Heating not working

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Dormouse
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Re: Heating not working

Post by Dormouse »

Remember to flush out the radiator and header tank as much as you can. Ideally off the car but as thoroughly as possible. If reaching for the heater hoses is difficult then I would use an infrared spot temperature gun - like the airport temperature readings for covid shown on the telly. These are very localised and accurate. I bought mine to thermal map our house to plan insulation but I have used it on radiators and water pipes. They read the surface temperature of the spot they are aimed at and are not influenced by air temp or other sources of heat
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Dormouse
(Donor 2022)
Posts: 2010
Joined: 15 Apr 2021, 14:32
Location: Kingdom of Fife
My Cars: Peugeot 3008 Hybrid4, Fiat Ducato, Morris Mini.
plus notable cars I have owned :- Studebaker 1921, Daimler Consorts, Mercedes 220 Pontoon, Simca 1301, Austin Metropolitan, lots and lots of Minis, both steel and fibreglass bodied, Fiat 500F, Citroen GSA's, Skoda Estelle 120 Rally replica, DKW 1000S, Triumph Herald Estate, Warwick GT (very briefly)
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Re: Heating not working

Post by Dormouse »

I am partly mindful that others may read this for future use so apologies if some things sound a bit detached from your immediate problems.
DanCD
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Location: Nottingham, UK
My Cars: CITROЁN C4 II Hatchback 1.6 VTi 120 88 kW/120 HP from 2011

Re: Heating not working

Post by DanCD »

GiveMeABreak wrote: 02 May 2021, 20:05
DanCD wrote: 02 May 2021, 17:00 Hi,

Could anyone give me the part number for the heater matrix of my car? CITROËN C4 II Hatchback 1.6 VTi 120, 2011 reg.

Cheers,
Dan
Hi Dan

Part for the Heater Matrix on your C4 is 6448W8. Item (1). It is priced today at £226.21 inc. VAT from Citroen and includes all the items highlighted.

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Thanks!
Dan
DanCD
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Posts: 27
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Location: Nottingham, UK
My Cars: CITROЁN C4 II Hatchback 1.6 VTi 120 88 kW/120 HP from 2011

Re: Heating not working

Post by DanCD »

Dormouse wrote: 03 May 2021, 08:33 I am partly mindful that others may read this for future use so apologies if some things sound a bit detached from your immediate problems.
No worries, it's good to get decent advice.

I've been out to have a look again this morning, and took a look at the heater matrix itself. Both pipes to the heater matrix are stone cold even after leaving the car running for a while. Does this point to something else being the issue?
Dan
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Dormouse
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Posts: 2010
Joined: 15 Apr 2021, 14:32
Location: Kingdom of Fife
My Cars: Peugeot 3008 Hybrid4, Fiat Ducato, Morris Mini.
plus notable cars I have owned :- Studebaker 1921, Daimler Consorts, Mercedes 220 Pontoon, Simca 1301, Austin Metropolitan, lots and lots of Minis, both steel and fibreglass bodied, Fiat 500F, Citroen GSA's, Skoda Estelle 120 Rally replica, DKW 1000S, Triumph Herald Estate, Warwick GT (very briefly)
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Re: Heating not working

Post by Dormouse »

yes. The heater hot feed will come initially from the Thermostat area. Now, I don't have enough experience with the heater plumbing on these models but you should be able to track the hot inlet pipe from the engine to the heater, or at least the bulkhead, and feel the heat build up in the pipes. Now, disconnect the return pipe and leave off. Start the engine for a short spell. If the matrix is fully blocked, there will be no flow. If it is restricted, the flow will obviously be low. Next, reconnect the return pipe and disconnect the feed pipe at the bulkhead. Start the engine for a brief spell. There should be obvious full flow or else the restriction is between the engine/thermostat and the heater matrix. IF YOU THINK WATER WILL GET OVER IMPORTANT ELECTRICS/ELECTRONICS extend the open hose end with a piece of hose long enough to clear the engine bay.
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Dormouse
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Posts: 2010
Joined: 15 Apr 2021, 14:32
Location: Kingdom of Fife
My Cars: Peugeot 3008 Hybrid4, Fiat Ducato, Morris Mini.
plus notable cars I have owned :- Studebaker 1921, Daimler Consorts, Mercedes 220 Pontoon, Simca 1301, Austin Metropolitan, lots and lots of Minis, both steel and fibreglass bodied, Fiat 500F, Citroen GSA's, Skoda Estelle 120 Rally replica, DKW 1000S, Triumph Herald Estate, Warwick GT (very briefly)
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Re: Heating not working

Post by Dormouse »

During and after this, top up the coolant level and carry out any bleeding procedures. If your were able to get a flow through the heater matrix with a hose then the engine should be able to pump coolant through the matrix and deliver some hot water from the engine. If the pipes are not heating up there is no flow. I don't have enough knowledge of this model to say what the heater circuit consists of and what may be upstream from the matrix in and around the thermostat and coolant circuit.
DanCD
(Donor 2021)
Posts: 27
Joined: 15 Dec 2019, 14:15
Location: Nottingham, UK
My Cars: CITROЁN C4 II Hatchback 1.6 VTi 120 88 kW/120 HP from 2011

Re: Heating not working

Post by DanCD »

Hi all,

I'm revisiting this thread as I'm wanting to take another look at fixing this problem with my C4, having used my better halves' car over the past 6 months or so.

So just to update, I had a leaking thermostat which was temporarily fixed by me (stupidly) putting K-seal in, but then properly fixed by getting it replaced at the dealer.

Now the problems that remain are:

1. There is still no heat in the cabin. As the engine warms up, both the inlet and outlet pipes to the heater matrix are red hot, but as soon as I turn the climate control to 'HI', the outlet pipe goes stone cold.
2. Once the engine is up to temperature, the top hose going to the radiator is red hot, but the bottom hose is stone cold.

Now my thinking is, for the lack of heating in the cabin, does the outlet pipe going cold after putting the heating on to 'HI' indicate a blocked matrix? I have previously flushed this, but maybe not enough. Or does it point to an air block?

For the radiator, I'm pretty sure this points to it simply being blocked.

I am just thinking out loudly here. I have done a lot of reading on many other posts on this forum and others about these sorts of issues and the problems can also point to faulty heater flaps and/or a knackered water pump. Do you guys have any thoughts or advice as to what I should do first?

I should also add that even with the heating on 'HI' and the engine getting up to temperature the radiator fans are not coming on. Whether this is connected in any way or a totally unrelated issue I'm not sure.

As usual, any help to solve this riddle would be much appreciated.

Dan
Dan
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