Focus heater not working

jlm29

I drive a 2008 diesel ford focus. For the last couple of weeks, there's something wrong with the heater. I turned it on one frosty morning, and let the engine run with the heaters on, and when I went back out a few min later, the windscreen was still covered in frost. Only cold air was blowing out of the heater. When I'd been driving continuously for about 10 min, the air warmed up, but when I was sitting in traffic a while later, on came the cold air again.
I noticed this evening, that the cold air is coming a bit more frequently, and the hot air is getting scarcer! Needless to say, at this time of year, I could do with a bit more warmth!
I brought the car to a ford dealer last week, and they couldn't find anything wrong with it. They told me that they took it for a spin, and the heater worked fine. Gave me some nonsense story about how the engine of a diesel car takes a while to heat up. They couldn't seem to grasp that this wasn't an issue last year, so something had obviously changed.
I suppose I'm wondering if I should bring it back and stamp my feet, should I bring it to a mechanic who knows a bit more about heaters (if such a person exists), or should I just buy a big can of deicer and a hat and scarf?

biko

Hmm, the mechs should have tested this but is the coolant up to level?
If so try another mechanic.

the merchant

The cable on the back of the heater control knob on these has a tendency to kink and pop off.

To check it and refit it you'll need to remove the stereo. Make sure you have your radio code!!

megafan

If coolant level ok Could be thermostat... Do you do long journeys? Diesel engines take a long time to warm up & if thermostat stuck open heater might never work on a cold morning... check if radiator gets warm quickly on start up....

jlm29

It seems as though they didn't check anything- just said that the heater came on when they test drove, so basically I must be imagining it (not quite a quote, but I'm sure that's what he was thinking). I've to go back for something else later, I'll just ask them to have another look. Gggrrt.
Thsnks guys

biko

I'd go somewhere else. If they didn't spot the problem the first time they might not even bother a second time.

TheFarrier

I'm having a similar problem with a 07 transit connect, except my heater won't blow hot at all.

jlm29

I asked someone different about it this eve, and he said it sounded like the thermostat. He's going to take it overnight and drive it himself, so hopefully he'll sort it

TheFarrier

jlm29 wrote: »

I asked someone different about it this eve, and he said it sounded like the thermostat. He's going to take it overnight and drive it himself, so hopefully he'll sort it

If/when you get this issue sorted would you mind posting here, I wouldn't mind hearing the explanation behind this one

Thanks

dougie-lampkin

TheFarrier wrote: »

I'm having a similar problem with a 07 transit connect, except my heater won't blow hot at all.

Check both heater hoses where they go through the bulkhead, when the engine is up to temperature. If they're both hot, then there's a problem in the heater box. If one is hot and one's cold, it needs bleeding or there's a blockage. And if both are cold, then you need to look at the cooling system, i.e., coolant level, thermostat, faulty water pump, head gasket, etc.

The mk1 Focus (which the transit connect is based off I believe) had problems with the flaps in the heater box rusting and falling off, meaning the knob on the dash isn't actually doing anything. There's also issues with cables falling or breaking off on the actuator on the outside of the box, you should be able to see these by looking into the centre of the bulkhead from the driver's footwell.

jlm29

Thanks for the advice. If I was in any way car literate I'd give that stuff a bash, but alas, I am not! I'm going to bring it back to the garage as soon as I can. Unfortunately, yesterday's job cost a bomb, so I'll have to wait a couple of weeks... De-icer it is! I'll post back when I do get sorted tho!

martinr5232

Is that a 1.8 by any chance if it is i would have s good look at the water pump ive had a few that the impeller breaks off and causes the problems your talking about.

dr.fuzzenstein

My own CMax (1.8 TDCI) would take ages to warm up (i.e. Gort to Limerick and the needle barely moved off cold) and the heaters would never go past lukewarm.
If it blows barely warm air and the temp gauge doesn't really want to move, your thermostat is gone.