GolfGTIforum.co.uk
Model specific boards => Golf mk4 => Topic started by: D1andonlyantman on 13 November 2013, 03:19
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Hi. Sorry for making yet another thread but you know what it's like when you get a new car and there are a few problems here and there you're unfamiliar with. I did try and tackle it myself first :)
Anyway, my fans only blow out cold air. It gets a tad warner once the engine is warm but is still clearly cold. Defogging before and after work ( I work shifts ) is a right pain in the arse, not to mention it's starting to get pretty chilly outside. I checked fuses 1, 5, 25 and 26 after reading a list of what they do and thought one of them might be the issue but they all look fine. Has anyone got any sparky ideas as to why it won't come out hot? I'm pretty much positive I'm using the controls right. Fans on, press red button loads till it says 'hi'.
All ideas appreciated.
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Does the engine reach normal temp on the gauge? Sounds to me like the thermostat is stuck open.
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Yeah I think so. Gets up into the 90s if I remember rightly. Is the thermostat easy to check/replace?
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to check it remove it and place in hot water and see if it opens, if your removing it you might aswell replace it though and then its done. to remove it, drain the rad and coolant system, theres two bolts to undo on the stat housing remove the pipe and pop the stat out, insert new stat and reverse proceedure, theres a guide in the how too.
First time its a right PITA, but as with everything once youve done it once its a breeze the next time, first time it took me a hour and a half in the middle of the day, second time it took me 20 mins at 10pm at night.
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Ok cool. Where do you guys get all your little bits like this or is it a eurocarparts jobbie?
Thanks.
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Most people go VW. think its around £24 for the Stat, + £10 or so for the coolant.
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Ok cool. I'm getting an oil change done soon so will get it all done at the same time. Cheers for the heads up.
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If the gauge hits 90 then it's unlikely to be the stat, it could be the heater matrix :undecided:
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That's what I was thinking. If the thermostat was stuck open then wouldn't it constantly be trying to cool with the fan going?
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ope if the stat was stuck open the water from the radiator would constantly be running around the engine in turn making the engine hardly ever hit 90 degrees.
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I did think it took a little while to warm up actually but I've only got my old 98 1.6 to compare to which was a sack of sh!t lol
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easy way to test, let it hit 90, go down a motorway, if the enigne temp drops the stat or temp sender is stuck open.
but as said, if the temp is hitting 90 id guess at heater matrix too.
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Replaced my stat on Sunday, its fiddly but manageable. Part & seal were £9 at Eurocarparts + antifreeze
Only reached 90 at long idle before but was v low on normal driving: heater was luke at best. New stat fixed all that, now bang on 90 after 4 miles from cold today. Runs better & uses less fuel I reckon. Changed coolant temp switch as a precaution, 5 minute job and £22.
Steve.
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Would the heater matrix be an expensive fix if it was that?
Just ebayed it and it's only 15 quid if i only need to replace the part that looks like a little radiator. I'll do the motorway temp test on the way home in the morning and go from there. Cheers
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Would the heater matrix be an expensive fix if it was that?
Dashboard out job. The matrix itself wont be too expensive. Are you getting good air coming through the vents. A blocked pollen filter can reduce air flow and wont circulate hot air efficiently. Its mounted under the flap on the scuttle panel below the windscreen ( passenger side).
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Yeah a decent amount i reckon, just pretty cold. Sorry but what's a scuttle panel and is it easy to check the pollen filter?
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Polen filter is located on pas side.
pop bonet, the plastic trim comes back on pass side (think you have to undo 1 or two screws) polen filter in there.
cant see it being pollen filter, if it was wet it would be steaming up in there and cant see it being blocked up that much to stop air flow unless it hasent been replaced for many years...
