Heater Matrix

Site Subscriber Joined: 29 Jan 2005 Posts: 1108

I know you've all seen the subject of this message and are like "oohh godd, not askin about that again!" lol, and I'm not so don't worry! Just letting people know that I'm trying out the advice that a garage gave me, which was to fill my heater matrix up with rad-flush and leave it in there overnight, and then flush it out etc and hopefully that shoulda cleared whatever is in there partially blocking it up.

Well, the heater matrix is currently full of some nice neat rad-flush and tomorrow morning it'll be the moment of truth when I empty it all out and see if anything's improved at all! So I'll update y'all tomorrow to say how it's gone. I ain't holding out too much hope tbh! But was worth a try I spoze

Spammer Joined: 27 Jul 2004 Posts: 5717

i can give you better hint that the garage missed out mate
leave the rad flush running in there for a week before you flush it.
the thing works better in heat u see Wink

Site Subscriber Joined: 29 Jan 2005 Posts: 1108

I like how you didn't mention that before I was gonna try this, when I posted it up about a month ago.......but after I have just been outside to do it Rolling Eyes

Cheers for your tip schaks, but I think leaving the rad flush to sit in the matrix wass the whole idea, not to run it through the whole system. So it can be dealing with whatever crap's in the matrix. If I had to fill up the entire system with rad flush and run it for a week like you said, I would need quite a lot of it (cuz they said not to dilute it), and have you seen how small the bottles of rad flush are?? I needed 1 and a half just to fill up the matrix lol. I'd have needed about 175 bottles to fill up the whole system!

Spammer Joined: 27 Jul 2004 Posts: 5717

i did not say fill the system with rad flush mofo

i said let the thing run in the system for a week or so

Site Subscriber Joined: 29 Jan 2005 Posts: 1108

Well that's even further away from what I was told to do! The idea of not diluting the rad flush and just putting it in the matrix, is so that it can do a bloody good job of gettin rid of whatever crap is in there. Like the whole idea is not to dilute it and let it work at the matrix. So I personally don't think that running a tiny bit of rad flush diluted with loads of water in the system for a week is a 'better' idea as you think! Who knows tho!

Spammer Joined: 27 Jul 2004 Posts: 5717

in that case i do not need to warn you that radwell might be pretty nasty working inside old matrixes and cause leaks especially when not diluted Laughing

Site Subscriber Joined: 29 Jan 2005 Posts: 1108

schakal wrote:

in that case i do not need to warn you that radwell might be pretty nasty working inside old matrixes and cause leaks especially when not diluted Laughing

No I know you don't, cuz I also pointed out that I thought that might happen in my post about a month ago Rolling Eyes

Basically, my matrix is fucked somehow......so I need a new one.......BUT......if this rad flush thing works........I will not need a new one.........so I got nothing to lose have I? If this rad flush thing causes a leak......then I need a new matrix......but I already need one anyway.........so what difference does it make? It's just worth a go if it might solve the problem innit

Site Subscriber Joined: 29 Jan 2005 Posts: 1108

Right.....umm......well......I officially have the strangest cooling system in the entire world! I will try and explain what's happened today without making this the world's longest and most complicated post, so here goes........

Okay, emptied out the cooling system lastnight, and disconnected the 2 hoses comin out of the heater matrix. Gave 'em a quick flush through with the hose, and water is running through the matrix fine. So started pouring rad flush in one hose until it was coming out of the other hose, and then bunged it up and kept pouring, just so we wouldn't end up with loadsa air in there sorta thing. Once the rad flush was then up to the top of the other hose, the matrix was obviously full of it, so we left it to sit overnight. This was done at about 6:00pm lastnight, and then today at about 2:00pm we came to look at the car again.

So we took the bung outta the hose and the rad flush poured out. It was kinda a bit orange, but not as shitty as I was hoping it would be! Quick flush through with the hose and it's clear again.

I had a bit of radflush left, so thought we might aswell stick it in and run the car for a bit, just to flush the rest of the system. Did that, emptied that out, and then filled back up with water & coolant.

Ran the car again, bleeded out the air, got the level good, everything sorted...........but no heat still. For fuck sake! So then we noticed something rather strange.........the hoses going into and coming out of the heater matrix were both quite cold. Now this doesn't make any sense to me, especially when bearing in mind that all of the other hoses in the system are near enough too hot to actually touch! How can that extremely hot water just suddenly become cold before it goes into the matrix, be cold coming out of the matrix, and then be scolding hot again by the time it's back at the expansion tank?!?!

