I have runaway global warming in my cabin!

justinbaldwin · 03-27-2007, 03:03 PM

this week has seen the arrival in Britain of last year's summer, hoorrah! however, this has highlighted a new niggle on the SC.

having been enjoying a toasty warm car all winter, i now find i can't turn off the darn heat, it keeps coming in no matter what i do, even if i move the cold air lever to max and crank up the fan, you can still feel the warm air in it...

this is definitely a change from normal, i've had the car for four years and never had a cool problem, and so it seems that something has changed from last year. the car is not overheating or showing any other sign of a problem. i just can't stop hot air coming in, even when i crank the cold air and fan on max

I've done a search on this site but can't find an answer. does anyone know where i should be looking to find the culprit of this problem. it seems to me to be a gate that has stuck open or something like that.

i have the rotating knob heat control between the seats, and the usual 4,673,982 position multi-levered control abomination on the fascia.

many thanks as always

justin

rusnak · 03-27-2007, 03:30 PM

You mentioned a rotating knob, not twin levers on the 'SC. So, assuming you have automatic heat, the servos must be broken. If not, then your heat is controlled by the twin red levers on the floor between the seats.

In any case, you should have someone jack up the car and look at the heater control boxes. They should be open if the heat is off. This will send the hot air out into the underside of the car rather than forward into the cabin.

If all else fails, make sure that you don't have Al Gore riding in the back seat somewhere trying to promote his..... ahem "movie" or something.....

justinbaldwin · 03-28-2007, 01:41 AM

well now you've got me thinking, i don't know where the control boxes are, but obviously somewhere under the engine, in which case, i wonder if the oil leak (from the return tubes, i think) has spread to the control box and with a bit of gunk from the road , sealed it shut, against it's wishes?
i'll try and get under and have a look tonight.

the good news on global warming, is that yes it is happening, but no, it isn't caused by man-made emissions. it's caused by the sun's magnetic field going through one of its long transitions and deflecting the solar wind away from the earth. the solar wind particles would normally enter the earth's atmosphere encouraging cloud formation. but with less cloud formation there is less cloud to reflect the sun's rays, therefore the earth heats up.

CO2 has never been a major determinant of warming. it only looks like it because as tempertaures rise because of the sun, so does the CO2 level, in other words, global warming increases CO2!

so next time someone suggests you are contributing to global warming with your 3litre engine, and only two seats.....run them over!

strupgolf · 03-28-2007, 06:54 AM

I had the same problem this spring. Never had it before. The heater boxes are located just ahead of the rear shocks. It's about the size of a baseball. Anyway, my heat would not shut off no matter what knob I turned. The heat comes off the manifolds, gets carried to the front of the car by tunnels, and comes out the vents. I think its something in the counsel servo but I'm no electrical guru. I just unhooked the two tubes that run to the heater boxes. These are the flexible hoses. I dont need heat until next winter, then I'll hook them back up. Simple to do. If you search "heater boxes" , you will find more info.

kimlangley7 · 03-28-2007, 07:15 AM

Just follow the hoses from you heat exchangers up and you'll see the heater boxes . Probablly hte cable is loose and the shutter / valve/ open-close mechanism is not working

LeeH · 07:35 AM

There's a small rod that attaches the servo motor to the cable that controls the heater box. It's fairly common for the ball and socket on the end of the rod to come off or break. Turn the ignition on (engine off) and operate the heater control knob. Listen carefully to see if you can hear the servo running. If so, the rod probably came off.

More info here:
Auto heat troubleshooting

justinbaldwin · 03-29-2007, 02:16 AM

Many thanks to all,
that's great info, i should have enough now to work out what to do under the car. this means that in 36 months time, when summer 2007 finally arrives i won't be melting.

of course there is another way to fix this, which i'm surprised no one mentioned....move to Iceland. problem sorted!

justinbaldwin · 04-06-2007, 07:47 AM

just got under the car to have a look at the flapper boxes, they both seem to be okay, and the wires to them are sound and work the open close mechanism.
i believe that since i have the rotating knob, and not levers, between the seats that i have an automatic heater control. i have turned on the ignition and moved this control but don't hear anything moving. thus i suspect the problem may lie here. i have swapped over the relay and checked the fuses and they all seem okay.
so where exactly are the servos that power this auto system, and how can i test if they are okay or not?
thanks
justin

LeeH · 04-06-2007, 08:14 AM

Justin.... You can remove the rubber boot from around the emergency brake lever and look inside with a flashlight to see if the servo is moving.