RS2 - Heater not blowing any heat!

[nothctap]

I'm hoping someone can help me.

I went to use the heater on my new RS2 today for the first time as the weather turned bad and it doesn't seem to blow any hot air.

I have no idea where to start looking, could anyone help me in the right direction please. I should be able to fix it myself but I just need to locate the problem.

TIA

[shark_90]

I had this problem on the S2 and a combination of changing the thermostat and bleeding the coolant system + heater matrix solved the problem. There is a plastic screw on one of the two hoses that runs to the heater matrix, look behind the strut brace and you should see it. Hopefully it's just air

[nothctap]

I had this problem on the S2 and a combination of changing the thermostat and bleeding the coolant system + heater matrix solved the problem. There is a plastic screw on one of the two hoses that runs to the heater matrix, look behind the strut brace and you should see it. Hopefully it's just air

I'll have a look and try bleeding the system, if not is the thermostat fairly easy to locate and replace on these? THanks for your input, much appreciated!

[A80Avant]

no unfortunatelly to replace the thermostat on these you have to remove the radiator.However have the car running stationary and watch the engine coolant temp on the dashboard.As soon as it goes around the middle of the total cold engine water and the 90 degree mark go to the car's engine and in front of you you will see the small aux radiator with the 2 hoses upper and lower.
The lower hose goes to a T piece hose just behind it.Start touching the larger hose at which this smaller one enters.This hose comes directly from the thermostat area.If it begins to get hot,around 80-90C it means that your thermostat is working fine.If the hoses is already heated before that temperature,then it means that the thermostat is stuck OPEN,in which case it could mean that as the water is always going through the radiators it cools off before reaching the 90C of the thermostat,thus not getting you any heat in the cabin area.

If it stays cold even after the 90C mark,then it could mean that it is stuck CLOSED but that would also lead to an overheat of the engine,and you would have noticed by now.

[nothctap]

I've been outside and run it up to temp and bled the matrix hose and there didn't seem to be any air in the system and it's still blowing cold. I'll let it cool down again and check for the stuck thermostat. Removing the rad shouldn't be a problem. I'm pretty handy with the tools, it's finding the problems and causes that I need help with lol.

I'll post back my findings after I've done those checks PapVas

Thanks

[nothctap]

Ok, I've tried bleeding the matrix and I've checked bottom hose from the auxillary radiator and it does seem to get hot around 80 - 90 degrees which is normal thus suggesting the thermostat is ok.

Any ideas what I can check next?

[A80Avant]

well if everything is working,then im afraid that the problem could be in the actual a/c heater core.Its a pita job cause the heater core itself is not that expensive,but you have to take the whole dashboard out to replace it...

[nothctap]

well if everything is working,then im afraid that the problem could be in the actual a/c heater core.Its a pita job cause the heater core itself is not that expensive,but you have to take the whole dashboard out to replace it...

Hmm that's not good! Is there a way of telling if it's definately that? Could it be a possibility that it's something to do with the electronic control panel operation???

[A80Avant]

you have a climate control?
if so,why not ask the car whats the problem?...i mean read if there are any fault codes with a vagcom unit.Where are you located?

[nothctap]

you have a climate control?
if so,why not ask the car whats the problem?...i mean read if there are any fault codes with a vagcom unit.Where are you located?

Great idea, I'm in Bournemouth, Dorset and yes I do have climate control.

[A80Avant]

oh i cound be furthest away from you to help!You might find a fault code in there,but usually if everything else is ruled out,that could be it.If there is a fault of any of the flaps not opening in order to release the hear to the vents,it will come up on the diagnostic.Otherwise it must be the heater core.If that is blocked you may also start in the future to get the nearby carpet wet as the heater core may crack eventually.

[nothctap]

oh i cound be furthest away from you to help!You might find a fault code in there,but usually if everything else is ruled out,that could be it.If there is a fault of any of the flaps not opening in order to release the hear to the vents,it will come up on the diagnostic.Otherwise it must be the heater core.If that is blocked you may also start in the future to get the nearby carpet wet as the heater core may crack eventually.

Thanks for your help, I'll get it VAGcom'd and see what they say!