27 replies to this topic

[simsy]

I want to remove my heater box. Do I have to remove my battery first? Any other tips please...

[Roberty]

I want to remove my heater box.

Do I have to remove my battery first?

Any other tips please...

Oh yes!

[simsy]

I will do than now and then come back for more....

[SteveA]

Get ready for a world of hurt

[simsy]

Battery is out. What next. No hurt YET.... I am bypassing the cooling water and undoing the two M6 bolts on the top of the heater.. Then what?

[Roberty]

Once the Battery is out you can see the heater box, under the blue hose in the picture above.

Disconnect all the hoses and the control cable and the two (I think it's two) bolts that hold it in place and then slide the entire box over into the space the battery has left.

Once it's in this space it can be lifted out, although it is a right PITA as it only just fits through the space.

[simsy]

It's out .. (heater box) No room ... No cuts, just hyperventilation at the moment so having a sit down.. Now for some mods???

[simsy]

Does not seem anything wrong with the heater box Matrix is clear air and water side. Level was in hot position. Fan was running. Air hose was not leaking. But heater was rubbish. What else should I do to it before I refit? BTW my battery had a molded in handle on it....

Edited by simsy, 01 February 2010 - 01:45 PM.

[Roberty]

You need to check these (pic below) they are the resistors that give you heater speeds one and two. They are on the inside of the box and are accessed by removing the two screws either side of the connector on the top of the box.

If broken they are not easily fixed. I just resoldered them together but had to use high temp solder and an iron at 500deg C to get them to join.



The main preoblem with the heater box is the p*ss poor way in which it is sealed. The picture below is of my Heater box after I sealed it with RTV Silicone sealant (In Grey).



These were the only mods I made to mine, car already had the Silicone hose mod seen in the previous picture I posted. The heater is now really good, heats up quickly and get's proper hot.

I took mine apart completely, drilling out all the rivots to seal it properly but I'm sure you can just go round the gap in the two halves with some sealant and it should do the job!

[SteveA]

Get an old tooth brush on the heater matrix and one of those air duster cans to blow the crap out.

[turbobob]

First time I've seen a picture of the blower control resistors They're sh1t!!! I think if I ever get around to replacing them, I'll shall be putting something better in. Re crap heater and everything seemingly good, well they are renowned for being crap. Maybe your thermostat is on its way out, this could give you crap heat.

[Roberty]

First time I've seen a picture of the blower control resistors They're sh1t!!! I think if I ever get around to replacing them, I'll shall be putting something better in.

Re crap heater and everything seemingly good, well they are renowned for being crap. Maybe your thermostat is on its way out, this could give you crap heat.

Good luck with that!

I thought the same but they are a bastard awkward size. Can't remember what that size is now! but as we know "Search is your friend!"

Maplins couldn't help, I found something in RS but they were huge and wouldn't fit in the heater box, well they would but would seriouly restrict the flow.

Anything small enough is an horrendous price!

Wire coils are the cheapest option, as Lotus had clearly already sussed out so I just fixed what I had.

[TankRizzo]

I did mine a couple of weeks ago, it's such a pain in the arse and the second time I had to remove it (the first time there was a snail stuck in the fan making an awful rattling). Getting it out is the hardest part. I sealed all mine up, cleaned out all the matrix (soft brush, compressed air and stick a hose through the pipework to get the crud out) and riveted it back together. Oh yeah, if you rivet then check the movement of the flap very carefully after you do it. I put a rivet in too close to the flap and it obstructed the movement a little...had to get around it by sticking a washer onto the flap rod to lift it slightly My resistor wire had broken as well. Couldn't get replacement wire for anything other than silly money, I think it was the voltage which was quite high(?) and Maplins had none. So I twisted it together securely and it's fine except for speed 1 on the fan being almost the same as speed 2 now. If it annoys me enough I'll take the resistors out again. A tip if the wire is broken - remove the screws which hold the resistor pack in place and replace them with stainless. Mine were rusted solid and I had to drill them out and replace with stainless self-tappers, but it will make removal next time easier.

[turbobob]

You can get TO220 packages that would easily fit in there. If anything they would be too small and would require link wire to fit. They aren't cheap £2-5 each. But better than that bloody coil. ETA probably need a heatsink to go on to the package, but TO220 heatsinks are a standard package size and readily available.

Edited by turbobob, 01 February 2010 - 03:09 PM.

[SteveA]

The resistance needs to be really low, I used zirconim wire which did the job nicely.

[slindborg]

I got a pair of fat ass ali resistors from rapid as they had the closest values to what I wanted/needed with the power capacity. Only cost a tenner you will be surprised just how many manufacturers use coiled wires like that

[simsy]

Resistors are fine.... never damaged. Engine temp has always been the same i.e.reads 93 deg ish.... For reference my car (with connector notch upwards) left resistor is 0.8 ohms, right resistor is 1.6 ohms... ish with a good fluke... bottom two connectors are linked at the resistor. So top two connectors have 2.4 ohms ish.... I have completely dis assembles my unit, and rebuilt it... new rivets. (at work boss in China.. lol..)... I have used some sticky foam and lots of RTv and sealed every thing up, so hope fully more air will now have to go passed the matrix. And sealed all the outside... Matrix was very clean, I thought it would be full of flies and dusk. But no.... I think I will leave the assembled unit on flush for a while and then fit it back in. I ran the assembled fan off the car, and the air slows a little when air is going the HOT route.. (theres lots of air) So I hope it will now feel hot when the car is at speed. I am using some domestic flex pipe (kitchen stuff) cable tied to the old brocken ends of the original pipe.., so that is not leeking. But I would like some nice new aluminium or other pipe the right size some time...

Edited by simsy, 01 February 2010 - 04:00 PM.

[turbobob]

Linky to a 1 ohm 50W resistor :

1 ohm 50W

[techieboy]

The SELOC fix for the early S2's that have the same heater box and resistor wire set up is:-



to use a 10W W/W 1R resistor for fan position 2 (Maplin part code H1R) and a higher resistance 10W W/W 2.2R for the slowest, fan position 1 setting (Maplin part code: H2R2). Soldered directly in place of the original coils so that they'd hang into the fan box/housing and allow them to be cooled, just like the originals (as they are wire wound, they do get warm/hot, but they're ceramic, and won't catch fire!).

[turbobob]

The SELOC fix for the early S2's that have the same heater box and resistor wire set up is:-



to use a 10W W/W 1R resistor for fan position 2 (Maplin part code H1R) and a higher resistance 10W W/W 2.2R for the slowest, fan position 1 setting (Maplin part code: H2R2). Soldered directly in place of the original coils so that they'd hang into the fan box/housing and allow them to be cooled, just like the originals (as they are wire wound, they do get warm/hot, but they're ceramic, and won't catch fire!).

10W? I did a search earlier, and got the impression they were 50W (I have to admit I did think that seems a bit high).

I can't see 1ohm 10W and 2 (or 2.2) ohm 10W resistors being that hard to get hold of.