Heating takes ages to heat up......

Ninja_scrotum · 31-01-2008 8:04pm #1

I have to drive at least 35 miles before its fairly warm. NOT HOT mind you, just fairly warm.

What kind of problems can cause this? Would refilling the coolant system with coolant & antifreeze fix it, ja think? At the moment it's mostly water in there. I know thats bad.

I don't think there's a leak in the heater matrix anyways, (cos there's no smell from the vents).

And, has anyone had the same problems? If so how did you fix it. Cheers

Senna · 31-01-2008 8:13pm

Does the temp gauge on the dash take a long time to rise also?

Captain Slow IRL · 31-01-2008 8:30pm

Check coolant level; if it's ok, it could be a stuck heater valve (it's not a ford by any chance?!)

zilog_jones · 31-01-2008 8:42pm

Yes what car is it?

Could be a stuck thermostat if the engine is taking ages to warm up as well (also not particularly good for the engine/fuel economy). Cheap enough to fix.

Ninja_scrotum · 31-01-2008 8:56pm

Thanks for the quick replies, it's a 98 seat ibiza.

Does the temp gauge on the dash take a long time to rise also?

Yeah I'm pretty sure the temp gauge on the dash takes longer than it should to rise, but I don't know how quick it should heat up. It's my first car, just got it a few weeks ago.

These cold mornings driving to work the car has me in a hypothermic state. After 15mins driving the air is still freezing.

could be a stuck heater valve

Could be a stuck thermostat

Any easy way to check these?

Masada · 31-01-2008 9:02pm

the system could need to be bled, an airlock would have the symtoms your discribed.,

crosstownk · 31-01-2008 9:03pm

It sounds like you're thermostat may be stuck open. This causes coolant to circulate continuously though the whole system which usually results in a very long warm up period.

As zilog stated, it will have a negative affect on fuel economy as the engine will stay in the cold running phase for longer which will result in a higher fuel:air ratio.

Anan1 · 31-01-2008 9:05pm

crosstownk wrote: »

It sounds like you're thermostat may be stuck open. This causes coolant to circulate continuously though the whole system which usually results in a very long warm up period.

As zilog stated, it will have a negative affect on fuel economy as the engine will stay in the cold running phase for longer which will result in a higher fuel:air ratio.

I'll second this.

Mutz · 31-01-2008 9:06pm

guys I think he's talking about the actual warm air heater into the car cabin to keep him warm - not the engine coolant. Or am I reading this correctly?

As an addition - i'm suffering from the exact problem in my Seat Cordoba - The engine temp guage rises to normal fast enough but the heating takes ages to kick in.

Any clues? Pollen filter?

DublinDilbert · 31-01-2008 9:07pm

Ninja_scrotum wrote: »

Thanks for the quick replies, it's a 98 seat ibiza.

Yeah I'm pretty sure the temp gauge on the dash takes longer than it should to rise, but I don't know how quick it should heat up. It's my first car, just got it a few weeks ago.

These cold mornings driving to work the car has me in a hypothermic state. After 15mins driving the air is still freezing.

Any easy way to check these?

These days when thermo-stats tend to fail, they fail open, which is good....

Do you notice a difference in the temperature gauge when your in traffic versus when your on the open road?? i.e. does the car hold its temp when in traffic, but when you hit the open road it cools off?? if so this is a sure sign the stat is stuck open.

The good news is a thermostat is typically very cheap and easy to change, not sure about an ibiza, i'd say the part can't be more than €15.

I got my first car (opel kadett) during the summer months... when the winter came in i noticed the same as you mention above. So i decided to change the stat, when i opened up the housing there was no thermostat in it!!!! put in a new stat and the car was fine!

Slidey · 31-01-2008 9:08pm

Or someone could have taken the thermostat out altogether.... more likely than it sticking in the open poistion
You could always put a sheet of cardboard in front of half the radiator for the winter...

Edit as yer man says..

crosstownk · 31-01-2008 9:12pm

Mutz wrote: »

guys I think he's talking about the actual warm air heater into the car cabin to keep him warm - not the engine coolant. Or am I reading this correctly?

See below....

Ninja_scrotum wrote: »

Yeah I'm pretty sure the temp gauge on the dash takes longer than it should to rise, but I don't know how quick it should heat up.

Outside air is drawn over the hot coolant and heated, then blown into the cabin.

However, you do have a point - if a pollen filter is stuffed then the volume of air to the cabin will be a lot less which will have a detrimental effect on heating the interior. But I don't think a pollen filter is the OP's problem as the gauge takes longer to rise.

Captain Slow IRL · 31-01-2008 9:17pm

The thermostat would be the easiest and cheapest to replace - if you don't know how to change one, just bring it to a mechanic, it really ain't a big job and shouldn't break the bank.

It could take 15-20 minutes (from cold in the morning) for the needle to indicate correct operating temperature - if it's taking longer than this, the thermostat is probably stuck open.