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Ah ok, fair enough. I just drove a few miles to work. A bit of traffic in town with some stop start and then down an a road for a mile or 2 and when I got to work the temp wasn't even off the bars at the bottom of the scale. Looking like thermostat I guess
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I had the same thing with my mate it's the stat or temp not to sure as I done both now works a dream
Dane
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Right, I just finished work and went for a drive. After a few miles the temp was still right at the bottom so I drove along in 3rd for a while to get the temp up. Once it was up a little bit to the bottom of the actual scale I stuck it in 6th and drove like I would normally for about 15 minutes. When I got to a petrol station the temp was here
(http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w162/d1andonlyantman/null_zps69e5558b.jpg)
When I got back in the car the temp was nearly at 90 which (I guess is operating temp) but once I got going I watched the needle go back to the same place as in the pic. Are we saying that's not normal running temperature and I've got a sticking thermostat? Kind of worrying if I've been thrashing it about for 2 months when it's never really been up to temperature properly :-s
Thanks
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Yeah pretty much a failing thermostat opening way to early.
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Almost certainly thermostat :afro:
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Ok awesome. Well not awesome but you know ;)
thanks once again fellas. You guys are a lot of help :smiley:
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Would you guys go OEM on the thermostat and coolant or should eurocarparts ones be ok? There were 2 different ones, one for 17 quid and one for 10 quid and he actually said he's heard good things about the 10 quid one. I'll go oem if the aftermarket ones are generally crap though
Thanks.
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Would you guys go OEM on the thermostat and coolant or should eurocarparts ones be ok? There were 2 different ones, one for 17 quid and one for 10 quid and he actually said he's heard good things about the 10 quid one. I'll go oem if the aftermarket ones are generally crap though
Thanks.
eurocarparts bits are more hassle than they are worth pay a couple of quid extra an use tps or the dealers :smiley:
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Well the one from vw is 27 so not exactly a couple of quid but I'm not looking to cheap out. Sorry, TPS? One day I'll be a helpful member of this forum I swear! ;)
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Well the one from vw is 27 so not exactly a couple of quid but I'm not looking to cheap out. Sorry, TPS? One day I'll be a helpful member of this forum I swear! ;)
its defo worth the extra an sorry tps = http://www.thetradepartsspecialists.co.uk/
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Stat, o-ring and coolant for 36 delivered off TPS. Thanks
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I fitted an ecp stat last year and it failed in less than 2 weeks. I complained to Ecp and got 5l of free coolant a refund. The coolant will go in the other halfs fiat 500, it's not going anywhere near the golf.
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Dom what brand stat was it? Ive used the Circoli stats from Euro and not had any issue?
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Dom what brand stat was it? Ive used the Circoli stats from Euro and not had any issue?
It was a circoli one
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I just had my friend check a fault on the dash I thought was for my butchered exhaust but it's actually fault 17704 "error in mapped cooling system (check temperature sensor and thermostat)". Seeing as im doing the thermostat I thought id do the coolant temp sensor as well while I'm in there. Does anyone know which colour I want? On eBay I've seen green, blue and grey??
Thanks.
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I just had my friend check a fault on the dash I thought was for my butchered exhaust but it's actually fault 17704 "error in mapped cooling system (check temperature sensor and thermostat)". Seeing as im doing the thermostat I thought id do the coolant temp sensor as well while I'm in there. Does anyone know which colour I want? On eBay I've seen green, blue and grey??
Thanks.
Yeah, get the thermostat and coolant sender done at the same time. Not alot on money and save you the hassle.
I think its the green one that the new one when I did mines. I had the old black one.
Someone may want to clairify on the colours.
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I phoned TPS and he said he thinks the green is the sensor and the grey is the switch but sounded pretty far from sure so it would be nice to know before I buy
Thanks.
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I phoned TPS and he said he thinks the green is the sensor and the grey is the switch but sounded pretty far from sure so it would be nice to know before I buy
Thanks.
green is the 1 you want :wink: mind change it when the car is cold ie left overnight
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Yeah I read that. I'll do them both at the same time some point this week. Cheers for the help.
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I phoned TPS and he said he thinks the green is the sensor and the grey is the switch but sounded pretty far from sure so it would be nice to know before I buy
Thanks.
green is the 1 you want :wink: mind change it when the car is cold ie left overnight
coolant in the face isn't nice lol
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I phoned TPS and he said he thinks the green is the sensor and the grey is the switch but sounded pretty far from sure so it would be nice to know before I buy
Thanks.
green is the 1 you want :wink: mind change it when the car is cold ie left overnight
coolant in the face isn't nice lol
cant imagine it would be :laugh:
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me and Dom have both done the same lol
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I phoned TPS and he said he thinks the green is the sensor and the grey is the switch but sounded pretty far from sure so it would be nice to know before I buy
Thanks.
