KA Blowing hot air when set to cold

Relentless81

Relentless81

Relentless81

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Hi Chaps,

The girl friend has an 05 KA and even when the heater is set to cold its blowing incineratingly hot air into the cabin, there is no temp gauge.

Any ideas of what I can check?

Thanks
 
Is it all the time?

Correct me if im wrong but a thermostat always springs back to closed when it fails, unless there is a new kind. hence no hot air in the cabin.

Older and cheaper cars use a heater control valve, with a big wire cable opperating it from the dial inside, quite possible the cable has slipped or snapped, not sure if a KA is electrically advanced in the engine bay, you can usually feel the resistance when crossing the halfway point on the dial in the car, if the dial is too loose i would expect it to be this.
 
Mattius said:
Is it all the time?

Correct me if im wrong but a thermostat always springs back to closed when it fails, unless there is a new kind. hence no hot air in the cabin.

Older and cheaper cars use a heater control valve, with a big wire cable opperating it from the dial inside, quite possible the cable has slipped or snapped, not sure if a KA is electrically advanced in the engine bay, you can usually feel the resistance when crossing the halfway point on the dial in the car, if the dial is too loose i would expect it to be this.
Click to expand...

This is what I would suspect the problem is too, the cable will be at its longest point when on cold and has probably snapped (or the plastic retainer could have broken which would be easier to sort) - they are normally a bugger to replace but will at least be cheap if you do it yourself.
 
rodenal said:
This is what I would suspect the problem is too, the cable will be at its longest point when on cold and has probably snapped (or the plastic retainer could have broken which would be easier to sort) - they are normally a bugger to replace but will at least be cheap if you do it yourself.
Click to expand...

Yeap a mechanic will charge a lot to do it cause its an annoying fiddly job if it needs replaced, the center console needs to come out and the cable threaded through a maze of cables out a specific hole into the engine bay.
Not a hard job by any means, just annoying and fiddly.

This is that they look like, should be at the back of the engine bay usually passenger side in the middle of a heater hose.

When turning the heater on you put stress on the clamp on the valve and it either slips or snaps at the engine bay end, so you end up with heater on all the time.

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g125/highoctaneKA/240sx parts/IMG_0286.jpg
 
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I'll check to see how loose the dial is, I suspect you are right though. I did at first think thermostat to be honest but was confused as to why its stuck on hot

Thanks
 
Best bet is to check under the bonnet using the picture i linked above as reference, that is a KA all be it an earlier model.

The dial method isn't fool proof, you can just usually feel the resistance as you pull the lever above its fulcrum point.
 
Heater control valve was notorious on the Fiesta, mine was replaced at least twice. Apparently its a common issue on the Fiesta and the Ka it can stick on hot or cold.
 
Brookert said:
If it were the heater control valve, would you get no hot air?
Click to expand...

Could do if it was stuck in the off position, however that is abnormal as the cable is under no stress in the off position.

More likely to be thermostat or no coolant if there is no hot air. There is another valve in the heater system in modern cars which is electronically controlled thermostat like which could also be the problem in that scenario if coolant and main thermostat is working.
 
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Vampyre said:
Heater control valve was notorious on the Fiesta, mine was replaced at least twice. Apparently its a common issue on the Fiesta and the Ka it can stick on hot or cold.
Click to expand...

yea mines been replaced once, stuck with ice cold air in the middle of winter, was not fun to say the least.
 
winks2 said:
thermostat - they default to always open when they fail...
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Very unlikely, a thermostat sticking open would make the engine run cold (esp. in this weather) which would reduce the output from the heater. The problem will almost certainly be caused by the control valve, they are crap plastic things controlled by a small electric motor and they fail for a pastime.
 
Mattius said:
Best bet is to check under the bonnet using the picture i linked above as reference, that is a KA all be it an earlier model.

The dial method isn't fool proof, you can just usually feel the resistance as you pull the lever above its fulcrum point.
Click to expand...

Thank you I will give it a check at the weekend

Mucky_Pup said:
Happened to my focus, removed the head unit and the cable had come out of the dial, popped it back in and it's been ok since.
Click to expand...

I will also check this too, thanks
 
On the 2000 Fiesta I've got the heater control is electrical - I suspect the Ka will be the same.

There is a small valve under the windscreen on the Fiesta with an electrical connector. These are the bit that are very prone to failure. However the control panels can fail as well.
 
Had that happen in the middle of last summer, got roasted!

But yes, heater control valve, there is a guide online with pics that shows you what to do but i'm in a bit of a rush atm.
 
HCV very very very common on ka and fiesta models, its electric and will stick anywhere it pleases, usually the least useful place for the conditions at that time.
 
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