If this doesn't cure it, the heater valve could be stuck closed or the linkage from your heater controls could be damaged and not working the relevant flaps

Captain Slow IRL · 31-01-2008 9:20pm

slideways wrote: »

Or someone could have taken the thermostat out altogether.... more likely than it sticking in the open position
You could always put a sheet of cardboard in front of half the radiator for the winter...

speaking from experience?!:p

crosstownk · 31-01-2008 9:29pm

EDIT : Never mind

Lucifer · 31-01-2008 9:54pm

Its likely that you have a stuck thermostat, my car is the same, i just havnt gotten around to changing it yet. but one thing to consider is that i find alot of people get into the car starting off from cold and put the heating up full for the first few mins thinking that its cold and is the quickest way to heat up the car but as a result the coolant will take alot longer to actually heat up to a decent temperature as all heat is taken from it. I find it much better to leave the heating off for the first 5 mins or so to allow the engine to build up a bit of heat before turning on the heating, the warm engine will heat up to its operating temp alot quicker and the heating will be more effecient. I know on the really cold mornings it can be hard to bare it for the first few mins but is worth it.

Slidey · 31-01-2008 9:59pm

land9 wrote: »

speaking from experience?!:p

yeah.. had a vento on loan for a while that i'm sure the stat had been taken out of, on long runs from sligo to duleek the only way to stay warm was with cardboard, was a bitch to get it in place!!

congo_90 · 01-02-2008 2:39am

as another poster mentioned. On cold mornings leave the fan off until temp gauge rises. a real efficient way (i found) was to put the thermostat for the blower to cold and put it on first click or off completly. takes approx anything from 1min-5.

Masada · 01-02-2008 3:27am

I wouldnt be inclinded to say the thermostat just yet, even with no thermostat a car will heat up soon enough, not as quickly as it will with the thermostat closed but it will heat up a lot quicker than some imply., ive had a couple of cases where the heater matrix wasnt getting hot due to to an airlocked cooling system., that would be the first thing id try and after that you can remove the thermostat and put it in a pot of boliing water to see if it opens and then closes as it cools.,
OP you didnt say if the cold air still comes out when the temperature gauge is at running temp?.,

Run_to_da_hills · 01-02-2008 6:55am

A mate of the old man had a VW van back in the early 1960's had the same problem, it took several hours to heat up. He got around it by strapping a cylinder of gas and a heater in the back! In those days you would have gotten away with it :eek:

arybvtcw0eolkf · 01-02-2008 8:52am

Sounds like you just have a typical Seat Cordoba/Ibiza etc I had the same problem with Seat's, same with Fiat. Both car's were horrible in winter, I'd just be getting into work when the damn thing would only be slightly warm.

I've an Octavia now, the heating is yummy

Slidey · 01-02-2008 9:50am

In the 60s i'm pretty sure it would hsve been air cooled...
Its not an air lock =, of that i'd be very confident,
Notbeing smart but the urban myth of putting the blower on cold... ha ha ha

Ninja_scrotum · 01-02-2008 4:10pm

Thanks for all the suggestions,

I actually have no coolant in the system, it's just water! Could that be the cause?

ianobrien · 01-02-2008 4:33pm

Ninja_scrotum wrote: »

Thanks for all the suggestions,

I actually have no coolant in the system, it's just water! Could that be the cause?

I doubt it, but if you have no anti-freeze in the system, just water GET IT OUT AND PUT PROPER ANTI-FREEZE IN.

Sorry for shouting, but in this cold weather, the water will freeze, and something will break due to the ice expanding. If your lucky, it'll pop a core plug. If not, it'll crack the block or rad.

One quick, but not fool-proof way of removing some (not all) airlocks is to "burp" the hoses, ie squeeze them. You may hear a burp from the rad. That was an airlock freeing itself.

I'm not familiar with the heating/cooling system in that car, but I know that some cars have three or four places to bleed air from. My Citroen has three (I think) and one of them is on the pipework leading to the heater, behind the steering. It's a pig to get done. Maybe there could be one bleed screw that you're overlooking.

Get antifreeze in the car NOW!

sc4rf4ce · 01-02-2008 4:34pm

nah youre heating would work just fine with water in the system. only problem is, it has a tendancy to freeze in the winter.
It sounds most likely that you need to bleed the system. My mate had the same problem with his BMW. We gave the coolant system a bleed, and the heating returned to normal.

Ninja_scrotum · 03-02-2008 12:37am

Cheers I shall bleed the system tomorrow and report back, and YES I WILL GET COOLANT ON MONDAY OK!!!!???

Masada · 03-02-2008 1:47pm

water could be the problem, it has a much lower boiling point than antifreeze/coolant and it can bubble in the system just as it would in a ketle., being under pressure the boiling point of the water is raised a little but still can cause the problem., As i said in the first place , it sounds like an airlock, make sure to use 50/50 water and coolant when refillings it.,

Slidey · 03-02-2008 2:10pm

golfs are simple machines.. never had an airlock in one yet. hundred euros to a cancer charity if it doesnt involve the stat

Ninja_scrotum · 03-02-2008 7:53pm

Hey

Thanks for all the help, I think I found the problem...

So I decided to put some coolant in, drained the system, flushed it for a while, and I checked the thermostat - it seems to be STUCK OPEN....

So is that what could be causing the problem?

And how much is a new thermostat?

By the way, when I took out the thermostat it looked like this.... Is this ok or not?

Heating takes ages to heat up......

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