green is the 1 you want :wink: mind change it when the car is cold ie left overnight
coolant in the face isn't nice lol
I got a mouthfull last time I changed my stat...forgot to take cap off first to relieve pressure :grin:
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me and Dom have both done the same lol
:grin: :grin:
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me and Dom have both done the same lol
:grin: :grin:
:shocked: :shocked: thought you 2 would have known better :whistle:
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Earned myself some man points today and changed the thermostat and coolant temperature sensor in the morrisons car park behind my house where I park. It took me just under 4 hours but that's coz it got dark halfway through but I weren't gonna stop once id started.... My back hurts.... Anyway, My car now gets up to 90 and stays there now (woo!) but the bloody heater still only blows out lukewarm air!? A friend said it could possibly be the water pump but that was replaced last year as far as I know so is it more than likely the heater matrix? I should probably mention that when I filled up the expansion tank once I was done it only took 1.5L and didn't want any more even after I'd had it running for about 10 minutes. It was only when I started to drive it suddenly started saying STOP and then I had a look and the expansion was empty again. Sorry for the essay... Can't believe it still doesn't bloody work!
Thanks.
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Having to top the coolant up again is normal.
4 hours is crazy! I did it in under an hour including draining the coolant and refilling at the end.
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There was a bit of back and forthing to the house and I also had to go buy a new bolt for the thermostat housing when I dropped one and couldn't find it. Of course I found it again later once I had already been to the shop lol putting it back together was a lot quicker than taking it apart. Another thing I noticed while out driving is if I have it blowing gently it feels warner than if it's on high it that means anything? Is there an easy way to test the waterpump? Leave the car idling and if it doesn't overheat then it must be working or something like that?
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There was a bit of back and forthing to the house and I also had to go buy a new bolt for the thermostat housing when I dropped one and couldn't find it. Of course I found it again later once I had already been to the shop lol putting it back together was a lot quicker than taking it apart. Another thing I noticed while out driving is if I have it blowing gently it feels warner than if it's on high it that means anything? Is there an easy way to test the waterpump? Leave the car idling and if it doesn't overheat then it must be working or something like that?
if your car does not overheat while driving chances are your pump is working :wink:
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Well there is a sticker in the engine bay tht says the can belt was done last yet but doesnt mention the pump. It was a friend that put the idea in my head but it did make me wonder why the expansion tank took so long to empty if the pump was working. I thought it would have sucked it into the system straight away or does the pump only kick in once the engine gets good and hot?
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Well there is a sticker in the engine bay tht says the can belt was done last yet but doesnt mention the pump. It was a friend that put the idea in my head but it did make me wonder why the expansion tank took so long to empty if the pump was working. I thought it would have sucked it into the system straight away or does the pump only kick in once the engine gets good and hot?
the tank went empty when the thermostat opened thats how you had to refill dont worry it usually happens :wink:
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Ah, should have known that. Just trying to get my head around how it works so I can make my own educated guess at what I think the problem is, but seeing as I just had the thermostat out I should have known that :) are there no more tell tale signs to look out for to tell me if it's a dodgy pump or the matrix? Is it hard to replace the matrix? Despite it taking me ages to do the stat, I'm am quite hands on and don't mind getting stuck in as long as it's not one of them things where you undo a few bolts and suddenly springs and cogs are shooting everywhere :)
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as said cant see it being your waterpump if your car does not overheat :smiley:
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Well I just had a quick google of how to replace the matrix and am massively disheartened..... "Not a big job, I had it done in 6 hours" is not what I wanted to hear. Judging on today's performance I'd have it done in a week ;)
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Well I just had a quick google of how to replace the matrix and am massively disheartened..... "Not a big job, I had it done in 6 hours" is not what I wanted to hear. Judging on today's performance I'd have it done in a week ;)
sell it :laugh:
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Haha I'd rather freeze :cool: but it is a bit annoying... I've got a couple of mechanic friends so I'll see how much they want to replace it I guess. It's a bit out of my league I think.....
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Haha I'd rather freeze :cool: but it is a bit annoying... I've got a couple of mechanic friends so I'll see how much they want to replace it I guess. It's a bit out of my league I think.....
