get them on and off than anything else I had to do.
Refilled the expansion tank with tap water for now (while checking for any leaks) and started the engine up, I left the cap off but now there is no flow into the expansion tank as before.
Had a look on the dashboard and the engine management orange light was on but I'd forgotten to plug the temperature sensor in.
I just went out to take a photo of the warning light but it didn't come on when I started it up and guess it was the sensor not plugged in causing that ... that's a start I suppose!
Is there another way to check the water pump other than looking at the flow into the expansion tank?
Although the thermostat housing looks identical to the one I took off I never thought to open it up and check what was inside. The one they have sent has the old style metal thermostat and not the longer plastic cylinder type ... and despite it saying on my invoice that it is 87° it is in fact stamped 83°.
Would this have any affect on the heating from the vents??
Thanks again for everyone's time ... I really love my A2 and want to get to the bottom of the issues.
 
Sorry for the thread swerve but that was Toyah (Wilcox). Although Kate did sing about Strange Phenomena on her first album a couple of years earlier. Scary to think that both of those were around 40 years ago now!

Back in the present, this sadly isn't helping Tomscar any ... apologies :)

Hi Proghound ... I think Toyah actually said "It's A Mithtery" ??
 
You need some pliers for the hose clips. Like this:


They're a doddle then. I'd check the thermostat in a saucepan. Even if doesn't affect the heating problem, you need it to work correctly. The only way to be sure about the pump is to remove it if there's doubt.

RAB
 
You need some pliers for the hose clips. Like this:


They're a doddle then. I'd check the thermostat in a saucepan. Even if doesn't affect the heating problem, you need it to work correctly. The only way to be sure about the pump is to remove it if there's doubt.

RAB

Thanks Rab, the pliers would be a good idea ... I think the thermostat is working ... the rubber pipe from the thermostat starts of cold and gets hot when the engine gets to temperature.
It was a brand new one that came with the kit along with the temperature sensor. It happens to be a different rating to the original one though which was 87° and the new one is stamped at 83° ...
The gauge is sitting at 90° and doesn't fluctuate.

I don't know if the wrong thermostat would effect anything but maybe someone can clarify.
 
Yes just a standard water air heat exchanger. Need to know if climate is blowing very cold on LO as cold still be a low gas problem although should not stop HI heat. There is a coolant regulator valve ( hopefully that means more than just the thermostat ) according to the schematics. Presumably this can control the hot water flow. Unfortunately I do not know where that is in the 1.4 petrol cooling system, but is does look a possibility if the valve was not opening when required, jammed or failed.

Yes, checked this today ... the cold air temp when set to LO is very cold but is barely warm when set to HI and certainly not hot as it used to be.
The radiator fan remains off until I switch on the climate control and it has differing speeds also as I would expect.
 
Have you tried as in post #9 checking the temp flap up behind the glovebox for range of movement yet? It does not matter if the engine is hot or cold all we want to know is the flap going one extreme to the other as it could be stuck cold.
 
Not yet Audifan ... it took so long to get the pipe work sorted out the right way round that I ran out of steam.
I did have a look under the glove box but it is entirely panelled in and would need to dismantle first ... there are plenty of noises from the various flaps though and it definitely gets icy cold on LO and slightly warmer as I increase the temperature towards high.
The next thing is to work why there is no water circulating, it's baffling me why or how the pump has simply failed by removing and replacing the thermostat housing. Back to it tomorrow and I will keep you posted. ... many thanks for your help.
 
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Drop the glovebox to give a bit more room. Watch out for the hidden bolt hidden at the top of the left footwell kick panel. Second hidden bolt behind the little vertical coin holder inside the glovebox, also disconnect the glovebox light before you try to lower it from the car.
 
Drop the glovebox to give a bit more room. Watch out for the hidden bolt hidden at the top of the left footwell kick panel. Second hidden bolt behind the little vertical coin holder inside the glovebox, also disconnect the glovebox light before you try to lower it from the car.
Thanks, will try that tomorrow.
 
Not sure if it adds anything to the story but found an old thread about the two types of thermo housings and stats which are not interchangable

Cheers Spike
 
Not sure if it adds anything to the story but found an old thread about the two types of thermo housings and stats which are not interchangable

Cheers Spike

Thank you Spike ... I should really have checked to see what thermostat came with the kit, it was advertised as 87° and the housing was pre-assembled when it arrived, the housing I took off was still the original and had the cylindrical black cartridge but this one is only 83°.
I think the thermostat that came with the kit is the right one for this housing .... it's opening when the water heats up ... just not sure what effect this would have on the engine's running or if this could be the reason for very little heat from the vents.
I have a few things to try now and am just off out to start .... thanks to everyone that has given advice and I will keep you posted.
Cheers ... Tom
 
You need some pliers for the hose clips. Like this:


They're a doddle then. I'd check the thermostat in a saucepan. Even if doesn't affect the heating problem, you need it to work correctly. The only way to be sure about the pump is to remove it if there's doubt.

RAB

Cheers Rab ... just ordered a set, different supplier though as your link doesn't post to Northern Ireland.
 
Well folks, thanks for all your kind help ... all back to normal again.
Whatever the problem was yesterday afternoon (after reconnecting the matrix pipes ... the right way round this time) seems to have resolved itself.
The level had dropped in the expansion tank overnight to empty .... no leaks evident from anywhere, so I followed the filling advice on another thread:

Topped up the expansion tank
Left the expansion cap off
Turned the temperature to HI
Started the engine and sat with the revs at 1500 rpm

Ran the engine for twenty minutes and the fan is kicking in at varying speeds, so that appears to work.
Read out is a steady and nonfluctuating 90° C on the dashboard with no warning lights of any description.
Went up and down the temperatures several times, that also appears to work.
Both the matrix pipes are getting hot now as they should
A note for anyone replacing these pipes ... the left hand matrix pipe, as it enters into the cabin from the engine bay, is the flow in and connects to pipe No.8 on the thermostat housing (diagram from further up the thread No. #13).

I will look for any leaks over the next day or so and occasionally start it up, I've yet to add the G13.
Just another note and this time from Belfast Audi parts department ...
I asked for distilled water to top up the system and they said they only use normal tap water.

Would still like to know if the new thermostat opening at a lower temperature (83° rather than the original 87°) will make any difference to the running.

I will keep posting updates.
Thanks again everyone and I hope my experiences over the last few days will be of use to someone.

Regards ... Tom
 
Hi Tom,

You obviously had a lot of air in the system. After work requiring coolant draining, I always fill up as far as I can and then go for a short run, then fill up the tank as necessary and monitor the situation for a few days.

RAB
 
Hi Tom,

You obviously had a lot of air in the system. After work requiring coolant draining, I always fill up as far as I can and then go for a short run, then fill up the tank as necessary and monitor the situation for a few days.

RAB

Cheers Rab .... thanks for your input over the last few days.
 
Guess the air contracted over night, when it was cooler, and drew coolant in from the expansion tank. Good result whatever!
Mac.
 
If you live in an area with very hard water with a lot of mineral content I’d not use it but otherwise tap should be fine. Look inside your kettle to see if you have an issue.


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