Heating won't work...neither will the rear demisters

[emmtee83]

Hi guys, hoping I can get some help here. I have a '84 VH SLE (6 model)

The heater in my car won't work, but I also notice when my car is running, my temp is quite low. regular cars run at about half, but mine barely gets over the first notch in the gauge.

If I change my thermostat, will my heater then work?

Also, the stalks in my heater/fan controls won't go all the way up....how hard would it be to change to the VK controls?

Also, any ideas on how to get my rear demister to work fully? I notice when I switch it on, it heats up only the bottom wire in my rear windscreen. so they are working, but not heating them all....any ideas? It's not necessary for the connectors to physically be touching the orange part of the windscreen, is it?

Any help on either or all these issues would be great.

Thanks in advance!

[ari666]

i dont know about VH, but VK has a vacuum operated heater switch. if the switch assembly isnt moving to the right spot, it doesnt suck the switch on and the fan wont start. playing around with the vent position switch will turn mine on and it will run fine until i go over a few bumps, then it will switch off and i will have to play around with it again. check that all your vac hoses are connected and one hasnt fallen off. if there is one off it will also cause a vacuum leak and will make the car harder to tune. i think there are 8 hoses from memory. you will have to take off your radio cover panel, then the top of the heater switch console is a single phillips head screw, undo that then pull the top backwards and down. yes, its a bitch. but worth it if that is whats wrong.

also, my temp never goes over 1/4. when it does i worry.

finally, the rear demister will have a split in the copper somewhere. you can buy a conductive pen from burson or jaycar and you just draw a small line between the breakages which will fix it. if the entire demister is corroded and broken then i dont know of any quick fixes. just try and reconnect all the bits that are naffed, but remember that the sections you use with the pen wont demist as they are the wrong resistance. might be looking at a replacement rear window if that doesnt work.

[Vh driver]

Hay mate i have just had this same issue on my vh and the way i fixed it was to clear out the heater best way to do this is disconect the heater hoses and attach youy garden hose to it and open her up you will be amazed at the amount of crap that comes out myne had pure mud come out lol bit of a shock yes, give that a crack if it still doesnt work then try his idea^^, from memory ours arnt vacumed but have a plug on the back that tends to fall of.

PS: by the way according to the hand book our cars heater doesnt come out of the face vents only the floor and and window vents but man does it work well lol was swetting on the way to work today and with that the heater has a dimister built in so the window doesnt fog up that is bloody gr8 dont need the air con on when its cold witch sucked big time

PSS: oh and my cars sits just abouve cold unless its a hot day then it rises to half way but will drop down when driving so you dont have an issue there either

Hope thats helps mate have a good one
Matthew

[jakbob]

I think Vh Driver is right, in my Vc the heat doesn't come out of the main vents, just the demister vents and footwell vents. Thats fine though, the foot wells are the best place for hot air, seeing as how it rises and all. I'm not really sure about the vacuum setup though.

[emmtee83]

Thanks for the ideas guys.

I'll have to get a VH handbook from somewhere and give it a go....

[ari666]

mate, if the VH doesnt have that stupid vacuum switch i am gonna go get one and see if i can convert mine over. vacuum switch is the dumbest idea EVER.

[budgieVH]

i have problems with my demister was well.. i have to swithes for it on my VH and yeah hot air goes down to the feet as well and cold air at top.. i have air con as well but not sure if it works...

why do i have 2 window demister switches?

[ari666]

one for the back and one for the front?

[budgieVH]

one for the back and one for the front?

well thats what i thought. but when i turn them both on i get no air coming threw the vents for the front window unless i move one of the controls near the heater ect.. and when i press one of them i hear a realay ticking on above the dash some where...

i just turn both of them on anyway.. rear window doesnt demist though... have to look into that

[Vh driver]

well thats what i thought. but when i turn them both on i get no air coming threw the vents for the front window unless i move one of the controls near the heater ect.. and when i press one of them i hear a realay ticking on above the dash some where...

i just turn both of them on anyway.. rear window doesnt demist though... have to look into that

