17 replies to this topic

[Tim_B]

Hi Guys Have a stiff heat knob so won't turn around to hot. Tried wd40 on the lever on top of the heater box as suggested on here, but it's not really freed up, just seems completely stuck to go to hot. So is this a heaterbox out jobby? or is there anything else I could do? There is a little nut on top but think that just to keep the lever in place. Run out of time for today, so given up for now. Second question is to get the heaterbox out - do you need to take off master cylinder etc, or will it slide out to the slide where the battery is such that just removing battery and washer bottle enough. I realise evevn if I get the heater knob to hot, it may not be suffficient At least I did the sock mod today, so not complete waste of time Tim

[CocoPops]

Twist knob and get someone to move the lever. Do both things at SAME time not separately.

[Bargi]

Servo stays in. Battery out.

[VXTyrant]

If you haven't done it yourself it is highly likely a previous owner jammed it on hot to try and get some heat during the colder months. I did this with mine so the knob no longer moves from hot. If I wanted to make it possible to move you just have to get a pair of pliers on the lever and pull it back the other way. The heating system in general is so poor on our little placka mobiles!

[Tim_B]

Twist knob and get someone to move the lever.

Do both things at SAME time not separately.

Ok I'll try again with some help. Not sure it'll make tons of difference though.

Just to add I mean stuck so it won't go to hot, its in the middle

[christhegasman]

As above either the cable or the flap in the heater box has seized try to free it off (loads of oil or wd40) sometimes it's just rubbish as the air is not filtered so keep working it for a while while someone sits inside turning from cold to hot If all else fails disconnect the cable from the box and shove it over by hand you can always move it back when the weather gets warm again Not really likely to get overheated in the cabin with our heaters 😀

[Zuber]

Just to confirm, are you saying the control knob in the cabin does not turn all the way round to hot when you turn it ? On mine, the line on the dial doesn't correspond to the blue/red markings either. Does it have a good range of travel is probably a better gauge (how much can you turn it ?). On mine, the arm on the heaterbox goes upto about 8 position on the clock (as viewed from the front) if pushed by hand, but only about 7 from the cabin.

Edited by Zuber, 13 October 2012 - 04:45 PM.

[fezzasus]

As Zuber says, best thing to do is turn the knob by hand under the bonnet - you can trace back the black cable (think bike style brake cable) to the lever, pushing it as far as you can to the drivers side will give you hot.

A longer (but more expensive solution) is here: Vx220 V.2 Heater

(not that i'm biased of course)

[Tim_B]

Thanks for the help guys. Just to confirm, the heater knob only turns from about 10 o'clock to 1 o'clock - so can't get any heat. i tried wd40 on the lever but its not really helped but I'll try again with someone moving the knob at the same time. Maybe failing that I should just force it over to hot as suggested - at the moment the most it goes is stragiht ahead, but presumably hot is at an angle to the left 7 or 8 oclock as above

[fezzasus]

if you're not feeling any change in temperature there's a good chance the cable mount has slipped under the dash - it's just a screw that sandwiches the cable between two metal plates.

[techieboy]

A previous owner will have tried to turn the heater knob on the dashboard too far and the mechanism inside the dash will have bent, preventing it moving properly through it's full arc of adjustment. You'll need to remove the dash cover and straighten out the lever arm and make sure the interior end of the Bowden cable is properly clamped to properly fix it.

In the short term, just move the lever to "hot" at the heater box end and leave it there. If it won't move far enough, disconnect the cable from the top of the heater box and that should allow you to move it as far as it will go.

ETA: Position of the flap control on the heater box is as follows:

Full Cold/Ambient



Full Hot (well maximum warm)

Edited by techieboy, 13 October 2012 - 09:41 PM.

[Tim_B]

Cheers for the pics

[Wolfstone]

And try Plus Gas instead of WD40. Much better stuff at penetrating seized bolts, nuts etc.

[Tim_B]

Just had another stab at fixing this but can't figure out how to disconnect the wire without removing the whole box or just cutting it. There's no room to get in underneath it. Maybe next weekend I'll take the whole box out and get it sorted once and for all

[christhegasman]

Just had another stab at fixing this but can't figure out how to disconnect the wire without removing the whole box or just cutting it. There's no room to get in underneath it. Maybe next weekend I'll take the whole box out and get it sorted once and for all

jusj pop off the clamp that hold the cable outer case that should give a bit more movement

[Hark]

Hi Guys
Have a stiff ... knob

I can't be the only one who smirked at this.

[christhegasman]

Hi Guys
Have a stiff ... knob

I can't be the only one who smirked at this.

was going to suggest working it in and out with plenty of lubricant but thought better of it 😀

[paul_mck]

A previous owner will have tried to turn the heater knob on the dashboard too far and the mechanism inside the dash will have bent, preventing it moving properly through it's full arc of adjustment. You'll need to remove the dash cover and straighten out the lever arm and make sure the interior end of the Bowden cable is properly clamped to properly fix it.

In the short term, just move the lever to "hot" at the heater box end and leave it there. If it won't move far enough, disconnect the cable from the top of the heater box and that should allow you to move it as far as it will go.

ETA: Position of the flap control on the heater box is as follows:

Full Cold/Ambient



Full Hot (well maximum warm)

 

Full blast from the past but my Vx now has heat again! flipped the lever manually. Given the lukewarm air I get, and the fact that the fan is working perfectly Im happy to leave the lever where it is permanently.

 

cheers forum!