4200 Heater controls still not working

If it's a dashboard out job I've cleared my mother in laws garage which luckily is wide enough to work on it with the car door open so i'll be stripping it out myself, can't pay for that amount of labour on a maybe.

Hopefully there's a how to somewhere.

MAF (I think) wrote an excellent how to. There's a French one as well

C

Thanks I'll have a search

I've 99% decided I'm keeping it , I was giving it away at the price I offered it at , if I sell it I'm unlikely to ever buy another and that few miles driving it to Oulton and back last week really put a smile on my face.

If I can get it to run without the ac on so the constant click of the clutch goes away I'll use it to the end of the month then make a start on it

Pull the fuse on the compressor. That'll stop the click at least. Stupid question: Have you had the coolant level checked?

C

I had a similar weird thing on the a/c as well but seemed.to be the drier unit in the grill more than the compressor clicking away.

Be sure it is nothing else first though before ripping out the dash as that would be a crying waste of time if it wasn't the blower unit.

Are there any other jobs such as heater matrix etc. that would be worth doing at the same time while dash is out?

I didn't have the time to do the dash out job as it is a long Sat/Sun all weekend job it seems. I paid an auto electrician 600 quid to do the whole job for me.

I hate silly jobs like this to change what is likely a 10 quid part that has failed.

My hybrid project 4200 had 89k on the clock and was a 53/2003 car if that helps.

Matrix was done a few years back

C

good point, I've used a guy in St Helens before I"ll run it over to him and get him to test it, though when it was hot I could feel cool air coming out of the vents when the car was moving just not fan assisted

it's worth £50 to get it tested out though before I start with the screwdrivers

You can get to the blower unit from underneath enough to get to the cables/connector to power it. Might be worth power it on a few times & making sure it powers & spins up but not sure if that is possible without connecting the HVAC control unit.

Maybe get a replacement blower in and connect it in the footwell loose to see if it fixes the issue properly/fully before going dash out.

Maybe the blower unit replacement is a job we should start recommending gets done at the same time as the heater matrix & vice versa. I bought a nearly new one from Greg @ PCP but the OEM new part is only about 300 quid I think. If it is a case it is going to go at some point a preventative swap could be prudent over certain mileages bearing in mind it is a dashboard out job.

It doesn't seem to be the blower unit or bearing in it that seems to cause issue but the resistor/electronics on the PCB which is annoying.

I didn't have the time or inclination to look if the the PCB could be replaced in situ or off the car. It is not a plug in PCB it seems like many others but might be serviceable. It is tight up under the foot well but might be possible. Would certainly save others a lot if time in the future.

My issues were known from day one when I bought it as a project From Beau. It was a major issue that day I bought the car as it was an horrifically scorching hot day driving back from Southend & got stuck in a ton of M25 traffic. Had no AC....no blower at all...and windows open just meant I received all the hot air from the engine back in the cabin! I did buy a 306 GTi-6 on the way home though!!

Mine would work sometimes then would stop for days. Sometimes you turn the blower on & it would work sometimes not. Sometimes an error on the gear selector LCD dash bit...sometimes not. That is why it took me so long to diagnose as was so intermittent & weird but also pointed at so many other potential things. It wasn't logical in my mind & my mind only works logically so I learnt a new skill!

I'm 56 and challenged in the width department , crawling about under the dash might end up with a trip in an ambulance

LOL...it was tight enough for me upside down...with my legs akimbo each side of the headrest! The problem is less getting in position but getting out of it!

Certain one for the smaller people.

It might be worth getting a motor and trying it , sopranostu isn't far away, I'll get in touch see if he'll do a sale or return if it's only a matter of unplugging it to see if the new one cures it

A bit late to the party but I had issues similar , turned out to be water in the connector to the blower , like mentioned before a bit of upside down aerobics, or just take the seat out .

Thanks for that , I did find some yellow dampness in that area , not sure what that is as the coolant is pink so it's not the heater matrix , could be the dye they squirt into the a/c system to test for leaks

I think I've reached the end of self diagnosis so later this week I'm going to book it in with the a/c guy to see what he finds

Hi Guys,

I have the same issue, nothing happens when I turn the heater knobs. The heater display on the screen is greyed out and doesn't change. The rear windscreen button lights up...

Try a reset:
1. With the ignition to OFF, turn the temp dial to LO, the fan dial to AUTO and the air direction dial to AUTO.

2. Hold down the 'recirculate' and 'econ' buttons together.

3. Turn the ignition to ON and wait until the lights on the 2 buttons flash in unison, then let go of the buttons. Once the lights have stopped flashing, the system is reset...


Sent from my iPhone 7+ using Tapatalk

Rick1008 said:

Hi Guys,

I have the same issue, nothing happens when I turn the heater knobs. The heater display on the screen is greyed out and doesn't change. The rear windscreen button lights up...

Click to expand...

Oh dear. I think (per the pm) your matrix has gone. Check the fusebox and the connector I mentioned.

C

Just tried the reset, nothing happened...the buttons did not flash

Rick1008 said:

Just tried the reset, nothing happened...the buttons did not flash

Click to expand...

Sounds to me like you have no power to the HVAC unit. That worries me.

Fuses, maybe. ECU, perhaps. Might be worth swapping the control unit with a known good one.

C

Catman, how do I get to the connector under the glovebox? The heater was working...I just checked the photos in the original advert and I can see all the lights and icons on the screen lit up...the previous owner also confirmed that he never had a issue. Im hoping its a dodgy connection. Failing that there is a company in Leicester that repairs them for £90.

Rick1008 said:

Catman, how do I get to the connector under the glovebox? The heater was working...I just checked the photos in the original advert and I can see all the lights and icons on the screen lit up...the previous owner also confirmed that he never had a issue. Im hoping its a dodgy connection. Failing that there is a company in Leicester that repairs them for £90.

Click to expand...

Just have a look under the glovebox lid. You might need to lie down in the footwell. You can see it from there *but* typically failure of that connector does not make the display grey out and the lights stop so its worth a try, but don't be too surprised if it doesn't fix the problem

C