Ford Fiesta (1995 - 1999) - 98 1.3 Heating prob ... ...

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Mon 24 Nov 2008 19:51
98 1.3 Heating prob ... ... - Yorkie_gbr
First off, new poster here, with as much car knowledge as a new born baby.

My heaters in the car don't seem to work proper, they blow cold air 95% of the time. And once in a blue moon they give me some (little) heat for 20mins max when the car has run for 10-15 mins. The cabin never gets warm...

I thought it was the heater control valve that everyone seems to have had problems with but then again I do get periodic heat from it... could this still be defective. I don't know how it works but I imagine its like it switches on or off depending on the setting... and the heat gives the impression that it is doing that...

I then had a brain wave and thought it was a blockage due to the inconsistency of the heating, but couldn't find nowt in the pipes, which one is hot.

The temp gauge seems to work proper, as in it moves when the engine starts and stays constant 1/4 of the way.

Will it fail the MOT if I don't get this sorted? as its due in Feb...

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Car details :-
Fiesta Encore
98 (P reg)
1.3 (1242)
3dr hatch (but doubt that will make any diff)
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Mon 24 Nov 2008 21:28
98 1.3 Heating prob ... ... - Rattle
The 1242 is not the 1.3, it is the 1.25 Zetec, don't get the too confused, shouldn't matter for this thread but may well in the future as the two engines are very different. Also are you sure its a 98P? P plates are Aug 96 to July 97.

Anyway it could be a number of things, heater control valve is the most likely, but the panal on the dashboard also fails on these.

Put the heater on hot, can you feel hot water going through the pipes that go into the heater control valve? You can see the valve is in the bulbkhead below the windscreen, you will see two pipes going into the dashboard, that is the heater control valve.

It is an extremely common problem, if you get a replacement make sure you go to Ford as there are lot of dodgy ones around which is apart of the problem. They were made faulty.

Edit it certainly won't fail the MOT but you will probably want it to work while the winter sets in!

Edited by Rattle on 24/11/2008 at 21:29

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Mon 24 Nov 2008 22:57
98 1.3 Heating prob ... ... - Yorkie_gbr
Ah got the wrong reg letter, its an R reg ...
As for the engine size, it does say 1.3 on the back and the V5 doc does say the CC is 1242 ...

Thanks for the reply, will check the pipes after the morning run to work...
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Mon 24 Nov 2008 23:04
98 1.3 Heating prob ... ... - Rattle
It may have been modified or something, the back of the car shouldn't say anything, if it is the 1242cc it should have a 16v badge on the back. If the V5 says 1242cc unless its been changed and DLVA not been informed it is the 1.25 Zetec you have. I know its confusing but there are completly different engines, the 1.3 is a Ford block from the late 50's (made until 2002) and the 1.25 is a modern Yamaha design.

Good luck with finding the problem, I am sure some mechanics can tell you further as there are ways you can test the control panal.

It is extremly common this fault and when I bought my fiesta the first thing I did is checked the heater worked, sadly it also meant I missed more important things like the reverse light.
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