xantia heater

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TicToc
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xantia heater

Post by TicToc »

New to Citroen, can anybody help ?
Recently purchased a 1.9TD xantia 1996 117K miles, working away through a number of little problems with the good help of this forum. However now that it is cold outside the heater is not good. I have checked for air locks bleeding both hot and cold engines. I don't recommend the hot method.(I can only find 2 bleed valves on my car 1 near the heater outer bulkhead and the other near the top of the rocker cover). The heater controls and blower all work fine, I have checked the positions etc. I have some heat but when the air temp is low it seems as if the heater cannot sustain a good internal temp. I understand from this forum the heater may be blocked and or suffers from poor effiecency. The engine temp runs at 70c assuming the gauge is calibrated correct.
What temp should the engine run at (I thought around 90c).
An extra 20c will make a big difference to the heater.
If there is no thermostat fitted would that keep the engine temp at 70c or could the thermostat be damaged.
Any advice would be great
Many Thanks
bernie
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Post by bernie »

Not having a termostat fitted would make the system cooler and much longer to heat up.
Likewise if it was stuck open.
Check this first.
Does it have A/C?, if so could be the pollen filter blocked
madasafish
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Post by madasafish »

most Xantias run at 80C. Thermostat may be jammed open.
PeterMann
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Post by PeterMann »

The Xantia heater at full red will throw a lot of heat into the cabin when working properly and engine is up at full working temperature.
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np
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Post by np »

Mine runs 70-90c in normal use.Average of 80c.Could be the cabin/pollen filter being blocked.I thought my A/C needed re-gassing in the summer because it wasn`t very cold,but the pollen filter was a bit blocked.Changed it & all was well again,nice cold air.I supose it must work the other way around,stopping the heat,as it stopped the cold air.
When mine runs at 70c,i still get alot of heat from the heater if i want it.
algieuk
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Post by algieuk »

My TD ran around 60-65. I changed the thermostat and now it is a nice steady 80. Heater is still very inefficient though, and the extra temp does not seem to have improved things. Still loking for ideas. Will check the temp of heater hoses next to see if they are hot enough.
jeremy
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Post by jeremy »

On gentle running in cold weather neither of our diesels come up to normal operating temperatures despite having thermostats no more than 2 years old. (ZX 1.9D and BXTD) However both heaters work really well.
From the sound of it your heater element has clogged, warm water goes in slowly but when you turn on the fan it cools and is not replaced.
Dud thermostats didn't really make much difference to either car although the heaters warm up a bit quicker.
You can check the thermostat by starting the car and feeling the top hose. It should stay relatively cool and if you've got enough patience to wait, suddenly warm up significantly when the thermostat opens. If it slowly warms up with the engine the thermostat is stuck open.
You may be able to clear the element by flushing with a hose but be careful - the garden hose can produce a pressure of 80 psi whereas your cooling system should be limited to about 15.
Jeremy
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davek-uk
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Post by davek-uk »

What's the easiest way of flushing the matrix without doing a lot of dismantling? My car needs the heat on max to get it warm enough and I was wondering if this could be crud in the matrix.
On a slightly different tack, how much air should be thrown out by the heating fan as mine seems lifeless? With the fan on full I can feel air blowing no more than about 4" from the outlets (less on the screen outlets). If it's set any lower the air flow is hardly noticeable. I assume this is poor. Are the vents or trunking prone to blockages or is there another explanation?
harryb.48
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Post by harryb.48 »

I think I may be experiencing something akin to what Dave describes,above,when he comments on the heating fan output(Xantia).I have recently had some bad fogging of windscreen and side windows which takes many miles to clear.All appears to be working OK ,including fan speeds,but the output seems poor and when I switch to recirculated air the windows will mist-up immediately.
I have checked for any water ingress (none that I could see) and all the flaps seem to be working ,judging by the noise they make.Can anyone think of anything ,obvious or otherwise ,which I may have missed?
I`m fed-up driving with a chamois leather in one hand!
PS I have washed all the interior windows and got rid of all the anti-mist residue and probably the residue from several years of treatment,but it`s still the same.
Robin
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Post by Robin »

This may seem either obvious or not relevant but please check it first. If the pollen or cabin filter is blocked it will delay the clearing of screens and slow the interior heating simply from reducing the air flow. The other one is the air control from recirculation to fresh air. The cable behind the control is prone to bending and or jumping off the control arm. This usually happens when you move from fresh to recirculation and leaves the control on recirc which will never clear the screen because you are simply moving the damp air around in the car.
The pollen or cabin filter on the Xantia is under the dash in the passenger side footwell. Remove the felt cover and the filter housing is visible, slide the long thin housing end cover off and withdraw the filter with care. If it has been in there for some time it will be full of dust and leaves so put a bag or something under it.
Robin
harryb.48
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Post by harryb.48 »

Thanks Robin ,I will check those items in the morning - now it does seem obvious about the pollen filter but I didn`t know there was one!
I will let you know what I find.
Rajshah
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Post by Rajshah »

I may have a similar problem. I diagnosed it to a blocked pipe that carries water from the engine to the heater. It flakes on the inside and blocks the pipe. Do you get any water out of bleeder on the bulkhead.....if you don't get a flood, its blocked! Bad news is the pipe is expensive as it has an odd shape. If you fix this by any means, I would like to know! Good luck.
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davek-uk
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Post by davek-uk »

Oh dear, I better come clean...
With much embarrassment I have to admit that my heating problems were due to a clogged pollen filter [:I][:o)][:I]. Robin, you were right to suggest the obvious.
I'd dropped the filter to check it and it looked clean. Over Christmas I removed it and noticed the black side - doh! Until I can get a new filter I'm running without the paper element; nice heat, temperature control now works, no misting and a descent flow of air from the fan. How could I have been so silly? [xx(]
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