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MG MGF Technical - Hot in here...

Help.....I have a 2001, MGF 1.8 and it's just getting too hot. During longer journeys, the footwell area gets very hot making motorway driving quite uncomfortable. The whole central console seems to be really warm as well.

Has anyone got any ideas what may be causing this??

Any suggestions would be most appreciated.
Tim

If it's blowing hot air then you have a problem with the tap which turns off the water. If not, then you have too little airflow.

The heater works by passing air thru a radiator, the heat is controlled by a tap, but if you have a small amount of airflow, then even if there is very little water flow it will still cause very hot air, turn the fan on.
Will Munns

Will,

Thanks for your comment, however i'm still a bit confused.

The footwell gets really hot although there doesn't appear to be any actual hot air being blown in. It is also true to say that the heater does not really blow out cold air, luke warm would be the best discription.

Should point out I'v eonly had it a few months and the car is still under warranty. Should I just take it in to the dealers and get it checked out.

If so, does anyone know any good MGR dealers around Manchester?

Thanks again.

Tim

>The footwell gets really hot although there doesn't
>appear to be any actual hot air being blown in.
If the air is really slow then it will get hot if the heater tap is even slightly on.

>It is also true to say that the heater does not really
>blow out cold air, luke warm would be the best
>discription.
Sounding like it... but is this still the case at night or early morning (once the engine is hot)

>Should point out I'v eonly had it a few months and the
>car is still under warranty.
Sounds like you ought to, with the engine being in the back n'all there is nothing apart from the heater and the stereo to get warm down there.

Will
Will Munns

Under floor coolant pipes?

I've never really noticed a problem even in France with ambients of 30+ and swmbo has never commented.

JohnP - Herts

I've had exactly the same thing.

Does blow out cold air when the engine is cold, but once up to operating temp it never blows out cold air. Turning the blower to 3 or 4 cools it slightly, but it is still luke warm.

With blower on 0 and air flow directed to windscreen on a motorway journey you do notice the footwells getting warm. I think some air still comes out from the vents down there even when the airflow is directed elsewhere - there is no way to close them as you can with the vents on the dashboard.

I questioned this with the dealer and they adjusted the hot/cold dial and cable, but was told that due to the design of the heater matrix as Will has described (a very old design) that there is no real solution.

HTH

By the way mine is a Yr2000 MPi
Billy Bob

The heater is a very simple system and if you are getting warm air then the water valve is not closing fully - could be an adjustment thing or a cable problem.

Ted
Ted Newman

Its so annoying.

Cars I've had before provided a nice blast of cold air around the feet or to the cabin.

Ah well, I suppose I should just get the roof down and stop complaining!!

TJP Price

>http://www.mgfcar.de/heater/dcp_3932.jpg
shows the linkage between the water tap and the wire, I don't know how much adjustment is available, but this is the place to start.


>Ah well, I suppose I should just get the roof down and stop complaining!!

What... you haven't had the roof down? well you've clearly got a real problem there!
Will Munns

Oh no, the roof has been down at every opportunity.

Thanks for the link with regard to the water tap. I must admit though, it doesn't mean a thing to me. Where on earth is that located??

Is it wise for me to start tinkering with or should I take it to the garage?
TJP Price

>it doesn't mean a thing to me.
Random car pics do tend to do that, especially as to get any detail, the location is lost

>Where on earth is that located??
central console, but I haven't taken it out myself (the site is dieters).

>Is it wise for me to start tinkering with or should I take it to the garage?
My impulse would be to take it to the garage, but they are lightly to say 'TADTS', which is a lie, and you would be better armed it you could whip off the footwell cover and say "it clearly doesn't do thw whole travel" and "i've spoken to lots of other owners who haven't got this problem"
Will Munns

On the picture Will has provided there is a "central groove"

On the "tap" there is a pin that fits into this central groove.

So as the unit rotates it turns the tap on or off.

However if the pin comes out of this central groove, lets say into the gap at the bottom.
You still get slight operation of the control, but doesn't turn off completely.

Quite simple to remove drivers side panel and check.

I put my car into a dealer complaining about this, they couldn't fix it and said they would have to replace the entire system.

5 minutes in the carpark at lunchtime, with nothing more than a screwdriver and it was fixed.

paul weatherill

2001 MGF? 3 year warrantee? Take it to your dealership.

There is nothing in the footwell that could cause this other than as Will says the heater. Mid-engine location means there is a flow and return heater pipe inside the transmission tunnel to the heater module, inside which is a small radiator (the heater matrix). Hot water comes from the engine to a valve (which works just like a tap) near the heater matrix, a cable from the back of the heater control knob adjusts the valve.

If the valve isn't fitted properly (or the cable linkage) then it the valve may not fully close when the control knob is set to cold. This means that the heater matrix gets warm and the heat leeches into the cabin.

