Interior Heating luke warm

[Duncan777]

Hi

The heating in the car seems to take ages to get warm and feels like its not until the engine is warm before i get hot air into the cabin. Is this normal or can i check for a fault despite there being no errors from the ECU.

Thanks

 

[LostKiwi]

Correct. Until the engine is warm you won't get hot air in the cabin.
What temperature does the engine run at once warm and how long does it take to get there?

 

[Duncan777]

It takes about 20 minutes driving but never seems to get really hot. How do I check the engine temperature please?

 

[peternutkins]

Sounds as though you could have a faulty thermostat, I have just changed the one on my 220 diesel and its made the world of difference.

You can check it by feeling the radiator to see if it starts getting warm soon after you start the car, it should stay cold until the engine is up to temperature and the get hot suddenly as the thermostat opens.

Peter

 

[Duncan777]

Thanks Peter. I read about people changing thermostats. Is there a youtube on changing it or something that would guide me through the process.

Thank you

 

[EmilysDad]

.... How do I check the engine temperature please?

Don't you have a gauge on the dash?

 

[peternutkins]

There may well be. Mine was a bit of a pig to change as all the fuel lines had gone hard making it difficult to get at unless you forced them out of the way, I eventually broke one and had to make up a new one. I think yours is possibly easier.

The Haynes manual is quite helpful but Youtube would probably be the way to go.

I didn't know how to check the engine temperature on mine until I had a good fiddle with the buttons and found it. You should have a reading of around 80C if its working properly.

Peter

 

[Duncan777]

Thanks Peter..much appreciated!

 

[EmilysDad]

Thanks Peter. I read about people changing thermostats. Is there a youtube on changing it or something that would guide me through the process.

Thank you

I don't don't know your engine, but changing a stat on a car can range from 20 mins including boiling the kettle for a brew mid point to needing a week off work to do it (slight exaggeration but a Smart's stat isn't far off )

 

[peternutkins]

Mine fell into the latter category.

 

[mercmancdi]

Some are a wire clip , which if stretched won’t reseal , I done one easy enough,but despite cleaning everything it leaked , removed and recleaned but still leaked. Put new clip on the housing and it sealed , I
must have stretched the original taking it off. Though I think it was my 350 but can’t remember.
But no matter which type this should be a d i y job. Also even if engine is heating to 80% it still spoils the heat mine needed to be 90 %

 

[LostKiwi]

I don't don't know your engine, but changing a stat on a car can range from 20 mins including boiling the kettle for a brew mid point to needing a week off work to do it (slight exaggeration but a Smart's stat isn't far off )

You forgot to mention the fingers that looked as though you'd run a cheese grater over them when you do a Smart one!

 

[EmilysDad]

You forgot to mention the fingers that looked as though you'd run a cheese grater over them when you do a Smart one!

..... yes ... forgot to mention the need for a box of plasters

 

[Frontstep]

Must admit confused as to why look for fault codes, is the temperature gauge sitting around 90 c when warmed up ?
Start simple.

 

[EmilysDad]

Must admit confused as to why look for fault codes, ....

because that's the modern way ..... it's assumed there must be a ctrl/alt/del some where

 

[range rover]

because that's the modern way ..... it's assumed there must be a ctrl/alt/del some where

Surely a petrol car heats up much faster than a diesel anyway, I can get the first feel of warming air after a couple of miles in my big diesel, Oh, in the last 120k miles it has had the thermostat changed twice, so they don't last forever nowadays.

 

[LostKiwi]

Surely a petrol car heats up much faster than a diesel anyway, I can get the first feel of warming air after a couple of miles in my big diesel, Oh, in the last 120k miles it has had the thermostat changed twice, so they don't last forever nowadays.

Yes a petrol engine does warm up faster than a diesel. Every time the piston draws in a fresh charge of air in a diesel it's a full cylinder worth. A petrol engine only partially fills the cylinder at partial throttle. Therefore in cold weather there is a large cooling effect just from the incoming volume of air in a diesel that a petrol doesn't get.
I used to be able to leave my Defender diesel idling in winter for 30 minutes and the engine wouldn't get warm whereas the petrol ones were warm inside 5 minutes.

 

[range rover]

Yes a petrol engine does warm up faster than a diesel. Every time the piston draws in a fresh charge of air in a diesel it's a full cylinder worth. A petrol engine only partially fills the cylinder at partial throttle. Therefore in cold weather there is a large cooling effect just from the incoming volume of air in a diesel that a petrol doesn't get.
I used to be able to leave my Defender diesel idling in winter for 30 minutes and the engine wouldn't get warm whereas the petrol ones were warm inside 5 minutes.

Conversely, I suppose the diesel being a much heavier piece of metal would keep warmer longer after stopping.

 

[Steve@Avantgarde]

Perhaps the op has a heater fault and not an engine fault?

 

[peternutkins]

Modern diesels are very slow to heat up because they use the fuel very efficiently, more is converted into power and less into heat. My Peugeot 406 in common with most Peugeot's and Citroen's has an auxiliary electric heater which warms up quite quickly and seems very reliable, I have had three 406s all from about 2001 and they have all still worked.

They must draw something like 100 amps from the system but only work while the engine is running so this is provided by the alternator but for only about 1kw they feel quite good, you get warm air from the vents after only a couple of minutes.

The engines all also generally much heavier than petrol engines so retain heat longer but take longer to reach working temperature as 'range rover' and others have stated. Seems strange that cheapo cars like the Peugeot have this heater but I understand its only an option on the Mercedes.

Peter