How much coolant have you put in the car since draining it?
When the car is a 90 degrees, have a feel of the pipes going into the firewall and see how warm/hot there are.
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I was actually surprised how little coolant I lost when I took off the housing. It's probably taken about 2L. I thought about it and the chances of the thermostat AND matrix being broken are surely pretty slim and seeing as the thermostat was definitely nackered so I'll try and bleed it again later on today. I'll take the cap off and just leave it until it's really cooking and with any luck a sh!teload of air will come out
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I was actually surprised how little coolant I lost when I took off the housing. It's probably taken about 2L. I thought about it and the chances of the thermostat AND matrix being broken are surely pretty slim and seeing as the thermostat was definitely nackered so I'll try and bleed it again later on today. I'll take the cap off and just leave it until it's really cooking and with any luck a sh!teload of air will come out
Did you not drain the coolant before starting the job?
When you topped it back up did you dilute the coolant?
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I was actually surprised how little coolant I lost when I took off the housing. It's probably taken about 2L. I thought about it and the chances of the thermostat AND matrix being broken are surely pretty slim and seeing as the thermostat was definitely nackered so I'll try and bleed it again later on today. I'll take the cap off and just leave it until it's really cooking and with any luck a sh!teload of air will come out
If you only put 2L back in/out, doesn't sound all off it came out and possibly a nasty airlock somewhere in the system.
As you have fitted your new theromstat, I would do a hardcore coolant change :). What I mean by that is, run the car to 90c, switch off and drain whilst the thermo is open. Let the car cool for a good few hours and then fill back up.
Obiously at 90c it will burn your hands off, so use thick gloves and be very carefull. I would expect alot of folks are against what i have stated, but in past expierence, I usually get most of the coolant out of system this way.
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No I didn't drain all the coolant before hand. I thought it would work just as well to just take off the housing tbh. I threw In 1.5L of straight g13, that got sucked up after a while, and then I stuck in some distilled water. What I put in was probably 3 parts coolant, 1 part water.
I'll need to get more coolant because I've only got 1 bottle left but I will do a complete flush soon if it's a good idea
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Ok. Before I left work just now I started her up with the cap off. Sat inside revving making sure the cooling system was working hard. When I saw a bit of steam I got out and had a look and the coolant was near the neck of the expansion with bubbles in it with new ones occasionally popping up. When I got near to the top I turned it off and put on the lid before I lost too much coolant... Then as I was writing this the hose in the pic connected to the bottom of the expansion tank started really chugging and slurping and now the expansion is low on water. In guessing that's because the radiator has filled up now it's cooled down a bit and because I got some air out there's a bit more space?? Fill up again and repeat?
Thanks
(http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w162/d1andonlyantman/016F944C-5442-4A24-9DEA-A5CAF1981D2E.jpg) (http://s176.photobucket.com/user/d1andonlyantman/media/016F944C-5442-4A24-9DEA-A5CAF1981D2E.jpg.html)
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yep thats the air coming out. Personally I would still drain out everything as it sounds like there is old and new coolant and possibly not mixed correctly.
Get the expansion bottle cleaned up and put some fresh new coolant in it. The golf will like it :)
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And after taking the drive home the heater is definitely warmer! I'll do a complete flush this weekend. I'd say my heater troubles are well on the way to being sorted :smiley: cheers for the help (and patience) everyone
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when i did mine to make sure all was new i drained it. filled up with just water, ran for a min or two to get it mixed. drained again. filled with water, ran for a min to get it mixed, then drained a few letres out and put a few letres of coolant in to get the correct concerntration.
if there is any old stuff in there its seriously waterd down becuase the water drained looked like it was streight out of a tap, no dirtyness/ murkyness/ coolant colour etc.
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Yeah I'll give it a good flush this weekend after my mate fits my brembos :) On motorbikes they say to add some white vinegar while flushing to help clear any crap and give everything a good clean. Anyone ever heard of that in cars?
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Yeah I'll give it a good flush this weekend after my mate fits my brembos :) On motorbikes they say to add some white vinegar while flushing to help clear any crap and give everything a good clean. Anyone ever heard of that in cars?
Use mcgee9t2 method above. I have used a coolant system flush agent before and will never use one again (other than a fresh rebuild).