13 replies to this topic

[Crepemiester25]

kind and knowledgeable people 

 

My heater works, as in air blows out of it, its cold when it should be warm and every now and then it blows out hot air, the hot and cold lever is out for heat so its not me being an idiot. , thats problem number one. The second problem is when I try to direct the air to the screen it doesnt come out of the vent by the windscreen, is there something obvious or could it be something else?

 

Have people modified heaters? used ones from other cars?

 

Thankyou kindly

[mbolt998]

If you mean the Bowden cable on the dash (that looks like the choke cable) that should be in for hot. Most people just leave it in all the time. As for directing air on the screen I think it's just a cardboard flap that scooches over. I don't think it ever worked terribly well :)

[Crepemiester25]

As for  the directing it onto the screen, well thats a problem for another day.

 

I have been having this bowden cable out.lol. No wonder I think its broken.lol.

 

thankyou for your reply :)

[MikeRotherham]

Just to complicate things:

 

On early cars it was PUSH for heat on later cars it was PULL for heat.

 

There should be a discernable difference when moving the control from CAR to SCREEN.

 

When it's working correctly the heater is good.

 

If it's not had any attention for awhile it would be a good idea to remove the heater and check the flap is moving correctly and that all the seals are in a good condition not rotting.

 

While your at it remove the heater matrix and flush it through. The matrix can get gunged up inside and out. The foam seals tend to turn to dust over time so the air leaks around the matrix and not through it.

[Crepemiester25]

that sounds like sound advice :) 

 

I have a rover mini sprite 1993 so that would be out for heat right? Well we had the heater out when we were doing the car up but honestly I dont think we have done those things so i would imagine that would do the trick. It probably hadnt been driven in 10-15 years.

 

is it complicated work to do the things you said?

[MikeRotherham]

If yours is a 93 then it will be pull for heat.

 

It's fairly easy to work on the heater.

 

You should have the more modern plastic bodied heater which is easier to work on.

 

Do you have acces to a workshop manual?

 

Removal of the heater is fairly easy.

 

When I did mine I decided to replace the matrix as there was slight leak.

 

I also replaced the removable hose stubs with stainless steel ones as the original ones were corroded.

 

I've attached a section of the 92 to 96 Workshop manual.

 

Once you've got the heater out and extracted the matrix,

 

If the exterior of the matrix is blocked air won't be able to pass through it.

 

You can have a good inside the case and examine the flap.

 

Give it all good clean before reassembling it all.

 

Check the valve under the bonnet, that the heater cable is attached to, to make sure that is working correctly.

 

Gives you a good sense of satisfaction when it works as it should.

Attached Files

•  Mini Heating and Ventilation.pdf   831.46K   13 downloads

Edited by MikeRotherham, 14 December 2024 - 12:59 PM.

[Designer]

Hi,

 

The other thing to check is that the flow and return hoses are clear. They haven't collapsed internally or become clogged with anything.

 

Paddy

[Crepemiester25]

I do have the blue haynes workshop manual but thanks for sending that anyway.

 

I dont know exactly what heater i have as I dont know what an older car would have, there isnt many knobs or buttons on it.lol.

 

I havnt done the other things you said to do so they will be a good start 

[stuart bowes]

I stripped and rebuilt mine recently, it wasn't very complicated, just a good clean out, replace the foamy bits as already said, make sure the side panels have a bit of sealant on them to stop air escaping out of the seams

 

getting the front panel panel back on is a little fiddly with the connector to the arm that operates the flap (will be obvious once you start taking it apart, very simple mechanism)

 

https://www.theminif...-998/?p=3769621

[mini-mad-mark]

Bit of duct tape round the joins of the pipe to the screen vents and where they exit the heater (get some black tape!) and also along the sides of the vents themselves helps seal them up as air just blows out of the gaps on the "Screen" setting but you'll have a few hours work to get the vents themselves out to tape up as you'll need to remove the top dash rail.

 

But good idea to do all the other things mentioned above to optimise the air actually going to the screen pipes in the first place

[bpirie1000]

I have seen someone who fitted 2 fans from a computer PC adding them into the screen vent tubes and wired into the main fan circuit. This giving more than a cough of power on the blowing factor.

Heatwave the valves for the split are never really that good and never will be rubber plunger on a leaver really... that is all.

Hope this helps and is food for thought on what you could do.,

[JXC Mini GT]

I fitted a later 2 speed heater to my Mini which definitley helps keeping the windscreen clear.

[maccers]

I had the need to remove the choke and heater lever (replaced with switches that hold the panel on) so I just connected the heater into the coolant system full time, so it flows constantly. Its a custom dual injection running in a supercharger, so the extra cooling is quite handy sometimes.

 

It does not blow out that much hot air and its got an "off" position on the actual heater box. Works well for me. 

[coopertaz]

If you mean the Bowden cable on the dash (that looks like the choke cable) that should be in for hot. Most people just leave it in all the time. As for directing air on the screen I think it's just a cardboard flap that scooches over. I don't think it ever worked terribly well :)

not this way round for later cars with inline valve instead of one on head. found this out and looked like a dick when i took my 95 spi back to dealers for heater not blowing warm. some lessons i do remember lol