Rover 400 (1995 - 1999) - 1998 1.6 (K16) heater takes ages to start working

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Mon 19 Nov 2007 08:42
1998 1.6 (K16) heater takes ages to start working - clockerharvey
I have a 1998 Rover 400 1.6 with a K16 Engine.

The car works fine except for the heater. I find that even after the engine temperature gauge reaches working temperature, there is no heat available. The engine appears to warm up as quickly as ever but there is no hot air available for window demisting or to heat the inside of the car.

I do not think there is a problem with the heater itself as is does work fine eventually, usually 10-15 minutes in AFTER the temperature gauge reaches the normal reading however by this time the journey is over.

Could there me a problem with the engine thermostat ? would that give the symptoms that I have described ?

Thanks in advance

Steve

Edited by Dynamic Dave on 19/11/2007 at 10:23

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Mon 19 Nov 2007 10:35
1998 1.6 (K16) heater takes ages to start working - piston power
You say the engine gets up to temp ok so the thermostat is working, does the blower work?
you could try feeling the hoses on the heater see if there warm/hot? may be trapped air or req a flush out with the hose pipe.
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Mon 19 Nov 2007 12:54
1998 1.6 (K16) heater takes ages to start working - clockerharvey
The blower fan works fine and the heater works eventually.

The problem is that there is a big delay between the engine getting hot and the heater giving any warm air.

The heater hoses do however feel hot when I have felt them even when the blower is giving no warm air output .

What I don't understand is why the heater suddenly starts working 10-15 minutes into the journey
????

Steve
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Mon 19 Nov 2007 12:59
1998 1.6 (K16) heater takes ages to start working - Chris S
Perhaps there's an air-lock? Have any of the radiator/heater hoses been disconnected recently?

There's some way to bleed air out of the system by loosening the top radiator hose - I'm sure someone else knows the details.
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Mon 19 Nov 2007 13:50
1998 1.6 (K16) heater takes ages to start working - Screwloose

Some K-Series have a one way ball valve in the inlet manifold's stub for the return to the header tank. Inevitably, it rusts and sticks....

Not sure if this one does [lost interest in Rovers a long time ago] but maybe worth a check.
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Mon 19 Nov 2007 21:29
1998 1.6 (K16) heater takes ages to start working - Simon
There could be a heater control valve that it stuck and it is only letting a small amount of water past it. That would explain why it takes ages to get any decent heat in the heater matrix in the car.

Other than that then it could be down to sludge in the heater matrix and maybe a flush out might help.
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Wed 21 Nov 2007 17:31
1998 1.6 (K16) heater takes ages to start working - Civic8
I suspect the heater valve has stuck,common on these,check to see if the cable is operating the lever properly if not you need to replace it....
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