heater matrix fun

[tedlit]

Had a merry browse through the forum history for this one.. lots of posts about blocked/leaking water valves.. but nothing that quite matches the fun I've had this afternoon.

Put simply, my fan is unbelievably inefficient. All the controls work - if I select 'cold', I get cold air - if I select 'hot', I get (very) hot air. If I select 'screen', air comes out the screen vents.. if I select 'car', the footwell flap opens. Both fan speeds work.

(The vents in the middle of the dash don't work at all - I've no idea why and I can't figure out how to get that bit of the dash off without destroying it!)

What I'm trying to figure out is this - I have a 2500S as well, with what looks like exactly the same heater matrix, controls, and fan switch. So why do do the vents in the Stag only move enough air to barely tickle me, when the vents in the 2500 are powerful enough to remove hair?

Does the heater matrix itself have any filters on the air side that could've got blocked up? I poked about in the air intake, but aside from a couple of leaves it's kind of hard to tell what's going on down there!

[DJT]

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Ted,

The centre vent is held in with a couple of screws and a clamp arrangement. Swivel the vent and look inside and you will see a couple of screws. Undo these and the centre section will come out. Remove the speaker grille and, if fitted, speaker, to give a bit more access to the rear for refitting.

Dave

[tedlit]

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I'll give that a go. I fully expect to find it full of mice or snakes or something.

[Guest]

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Check that a cable has not come off a control lever asthe center ventmight be shut. From memory I think the center one is a flap control. Yes the 2500 triumph heater unit is pretty much the same as the stag unit except it has two additional outlets on the front which are not used on the stag. The 2500 fits in no problem, just need to cut the two front outlets off. I fitted one recently to my stag works very well.

[tedlit]

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Well - whatever the problem is - the symptom is that the flap for the centre vents isn't opening. On the 2500s (of which I'm lucky enough to have a spare heater unit!), this is cable-controlled.. but on the Stag it looks like it's vacuum-actuated in some way?

I found a nice big leak in one of the small outlet hoses from (what the manual thinks is) the vacuum tank.. but there's obviously something else wrong. The screen vents don't work either. Given that the car's yet to run outside I'm not surprised I didn't notice

[KOY 23]

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Aaaah. You have aircon? something we are not used to in Stags here in UK. A completely diffent heater I would guess. My first check would be all the perished hoses.

John.

[Guest]

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when i took mine out there was no vaccuumunit just cables. if the heater is leaking it will have to come out but it is one hell of a job. Check everything thoroughly before deciding to dismantle the dash. Are all the air ducts connected? Take the ashtray section out and just check the cables are connected to all the slider controls. maybe one has come off. Check the service manual for the heater connections and ducting.

[tedlit]

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KOY 23 wrote:

Aaaah. You have aircon? something we are not used to in Stags here in UK. A completely diffent heater I would guess. My first check would be all the perished hoses.

John.

Yup.. and I just found the section in the factory manual about the a/c heater unit. It's *completely* different!

Hoses look OK.. I've replaced them all (brake servo to T, T to manifold, T to vacuum tank). I suspect the (rather rusty) vacuum tank. Doesn't look too hard to get it out.. but I imagine the chances of finding a replacement are slim to none!

[tedlit]

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Not sure it's entirely good form to reply to my own posts (!), BUT I've now got the vacuum tank out and the back side of it is rather colander-like. Going to have a go at sealing it up before trying anything else.

Moral of the story: Don't start taking your dash apart until you've checked the really obvious and easily-accessible bits under the bonnet!

[tedlit]

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Dragging this one up again..

Bit of a long shot.. but is there anyone else that's got a factory a/c car.. and if so - is the heater really that much weaker than on a non-a/c car? I get virtually no air flow out of any of the ducts.. the flaps are now all working, and I can hear the fan merrily spinning.. but it doesn't actually move enough air to cool a mouse, let alone me!

[Rubce]

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Have you considered removing the air con and replacing it with a standard unit?

Regards

Bruce

[tedlit]

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Yes, I have.. but a) I like my air-con, and b) Stag heater matrices are as rare as hen's teeth over here - a/c or not

I had wondered if it was possible to change/upgrade the fan motor in the matrix.. I haven't dismantled a Stag one before. I rebuilt a Spitfire one a year or so ago - on that, an "upgrade" meant finding a bigger motor/fan to fit in the squirrel cage housing. Not sure if the Stag's the same arrangement?

[Rubce]

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I can't see the point of air con on a soft top. If the weather is nice then you will have the top down in which casethe air con doesn't work.

As regards a replacment standar heater matrix they often come up on e-bay. Wonder how much it would cost to get one shipped to the USA?

Bruce

[tedlit]

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You're quite right, a/c on a soft-top is a bit of a waste really. I use mine to keep the screen clear in the winter tho.. hard-top on, obviously.. it gets *cold* here.. and humid with it.. I can't drive the 2500 in winter as the screen won't stay clear!

[Rubce]

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tedlit wrote:

I can't drive the 2500 in winter as the screen won't stay clear!

I wonder if it possible to fit a heated windscreen to a Triumph?