Ford KA - No heater and loosing water :(

hopeful_builder

hopeful_builder

hopeful_builder

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Joined
13 Feb 2012
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543
Having a problem with My 1999 Ka at the moment. Went to put the heater on this morning and it just blows cold air all the while

got to work and checked the water level, It was on the minimum line. So i topped it up hoping it would be problem solved, nope I still have no heater.

Does anyone know what this might be?
 
hopeful_builder said:
ah thanks for the heads up Dogbreath! :)

so can it be replaced or repaired? The earliest I can get it to my mechanic is Thursday so If I can order the part beforehand it would be a big help
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To answer your question yes it can be replaced.

But........

It would be really really stupid to ring the mechanic and get him to get the part
in especially if you have not taken the car in 1st, as this is only 1 of the possibilities
of what it could be there is a dozen other reasons why this might be happening
as well.
 
If the water was only on minimum I wouldn't really be suspecting head gasket, it would have to be lower than that before the heater didn't work but as dogbreath says the heater valves are really really common on these and is certainly the first place to look.
 
Zbornak said:
Could a cold heater and loss of water be a dodgy thermostat?
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No, the thermostat would have to be stuck open or the spring gone weak in either case that wouldn't cause water loss. If it was thermostat open the heater would get warm if the car was left running without being driven.
 
The heater valve is on the bulkhead, if you put your hands on the pipes and the pipes are warm before the valve and cold after, then there’s the problem.
 
My complete guess from very little information, water leak from the pipe onto the thermostat and a dodgy HCV.

Headgasket failures are very rare on that old kent block.
 
My girlfriends KA has the same problem the heater is stuck on hot, the cable that connects the dial to the engine bay has snapped somewhere, the dial is loose and has no resistance at all when turning it
 
Regarding the lack of coolant I suggest you have a pressure test done on the cooling system to identify any leaks. The thermostat housing is a prime location for leaks on these and an overheating engine will cause HGF sooner or later. The Ka has no engine temp guage and the temp warning light only seems to come on when the thing is on fire - so I would get it checked for piece of mind (might save you a big bill later!).
 
Liquidfox said:
Please don't refill it with tap water! Use proper coolant!
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Tap water + coolant is fine.

My GF had the same problem and the leak got worse every week until the clutch was changed and the mechanic got a shower throughout.

In the end it was a rubber gasket in the depths of the engine bay and cost about £100.

Usually i would have taken more than an interest but she had broken down and was abut 100 miles away, lucky to get it sorted that day at all.
 
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