Cinquecento Heater Matrix

[Guest]

Hi guys just spent a good weekend on my Cinq with charlie and i said to myself ahhh thts my car fixed now surely? urrrrr no quite, went to play a bit of football and i turened my heater on but for som reason i tured it to the cold setting. it sounds funny but it did happen well i felt lyk me feet were a bit cold so i looked down and ther was water, peeing down on a pair of trainers that i was trying to keep clean grrrrrrrrrrh. In the morning i checked it out and i turnt it on and stepped back and had a look and the liquid was coming from the foot heater thingy majigy. i am preety sure that its the heater matrix and my heating previously only worked on the third setting. Anyone got any ideas wat a possible clue of why it happened, and what to replace the hose or the matrix.

[floody]

Hi guys just spent a good weekend on my Cinq with charlie and i said to myself ahhh thts my car fixed now surely? urrrrr no quite, went to play a bit of football and i turened my heater on but for som reason i tured it to the cold setting. it sounds funny but it did happen well i felt lyk me feet were a bit cold so i looked down and ther was water, peeing down on a pair of trainers that i was trying to keep clean grrrrrrrrrrh. In the morning i checked it out and i turnt it on and stepped back and had a look and the liquid was coming from the foot heater thingy majigy. i am preety sure that its the heater matrix and my heating previously only worked on the third setting. Anyone got any ideas wat a possible clue of why it happened, and what to replace the hose or the matrix.

[halfpint]

you will need most likely to replace the heater matrix. best to get a second hand one if poss as new they are expensive.

[charlies lil helper]

i would try and look to see if any hoses have split or come lose but im not sure that it would leak inwords as the pipes are on the out side of the car normaly but replacing the matrix might be your best bet

[charlie Fett]

I have said to Joe that I have a spare one..........super Charlie saves the day 

[floody]

As always charlie does save the day, but if i keep breaking the car were going " run out of parts eventually u cannot beat my fiat for problems its going to be pratically new once im done haha  oh well hopefully going 2 look at it on Sunday and try to fix it thanks for all your help

[charlie Fett]

hey, thats what we are here for

[STU?]

hope you n charlie get it sorted mate. My heater matrix is bugered on the golf think i am going ta have to take the whole dash out to fix it 

[floody]

Its a bit of an annoying job to do m8 but i supose if we fix it we wont hav to do it agen, thats bin the way of thinking with most of the parts that break on my car haha.

[halfpint]

it wuddn't be a fiat otherwise Joe

[charlie Fett]

well I took the matrix out of my storage parts, it looks in vgc so I do not think it will cause any problems at all. No signs of any rust on it and the rad fins look good too

[purf]

My car started smelling like a sweaty old man (antifreeze from the matrix) so i put some radweld in - been fine for about a year

I was lucky - but then 

but then my heater motor went last month - (incorrect fuse + ice = blown motor) - that was a pita - its a bit more work if you have a strut brace and single wiper motor etc... The whole heater box had to come out just to change the motor 

[charlie Fett]

hi dude, I do have a spare heater motor if you need one 

[floody]

well we had a go at fixing it today, wen we got the old matrix out, it was a bit perished and had a few dents so we replaced it. When we took it out there was som water leaking from joint where the plastic bit screws into the heating system. However, i still have the same problem it leaks water but not as bad into the car by the drivers feet. Anyone got any ideas on solving this strange problem.

[charlie Fett]

yeah that has baffled me I changed the matrix, there were no leaks from the pipes after we had topped up the water as I had done them up tight!

[purf]

any luck with this yet?

Have you tried putting rad-weld in the system? fixed a funny smell from mine.
Is there rain water getting in through the heater box? there are some shaped areas of the heater unit which are designed to drain water -so it must be designed in a way that expects water to be present in the area? any leaves built up under there? 

Have you checked the radio antenna mount and sunroof drainage?

It is a backbraker to work in that area - so i feel for you guys!   

Hope u guys manage to sort it out

iv learnt the importance of the drainage piece below the cowl vents. The black plastic thing covering the heater motor&intake - i removed it when i fitted a single wiper motor - and a year later the motor froze up and died! But i have never had water getting into the car.