Haven't got a picture of the heater matrix or the valve, but i do have one of the cable linkage to the heater control knobs:

>> http://www.sfforever.co.uk/viewgallerypicture.asp?id=25-27-103-88-89-90-91-92-93-94-95-96-97-98-99-100-101-102-104-105-106-107-108-109-110-111-112-113-114&queryon=16 <,

The knob has a cog on the back of it that drives a rack, this rack is then connected to a cable that opens or closes the valve. If you look at the picture, in the very bottom right hand corner is the (white) cog, below it is a semi-circular (grey) rack attached to the (black) triangular pivot. The red cable in the top right of the picture has a grey wire insert, this is attached tot he right hand side of the black triangular panel.

The red cable can be seen on the bottom left of this picture:

>> http://www.sfforever.co.uk/viewgallerypicture.asp?id=12-41-197-198-199-200-201-202-203-204-205-206-207-208-209-210-211-212-213-214-217-218-219-220-221-222-223-224-225-226-227-228-229-230-231-232-233-234-235-236-237-238-239&queryon=21 <<

I also have a picture showing the flow and return pipes inthe transmission tunnel:

>> http://www.sfforever.co.uk/viewgallerypicture.asp?id=19-24-64-65-66-67-68-69-70-71-72-73-74-75-76-77-78-79-80-81-82-83-84-85-86-87&queryon=15 <<

Hope this helps

SF
Scarlet Fever

Hello guys,

Don't think it's an heater problem. I've got the same thing: a central console that's getting warm , even the T-bar is getting warm, but..... always when I'm riding with the roof down, not when it's closed, yes indead, I haven't got the problem when the roof is closed, strange, but true. So I'm thinking IMO about an air-flow behind the car wich is pushing the hot air from the engine under the T-bar in the central console.
Oh yes, I'm always riding without the cover that protects the hood when it's down....
anyone an other idea ?

Bruno & Inge
Volcano vvc
Bruno

Strange theory Bruno... I am just thinking about the sun heating up the black plastic parts of the interior.

btw, welcome on board
Erik

Hmmm, Yes I see Erik, but where there is "a hole" in the central console there is a hot air coming out of, for ex. round the handbrake, out of the ashtray etc.
So it's not that everything feel like it's hot, but more like there is realy a hot air coming out of it. And what when the sun is not shining ?
Strange !
BV Bruno

Bruno,

Is the dash and footwell getting hot or is the heat limited to the transmission tunnel?

I ask because there are flow and return pipes to the heater matrix inside the transmission tunnel (picture here):

>> http://www.sfforever.co.uk/viewgallerypicture.asp?id=19-24-64-65-66-67-68-69-70-71-72-73-74-75-76-77-78-79-80-81-82-83-84-85-86-87&queryon=15 <<

At least one of these pipes is always hot as the valve that controls water flow is at the dashboard end. This means that the transmission tunnel warms up inside even if the heater is turned off.

--------

As an aside, Scarlet's footwell is always cold due to the draught that comes in through the speaker cover!

SF
Scarlet Fever

Andrew,

The dash isn't getting hot. It's the transmission tunnel and the footwell wich are getting hot, when I'm riding with the roof down.

See you at the treffen ?


Bruno & Inge
Volcano vvc
BV Bruno

Bruno,

Sounds like the heater pipes in the transmission tunnel to me, don't think there is anything you can do to prevent this - pipe insulation from a DIY store maybe?

Still not sure if i am going to make this year's Treffen. Ted is keeping the door open for me, but its all down to whether i have Scarlet or not and whether i have to pay for the repairs or not.

SF
Scarlet Fever

Maybe, but still strange that it only happens when the roof is down. Anyway, I'll insulate the pipes with "fusion wrap". Keep you informed.
Thanks for the tips.

Hope Scarlet will be repaired soon.
BV Bruno

Be cautious - insulating the pipes may promote overheating etc.

It may well help to keep the car cooler but the last thing you want is to raise the coolant temperature and possibly provoke HGF!

Dave
Dave

My car also has the same heat problem.

Any other solutions?

Paul
Paul

>> It may well help to keep the car cooler but the last thing you want is to raise the coolant temperature and possibly provoke HGF! <<

Hmmm, not sure how insulating the pipes could promote HGF. The two main theories on the subject are thermal shock caused by an overenthusiastic thermostat and differential movement caused by temperature differences between the oil and coolant and the temperature gradient accross the head. If the feed pipes to the heater matrix are acting like a radiator, bleeding heat into the cabin, then surely insulating them would make the temperatures of the cooling system slightly more stable? It can't be any worse than turning the heater off in the cabin.

SF
Scarlet Fever

This thread was discussed between 05/06/2003 and 13/06/2003

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