no heat from heater

[69herald]

I have a 69 13/60 herald and need help working out what would cause the heater to stop working? Heater blower switch works but no heat at all, not even when I switch to the screen blower.

I know I have a seized heater valve that ids tuck in the on position but used to get heat out of it.

All was working fine till today then nothing really need it working asap as its my everyday car.

Appreciate any help possible, thanks

[david lewis]

 i had the same problem and it was the matrix,i took it out and took it to a radiator specialist.

you would not believe the crud that was in it--completely blocked he cleaned it out and full heating such as it is resumed.,probably not what you want  to hear as it means a few days off the road.

good luck

[sulzerman]

I have cleaned out a heater matrix with central heating cleaner.

Remove from the heater box and leave to soak for a day then give it a good blast of water with a hosepipe, worked a treat!

[Clive]

Try taking the heater valve out and connecting direct to the heater. The valves can get jammed and solid stopping water flow.

 

But first check the hose coming out of the heater. If hot, valve is OK (well, letting water through)

 

The heaters are a bypass design, so if the matrix is blocked, water will bypass the matrix, but you get no heat. using a hose and cleaners to remove crud can help, but sometimes it has to be replaced or repaired.

[69herald]

Would the heater be effected by a faulty thermostat as I have no temperature gauge either?

[Clive]

No. But have you got water in the radiator? that could be an issue!

To check if it is the gauge or the temp sender, pull the wire off the sender and earth it on the engine. The gauge should then read super-hot. (ignition on)

 

Are the pipes/hoses getting hot? best to touch rubber hoses as not as likely to burn you. Once car has been running a while, heater hoses etc should be hot, and if hot enough, the thermostat should open and teh rad top hose also get hot. However, it is very cold out there, so that will affect things. 

[Clive]

And I congratulate you on using a Triumph as a daily car. I have done so for over 25 years until recently. (in fact the plan is to return our Toledo to daily use soon, however it is not suitable for a lot of my work, carrying large "stuff" about)

[rlubikey]

Easiest things first.

Assuming there's hot water in the system ...

1) Check the valve lever is moving when you move the control. Bowden cables aren't meant to push and the outer can concertina.

2) The valve can easily become gummed up with goo. You can drill out the rivet to open them - use a small nut & bolt or tap a thread to replace rivet.

3) Reverse flush and reverse flush and (repeat until you get loads of flow.

 

Hope this helps, Richard

[Pete Lewis]

You can get blocked up valves and also the tube under the manifold, especially where it enters the wpump adaptor

 

but first you need to get the thing up to 82c with a new thermostat

 

no heater and no gauge readings look like a cold engine

 

pete

[Steve C]

If there is water in the engine, and the hoses are getting hot, it sounds to me like a bunged-up valve or matrix. I rebuilt mine with a new valve (the original was solid with yellow crud and corroded under the hoses) and a new matrix. Although folk do suggest various remedies like kettle de-scaler, back-flushing etc. for the matrices, I would caution that they are now all very old indeed, and go for a new one if funds allow, or, as suggested, get a radiator shop to rebuild it. You won't believe the difference in heater performance. I got mine online from Demisterman, who has an e-bay shop, and gives good service. I did find that I had to relieve the inlet/outlet holes in the heater front plate a bit with a small stone on a drill to let the pipes which pass through it fit properly, as they are slightly wider apart on the repro version than the original, but it is all straightforward stuff, and he even provides all the sealing strips for the box.

I had always assumed that herald heaters were crap because the car was from a different era, but with a good matrix they are actually surprisingly good.

 

Regards

 

Steve

[Darren Groves]

If you need a new matrix, you an try this guy http://www.demisterman.co.uk

[Eddie]

I had the same problem. Tried everything to clean out the matrix, but eventually found that the pipe that is part of the inlet manifold was blocked.

[Rich]

Likewise, i found my pipe from the waterpump housing that goes under the inlet maifold was full of brown nastyness.  Once i cleaned it through heater worked a treat :-)

[Colin Lindsay]

I'm just about to try cleaning a modern matrix that blows warm air to the screen but cold (freezing!!) air to the feet... I suspect the lower half of the matrix is full of crud. Flaps are working as you can feel the air to the feet stop when switched to screen. Flusher hasn't improved anything so it's the long thin wire approach next. If the Herald heater isn't working I'll agree it's a blockage of some sort, start with the valve, work along the pipes and finally try the matrix.