So we thought maybe the water somehow isn't getting to the matrix. Like it isn't passing through it at all........but then there wouldn't be flow round the system surely? So, emptied the system out again, took the hoses off the expansion tank and put the hosepipe in. Hosepipe in one end, water out the other. Tried it the opposite direction, and flow was fine again. So there doesn't appear to be any blockages in the system. And the water going through the system now is SO clean. I mean, in trying to sort out this problem we have probably flushed the system about 874 times over the past few months lol. If I bottled the water, I could probably get away with selling it as purified spring water! It really is bloody clean. So anyway, Not only do I now have the world's cleanest cooling system, but I still have the world's wierdest one Rolling Eyes

So.....er........yeah......none of it makes sense. Flow through the system is fine, the car WILL NOT overheat no matter what I do to it, so the cooling system obviously is working how it should be. The thermostat was changed recently so it surely isn't that.

So why are the pipes going to the matrix cold?

So after today, we reckon the problem is not the matrix itself. i.e, if I did get a new matrix, my heaters still wouldn't work. Cuz the hoses going to it would be cold. But how can they be cold? Any ideas? I'm guessing you're gonna say airlock, but.........we've bled it about 672 times.......there is no air in there surely. The car has also had a service recently at a renault dealer, which involved changing the coolant.........so unless they got an airlock in it aswell, cuz there was no different in heater performace after that.

So I basically have no idea. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated, and thanks for actually being arsed to read all that crap! Well, that's if you did of course! Razz

Site Subscriber Joined: 28 Jan 2005 Posts: 3547

lol, wow an essay! a* but i cant quite make sense of it, but ive been up for over 24hrs now lol, so its me.

Site Subscriber Joined: 29 Jan 2005 Posts: 1108

I'm sure it isn't you dan, I certainly can't make sense of what's happening........and now people have gotta try and makse sense of me trying to explain what's happening........which is even more impossible!

Forum Moderator Joined: 02 Mar 2004 Posts: 19978

well I would say the feed pipe from the gay t pieces on the back of the head are blocked/sealed up.

Site Subscriber Joined: 29 Jan 2005 Posts: 1108

Well that's what we thought too Chris, but when we had the hoses off the bottom of the expansion tank and we were putting water through 'em to check the flow, we took the hose going from that T-piece to the heater matrix off, and when we put water in one of the expansion tank hoses, water comes out of that T-piece. So there is flow there.

So now ur thinking well that doesn't prove anything cuz the pipe going from that T-piece to the matrix might be blocked, but with the 2 hoses off the matrix......put water in one end and it comes out the other, and vice versa Confused

I really have no idea. I had a quick look in the Haynes thismorning and it showed there being 2 'restrictors' in the system. What are they? Could it be one of them blocked? We were trying to think if there's any sort of valve or anything that opens or closes (besisdes the thermostat cuz that's already been changed for a new one) that might be blocked or not opening properly or something. But we can't think of anything

Forum Moderator Joined: 02 Mar 2004 Posts: 19978

what restrictors?

anyway your not getting flow so theres a problem somewhere and its not in the matrix or its feed pipes.

Site Subscriber Joined: 29 Jan 2005 Posts: 1108

It's gotta be the water pump then surely? Not enough pressure to get flow the the matrix, but good enough to stop the engine overheating? We did think that it might be the water pump cuz there doesn't seem to be a lot of pressure when you take the lid off the expansion tank just after the car's been running y'know. I'm gonna be guessing that the water pump is a bugger of a job! Rolling Eyes

Forum Moderator Joined: 02 Mar 2004 Posts: 19978

make sure the pumps not running backwards.

the belt should go under the pulley not over it.

Site Subscriber Joined: 29 Jan 2005 Posts: 1108

Okay, I'll check that when I next get a chance. Cheers Chris.

Oh yeah, before I go and look.........umm.......where is the water pump? Embarassed

lol

Level 1 User Joined: 24 Feb 2005 Posts: 25

all renault heating cooling systems are crap.
i think they design then to just go bonkers after 7 or so years, happen on every renaulkt i've had.
my 19's was working fine till i let out some water toto add anti freeze, now the fan don't work and the heating stone cold.

fucker. sometimes they sort themselves out but not happen this time.

Embarassed

too lazy to spend any time on it , just keep my coat on in the car

Forum Moderator Joined: 02 Mar 2004 Posts: 19978

mine could roast joints!

JB and Neal will testify to it!

Site Subscriber Joined: 29 Jan 2005 Posts: 1108

So where is the water pump exactly? I know where abouts it is, but not exactly where I should be lookin. Can I see if the belt goes over or under the pulley without actually dismantelling the car in any way? I spoze I have to take the engine out lol Rolling Eyes

Forum Moderator Joined: 02 Mar 2004 Posts: 19978

look down at the drivers side, you can see the alt easily, its the smooth pulley below and towards the drivers seat, quite big.

Forum Moderator Joined: 18 Feb 2004 Posts: 7432

My blue hatch was mega hot when I put the new matrix in too, sadly now sold. The black hatch is also nice and hot really quickly. The chammy, nada. Never gets warm.