Ventilation system woes.

[Michael999]

-Heater takes a very very long time to heat up and is not very hot.
-AC just blows hot air (not too concered atm).
-When i turn off recirculate (i just want fresh air) then the vents send me warm air, so im forced to open the windows.
-Passenger side (left) vents blow nothing at all.
-All air that comes out of it smells like Maple Syrup (dont laugh!), well pretty close to it.

At the moment my "climate control" is almost useless, on a cold morning after 15minutes driving it warms me up a little, thats all, all other functions are useless.

Ive started pulling it to pieces in the hope that i can find where the problem is, But ive gotten to a stage where i dont know what to take off next, and all thats left is stuff that i feel i could hurt..
Having a look under the dash it appears that the vent that feeds the Door, Centre dash, and top centre dash, are all on the same piping, so im assuming on the same little valve/flap.
If this valve is dead ill need a new motor, or just remove it and operate the end vents manually (no big deal).

But the flavoured air, lack of heat, and no AC are getting tiresome.
Here is where i am up to.

[tony_ed]

Could be the hedgehog! Its the final stage resistor in your heating system.

[Michael999]

I cant find any info on this hedgehog.. where can i find it?

[tony_ed]

This shows a l/h/d model 540, but as far as I can tell, the unit is located in exactly the same place, only difference for you being its on the drivers side.
http://www.540i6.com/finalstagereplacement.html

[tim s]

tim s.

[Paul in NZ]

your heater valves are stuck too,hence the warm air.Does the fan work on all settings or just MAX

[Michael999]

ive got the klimomatik thingo, fan is just a wheel setting, but yes it works at all levels.

coolant leak.. great :(

Where do i start my attack to get into the heater valves and clean/replace them?

[Paul in NZ]

the heater valves are up against the firewall next to the fuse box.They may live under a plastic cover.Sometimes they can be freed with tapping the top of them.There are write ups on it.The seals fail and the coolant gets up into the actual valve area and seizes them up.

[Alexlind123]

Yep, maple syrup is coolant.

[Dukes]

-Heater takes a very very long time to heat up and is not very hot.
-AC just blows hot air (not too concered atm).
-When i turn off recirculate (i just want fresh air) then the vents send me warm air, so im forced to open the windows.
-Passenger side (left) vents blow nothing at all.
-All air that comes out of it smells like Maple Syrup (dont laugh!), well pretty close to it.


My very similar issue was a $1250 bill at the stealer to repair. All except my blower just stopped blowing as well.

[Michael999]

Okay, ive finally gotten the heater valve/pump unit out..
I took the unit apart, and guess what i found jamming open one of the valves?
ROCKS... lots of tiny little pebbles, the rough ones like you would put in a fish tank.

How the hell do you get rocks, not dirt, ROCKS into your coolant..

Should i put the unit back together having cleared the rocks out from it, and give it a good clean.

Also, is there some way of testing that the unit works whilst it is apart?
Can i spark the connections on a battery to see if it works?

[genphreak]

Okay, ive finally gotten the heater valve/pump unit out..
I took the unit apart, and guess what i found jamming open one of the valves?
ROCKS... lots of tiny little pebbles, the rough ones like you would put in a fish tank.

How the hell do you get rocks, not dirt, ROCKS into your coolant..

Should i put the unit back together having cleared the rocks out from it, and give it a good clean.

Also, is there some way of testing that the unit works whilst it is apart?
Can i spark the connections on a battery to see if it works? Grind one up, make sure it is a rock. If coolant is left in the car too long weird things can happen as it breaks down and reacts with the components it is running through. Id be pressure flushing the block, the heater core, radiator and all the pipes.

What kind of coolant was it running? Sounds pretty bad bro, but at least you have caught it now not later...

Is the auxilary pump still working?

Be careful rebuilding the heater valves, the valve stems are very brittle and are easy to break. It is a non-servicable item.

[genphreak]

Okay, ive finally gotten the heater valve/pump unit out..
I took the unit apart, and guess what i found jamming open one of the valves?
ROCKS... lots of tiny little pebbles, the rough ones like you would put in a fish tank.

How the hell do you get rocks, not dirt, ROCKS into your coolant..

Should i put the unit back together having cleared the rocks out from it, and give it a good clean.

Also, is there some way of testing that the unit works whilst it is apart?
Can i spark the connections on a battery to see if it works?Yes the valves will open adn close if you apply 12V to them.

You should bypass your heater core though until you repplace it adn/or its o-ring seals. Ethylene Glycol is poisonous and the leak will get worse. Can rust out your floor when it overflows the condenser's driptray.

The joys of heater cores. Are you running clear blue coolant?

[Michael999]

The rock as i thought it was seemed to break up in my fingers pretty easily.
Friend of mine asked me if it looked like gasket material.
It Feels like rock, but half of it crumbled away.

It is running "green" coolant, no idea what type, ive been meaning to flush it and replace it all with new Prestone, found some at a local shop.

I have no idea if the aux pump or valves still work, no idea how to test it.
BUT, the fuse for my aux pump keeps blowing (thought it was the horn), perhaps this is the problem *sigh*.
Can they be tested outside the car?

Ok where to from here, it IS summer at the moment so i can live without a heater for a while, but i want my car working fully.
Any idea what a NEW valve unit + pump is going to be worth?

I may as well replace the valves as well as the rubber seals in them seems pretty worn out.

[Michael999]

OKAY, just tested both items.

Pump is dead, connected with a freshly charged 12v battery and nothing, no movement, no noise, just the spark from connecting the wires.

Valves are dead, they are jammed at different heights, one moves 0.1mm when power is applied, the other has no reaction at all.

Who wants to sell me a new unit? :(

[Paul in NZ]

I think big kriss got new valves and a pump.Definetly a BMA item.I have a vague idea that some model does have serviceable valves.Try cleaning them all up and then see,youve got nothing to lose have you?

[Michael999]

Oh, they are well and truly dead, ive applied current and there is zero sound/movement from one valve, and minimal movement from another.
Ill try again tomorrow, give them a good bang with a hammer or something, cant hurt at this stage :P

I found both items on Bavauto, but only the pump on bma, and bma was more expensive.
So im at a loss :(

[TC535i]

Oh, they are well and truly dead, ive applied current and there is zero sound/movement from one valve, and minimal movement from another.
Ill try again tomorrow, give them a good bang with a hammer or something, cant hurt at this stage :P

I found both items on Bavauto, but only the pump on bma, and bma was more expensive.
So im at a loss :(

Call a wrecker? Are you in the US?

[BillionPa]

oh yeah, dont use prestone!

[mamilapon]

Hey, dont ask us!! We"re not the ones going to the river for a quick coolant top up!!lol

[Michael999]

"DONT" use prestone?

my car is full of it, i was told its the stuff to get.. what the...


oh and nice bump btw :P
problems are almost all fixed now :)