Hi all, some advice please. This last 2 weeks my car has started playing up, first the SS stopped working and I noticed that the car sounded as though it was idling faster than normal, about 1000. The heater (climate control ) has always taken ages to warm up but it started not getting warm at all - blowing cold air in fact.
We took it to a garage and nothing came up on the diagnostics.
today the engine coolant warning light came on and on the way home 5 miles later steam started coming out of the engine, i topped up with water (it was under minimum) and the heating started working and warning light went off so I thought 'oh good'
however 5 miles later the light came back on and the heating started blowing cold air again.

Itll sit on the drive until I can get it to the garage but does anyone have any idea on what it may be please ?

lottieheaven said:

...does anyone have any idea on what it may be please ?

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What you've posted so far would suggest you have a significant coolant leak.

This could be a hose or its connection (easiest and cheapest), a leak in the main radiator (more expensive but still straightforward), a waterpump leak, a leak in the heater matrix (unusual but it has happened; very awkward to repair) or a failed head gasket (expensive).

Only a proper examination by a competent person can identify the source of the leak. Note that one fault can lead to another; in particular, running the engine when the car is seriously low on coolant is likely to result in head gasket failure, or worse.

Leaving the car standing for any length of time without sufficient corrosion inhibited antifreeze in the system will also likely ruin both the radiator and heater matrix; I've heard it said that leaving either empty (or filled with plain water) for 48hrs is sufficient to cause permanent damage.

I'd suggest you get this looked at sooner rather than later; if you're in any doubt whatsoever about the ability of the car to get to the nearest garage without running low on coolant after you've topped it up, I'd strongly recommend you don't drive it and get it towed in instead, or you risk making a bad situation worse.

I'll keep my fingers crossed for you that the problem turns out to be as simple as possible.

Get it checked ASAP.
You can buy universal ready mixed coolant by Prestolite (even Tescos sell it at larger stores) that would be a better option than plain water.

Robert G8RPI

Fill up the water to the correct level,turn the ac off, the fan off, the heater to max, with a dry surface under the car start the engine and wait (sometime possibly unless you hold the engine at fast idle) until the cooling fan comes on the system is now as hot as it gets and at max pressure, with a bright torch or light look for leaks all over the pipe work looking underneath for drips pools. Now try the fan to see if it's really hot?
Low coolent often leads to poor heating but people don't put the two together though it should not effect the idle speed also never turn off the ac and make sure it's recharged every 2/3 years.
Not all leaks are apparent with the system hot as I know so check next day for marks on the floor too.

lottieheaven said:

Hi all, some advice please. This last 2 weeks my car has started playing up, first the SS stopped working and I noticed that the car sounded as though it was idling faster than normal, about 1000. The heater (climate control ) has always taken ages to warm up but it started not getting warm at all - blowing cold air in fact.
We took it to a garage and nothing came up on the diagnostics.
today the engine coolant warning light came on and on the way home 5 miles later steam started coming out of the engine, i topped up with water (it was under minimum) and the heating started working and warning light went off so I thought 'oh good'
however 5 miles later the light came back on and the heating started blowing cold air again.

Itll sit on the drive until I can get it to the garage but does anyone have any idea on what it may be please ?

Click to expand...

how old is the car..??

some things do degrade over time, coolant included

the reason your heater has been poor is there has been insufficient coolant circulating to transfer heat properly,
the "garage" should've at least checked the levels and pointed out any issues

Charlie

Is it a 1.2? Check the thermostat housing. I had one go on my old 500. Not uncommon and not expensive to fix.

Spike