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31st January 2021, 22:07
#1
Regular Member
Heater seems feeble at first on cold day, even though blower is going full pelt!
Hi everyone, many thanks for all the help w my ECC + fan issues. They are all sorted it seems.
Now I see an old problem coming back: while the fan now blows nicely from 1-7, the heat in the airflow seems to take ages to come through when starting the car from cold, which is of course exactly when you want a good blast of toasty hot air to clear your misty / icy windscreen & generally make the car feel habitable. It does get warmish eventually, like after some mins, but has anyone else found this issue? If so, any ideas to improve? The heat seems really crappy compared w other cars I've had & I suspect something needs seeing to. As always, any help on diagnosis or improvement very much appreciated. Many thanks, Ian
PS I now have an opcom plug thing.
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1st February 2021, 13:22
#2
Regular Member
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1st February 2021, 14:21
#3
Originally Posted by
IanR1969
Now I see an old problem coming back: while the fan now blows nicely from 1-7, the heat in the airflow seems to take ages to come through when starting the car from cold.
That's because you're trying to demand heat while the engine is still trying to warm up. A bit like going for a shower before your boiler has had chance to heat up the water.
I turn the fan speed right down, but keep it running fast enough to stop the windows misting up, and only press the "auto" button on the ECC once the temperature gauge starts to move.
6 mile journey to work with the ECC on auto. Temperature gauge still near on cold and so is the inside of the car when I arrive in the works car park.
Same journey with the fan on No.1. Temperature gauge moves to the first notch within 3 miles of journey. Press the "auto" button and temperature gauge is up to the 90 deg C mark, and the inside of the car is as warm as toast when I pull into the car park.
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4th February 2021, 12:40
#4
Regular Member
Originally Posted by
NielsJ
Stuck open thermostat?
Thanks Niels, so the car thinks it's warm when it's not? How would I check this please?
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4th February 2021, 15:53
#5
Regular Member
Originally Posted by
IanR1969
Thanks Niels, so the car thinks it's warm when it's not? How would I check this please?
If the gauge only moves when you're moving slow or at idle, and then drops to 0 again when moving fast, it's a pretty solid clue.
That's what mine did when I got it. The user before me always drove in the city, so she never noticed.
I think there's only one way to check the thermostat: Remove it and have a look.
There's a similar thread here: https://www.vectra-c.com/forum/showt...on-idle-it-fe/
Perhaps theres a problem with one of the temp gauges that regulate the ECC. I believe a readout with opcom could reveal the culprit (if any).
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14th February 2021, 10:45
#6
Regular Member
Originally Posted by
NielsJ
If the gauge only moves when you're moving slow or at idle, and then drops to 0 again when moving fast, it's a pretty solid clue.
That's what mine did when I got it. The user before me always drove in the city, so she never noticed.
I think there's only one way to check the thermostat: Remove it and have a look.
There's a similar thread here:
https://www.vectra-c.com/forum/showt...on-idle-it-fe/
Perhaps theres a problem with one of the temp gauges that regulate the ECC. I believe a readout with opcom could reveal the culprit (if any).
Thanks Niels - any idea how the thermostat is removed? I took the Signum for a long drive on the motorway yesterday and indeed it showed the behavior you mentioned: temp gauge only moves above 70 when stopped. This said, the air temp was around zero C, so I guess the cooling was working very effectively. But, the car cabin was not getting warm and the setting was on "Hi", with the blower blowing nicely, so there's clearly some issue... Any advice appreciated ;-)
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14th February 2021, 12:12
#7
it's going to be hard to answer that since you don't have any info about your car or engine in your user profile... something that is needed to tell you how to do it...
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Post Thanks / Like - 0 Thanks, 1 Likes
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15th February 2021, 09:38
#8
Regular Member
As Big Dave suggest, try putting the blower at 1 and the temp at something reasonable (20-22°C). If you go full temp and full blow, you'll drain the system from heat before it's generated (especially if the 'stat is stuck open).
I've tried Big Dave's procedure the last few times I've driven my car, and it seems like it's working quite well, even if I also have had the aux heater running for half an hour.
Regarding changing the thermostat have a look here:
https://www.vectra-c.com/forum/showt...-V6-Thermostat
https://www.vectra-c.com/forum/showt...ng-Temperature
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20th February 2021, 15:47
#9
Regular Member
Many thanks everyone, I guess I'm a bit surprised that the only source of heat is the engine, and no electrical assist when you need it most: when the car is frozen and misty... kind of like the car has to get going first, like a steam engine ... and I'll add some info to the profile, thanks for the prompt northpole ;-)
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