328 Heaters not working.

Since I purchased my car the heaters have never worked.. (12 years). Its not bothered me as I never drive the car in the cold weather, however I have a bit of time on my hands and I wanted to see if I could get them working.. the LEDs do not light up on the two controls but I have had them tested in the past and they do work off the car.. As a rough rule of thumb where would you start by testing the heater system?
How do you test the Heaters? and how do you test the control motors for the heater valves? etc?

Just looking for some guidance.....

Thanks

 

Pull the trunk liner and look at the valves directly. It might be as simple as they are unplugged. The system is designed so the controllers open the valves and the valves send a signal back to light up the lights indicating how far open they are. If they are stuck physically it can cause that symptom. You are going to have to get in there and look.

 

Thanks.. so this could be why the lights are not working.. I will take a look and report back..

 

Just had a look and all connections look ok... are there any other visual signs to look out for?

thanks

 

Only visual sign is when you look out the window and it looks cold...don't drive the car

 

Hi Rod
Where your spare tyre is, take out the surround black cover and you'll see the by pass valve
(Mine used to leak coolant)
Anyway use the heater control buttons and see if you hear the valves opening up.

There is a setup bulletin for these heater controls as I had to do them in the past

When you turn the fans ON left and right, do they operate at least, so it's blowing cold air into the cabin??
Before you start looking at the heating side??

If you want a chat PM me and I'll exchange numbers
Paul

 

Thanks Paul..

Yes they do blow cold air..... Its strange that neither work, therefore I was thinking it was an electrical issue if they are fed from one source..? or both valves could be seized? I have removed the black cover and will try your suggestion regarding listening for the valves opening.. I assume its an obvious sound they make if working?

If you don't mind sending me your number for a quick call that would be much appreciated, thanks..

 

And by now you have checked the fuses to make sure that a few aren't blown? If the switches work off the car but don't even light up in the car you may not have power to them.

No slight to your mechanical aptitude just didn't see that you had checked them.

 

Your correct.. its a good shout. I checked the fuses some time ago and all seemed fine, I understand if the valves are not working they will not transmit a signal to the switches, so that is my next check..