Heating Problem

[Tami]

Have a problem with C3 heating. The heater blows warm air when the switch is turned into three lowest speeds. When

turned into the  speed 4, only cold air is blowing into the cabin. The water level is at max and engine warms

normally. Any idea what could be the problem? The car is 1.4i 2008.

[paul.h]

Welcome to the forum.

 

The heater on the C3 usually can give out a good blast of very warm air, is this the case on the low blower speeds ? Also the temperature gauge if you have one should be on the middle position, our 2003 C3 gauge was not a needle type gauge but orange bars that lit up as the engine warmed.

 

If you had a code reader that gives live data you could check the coolant temperature to see if the engine thermostat is faulty and not letting the engine warm up enough, which I suspect is the problem.

[Tami]

Many thanks for your kind reply. Well, not sure if the heater gives " a good blast of very warm air" on lower speeds, but it definitely is warmer than

with the highest speed which is very cold. Just bought the car a while ago and not that familiar with it yet. Must check whether there is a temperature gauge. Definitely not the needle type though. Hope that  the problem is the thermostat which would be much easier and cheaper to repair than

some other options I had in mind.

[paul.h]

A basic check on the thermostat is to see if the radiator top hose starts to get warm soon after starting the engine. It should not happen until the engine is hot if the thermostat is ok. It is possible the previous owner has removed the thermostat since a new one comes with a plastic housing so could be around £20 (at least it was like this on our 2003 C3 1.4 petrol).

 

Looking at a handbook for a 2008 C3 does not show a temperature gauge of any sort on the speedo display.

[Tami]

Thanks for futher instructions. Took a glance at the car now. On idling the  upper hose got a bit warm after

3-4 minutes, not hot. Was about as warm after the motor  has been running about 10 minutes. Then also the downer was  warm.

 

The heater blows  strongly at every speed but the air coming in the cabin is not hot, only warm. I think it is a bit warm also at the highest speed but feels colder as the blow is stronger.

 

Perhaps it would be easiest to change the thermostat at first. Is there anything in these symptons referring to that the cell

might be blocked?

 

 

[paul.h]

Sounds like the thermostat. You could touch the cabin heater hoses at the back of the bulkhead to see if they are hot in and out of the cabin to get an idea if the matrix is blocked, but it is not likely with the anti freeze Citroen use. If you had a code reader you could check the coolant temperature but if not then it is cheapest to just replace the thermostat. Try not to loose the coolant so it can be put back in, otherwise you will need to get some from a Citroen dealer to make sure it is the correct long life type.

[Tami]

Thanks again. Will check the heater hoses. How low coolant temperature is still considered being normal?

[paul.h]

The thermostat opening temperature is usually about 90°C, so you should not really be able to touch the hoses or on the rubber bits only for a split second. Any hot metal bits will cause burns if touched. The engine fan should cut in at 96°C so the normal coolant temperature will be about 90 to 96°C once warmed up.

[Tami]

Eventually got the time to get the car fixed. The thermostat was faulty. The gasket was so badly worn out that the thermostat

was open practically all the time. Thank you very much for your advice.

[paul.h]

Thank you for getting back to us, looks as if you have fixed the heater just in time for the cold weather starting.