See thats weird mate i only have one dimmister switch in myne as the heater doesnt need it has its on built in thats why hwen its cold and your window starts foggin up you turn the heater on and move the leaver to window and it defogs its gr8 lol, also if you really wont to see if you air con is working get all of your mates chuck them in your car on a cold night get them to breath a lot until your windows are all foggy and the start you car crank the air con on ans watch all of the fog just disaper lol

[budgieVH]

See thats weird mate i only have one dimmister switch in myne as the heater doesnt need it has its on built in thats why hwen its cold and your window starts foggin up you turn the heater on and move the leaver to window and it defogs its gr8 lol, also if you really wont to see if you air con is working get all of your mates chuck them in your car on a cold night get them to breath a lot until your windows are all foggy and the start you car crank the air con on ans watch all of the fog just disaper lol

air con dont even turn on now haha.. so many problems with car since i replaced thermostat gasket annoying much...

[Vh driver]

air con dont even turn on now haha.. so many problems with car since i replaced thermostat gasket annoying much...

What state you live in mate i could probly pop in and give ya a hand sorting out some of the issues

[budgieVH]

What state you live in mate i could probly pop in and give ya a hand sorting out some of the issues

i think the air con dont work because i removed the fuse to check it and maybe when i put it back it has not connected properly and besides the air con isnt cold i think it needs to be re gased or something.. i live in victoria how about your self?

[graemevb]

Hi guys, hoping I can get some help here. I have a '84 VH SLE (6 model)

The heater in my car won't work, but I also notice when my car is running, my temp is quite low. regular cars run at about half, but mine barely gets over the first notch in the gauge.

If I change my thermostat, will my heater then work?

Also, the stalks in my heater/fan controls won't go all the way up....how hard would it be to change to the VK controls?

Also, any ideas on how to get my rear demister to work fully? I notice when I switch it on, it heats up only the bottom wire in my rear windscreen. so they are working, but not heating them all....any ideas? It's not necessary for the connectors to physically be touching the orange part of the windscreen, is it?

Any help on either or all these issues would be great.

Thanks in advance!

Feel the temp of the top heater hose, if it is mild to the touch, that's why the heater will be cold. Your car running on low on the temp scale is pointing to the cause as being the thermostat, not working, first step would be to fix that first and that may be you problem, if not, then go from there. You wont be able to interpret any other problems until you fix that, it could be very clagged heater core.
You have a/c? from memory only the a/c versions have the he vac operated heater tap. It is is unlikely to be your problem , they only require vac to turn them off, no vac and the tap will be open, though they can get stuck in either position.


From what you report, the demister has breaks in the element wires, carefull inspection should find these visually. If not you can get a voltmeter and push the probe heavily into the element and test the voltage between the element and ground. The elements that are not working will either measure 12 V or 0V, find the position where the voltage changes from one to the other and you have your break. The working elements will show a steady decrease in voltage as you go from right to left across the window.
You can buy a fluid that you paste on, its like nail polish and it will restore the gap.

[Vh driver]

i think the air con dont work because i removed the fuse to check it and maybe when i put it back it has not connected properly and besides the air con isnt cold i think it needs to be re gased or something.. i live in victoria how about your self?

Bugger i in adelaide lol that sucks hard, um have you got a repair manual

[budgieVH]

Bugger i in adelaide lol that sucks hard, um have you got a repair manual

yes i do have one

[emmtee83]

hey guys, just while we're on the subject, what is the switch that has a whole white circle on it? what does it do?

also, my VH has been retro fitted, but doesn't seem to have an air con switch....any idea where else this would be?

thanks

[Vh driver]

hey guys, just while we're on the subject, what is the switch that has a whole white circle on it? what does it do?

also, my VH has been retro fitted, but doesn't seem to have an air con switch....any idea where else this would be?

thanks

No idea mate i dont have that wsitch either a um what happends whe you flick it
and with your air con yuo may want to lookinto that becuse it could be on all the tyme and that would chew juice and engine power lol also the switch is normaly one that has normal ritten on it and rec to use the air con you switch it to normal to set it to recycle and use the aircon sparingly you switch it to that if you dont wont it used at all just have the heater or out side ait you switch it to the middle thats what myne does

[holdenmanv6vrv6]

dont take a rocket scientist look at the top of your switches on my old vb one was red one was blue and the other had a fan now everybody enjoy your cooling and heating and dont forget to backwash heater box