I have just bought a 91 verada v6. The only hassle i have with it is that the heat does not work. The fan and air con work fine but i cannot get any heat. Do they have heater taps like the older cars have or is there some snappy computer gizmo or something.

probably not this but are you sure its getting cold air?? my a/c can get freezing. So along this line of thinking is your a/c belt connected up?? if it isnt fan still works but no a/c...

I am getting excellent cold air from aircon but no heat when i turn off aircon and swith the dial from blue to red. Fan works but it is just room temp

no help i am, sorry.

from memory the TR/TS magna has a heater tap beside the heater box and a hot/cold air door inside the heater box. If the cables came undone from either of these then this would cause your problem. the other possible cause is that the heater was leaking and someone has bypassed it or the core is blocked. If it isn't a cable problem then you have to remove the whole dash to get the heater box out to fix it.

I appreciate the feedback guys. As i have only just purchased the vehicle and i havent got a manual yet can you tell me where the heater box is located? :redface:

The heater box is behind the dashboard basically directly behind the stereo. to remove and replace it you have to remove the whole dashboard.

The Heater control cable can be accessed by removing:
console (2 screws under ashtray, 2 screws rear sides, light wires)
trim around stereo (two screws at bottom and clips)
stereo (4 bracket screws and wiring)
The heater controls are on the front of the heater box

If the cable is connected then you should hear the air door hit at the end of it's travel when the dial is turned from cold to hot and back quickly (easiest to hear on LHS)

If you look down the back of the engine at the firewall under the compliance plates then you should see two brass pipe fittings sticking through. They should both have heater hoses from the engine fitted (follow them back) if one or both is disconnected then it's a fair bet that the heater core was leaking coolant inside the car and the heater box needs to be removed to fix it.

If all this seems ok but the radiator has dirty water then suspect that the heater core is blocked. It can mostly be cleared by reverse flushing with a garden hose and reasonable pressure.

Nice one Benau, there are two brass pipes poking out the wall with no hoses on them. You seem to know your stuff pretty well, so it looks like the heater was leaking. Would you suggest I go to a wrecker and get another heater box or are they easy enough to fix.

This will be my last question to you I promise (hopefully)

Yours is a Verada, if it has climate control the heater box probably has different controls to a magna. (elec not cable, i'm not sure) you will probably pay a fortune for a 2nd hand heater box if their different and the wrecker knows it.

Better get yourself a workshop manual first and a helper for the dash
If you can get the whole dashboard and heater box out and then remove the heater core from the heater box.
Get the heater core reconditioned or get a new one through a radiator workshop or genuine if the price is right.
The heater box should seperate from the a/c box to the left other than "maybe" unbolting the a/c from the firewall inside and out for a few extra MM's. There should be no need to disturb the a/c and lose the gas if your careful (not 100% about this in a magna, in some cars you have to drill out pot rivets in plastic to seperate the 2 boxes) the windscreen vents etc will all come away with the dashboard and shouldn't be a problem when removing the box.

I fixed the same problem with a second hand heater core in a VH commie I owned years ago the damn 2nd hand pos blew up a few months later, 15 mins into a trip on a below 0 morning while I was doing 100kph. It completely steamed the windscreen in under a second and filled the passenger footwell with hot coolant. (there was always something to fix on that car)

due to this incident and the difficulty to fit, I don't recommend using second hand heater cores

Thanks mate you have been invaluable. I am glad i found this forum.

The dash is easy to remove, have a look at my site www.madmagna.com in relation to this

You will only have climate control if you have the xi Verada, if not the heating system will be the same as the other magna and verada models.

If you do have climate control the heater core is still the same, it is just the external controls that differ.

One trick with removal of the dash the manual does not tel you, remove your auto shifter, it is 4 bolts and 2 clips. This will make removal and refit so much easier.

As stated, do not waste your time with second hand units, get a reco from a rad shop.

Take the oppertunity to replace your heater and radiator hoses and clamps also, do not want to fix one part then have a hose split and loose all that new coolant.

hey there peoples .. on this subject my heater kicks in and out also .. some days its hot other days its cold. My coolant levels are good and fresh. I'm thinking the heater core is blocked. I'm sure we flushed the cooling system when i got the car but i'd imagine i never had the heater on and running. i'm guessing you'd have to have the heater on to flush the core or the treatment stuff would never reach it.

So should i flush the cooling system with the heater on to try and temp fix the heater core?

Cheers :)

all i did was turn the knob to open/on. that worked for me

Any suggestions on what flushing stuff i should use? If the heater core is knackered i dont want to eat a hole in it or something from strong stuff.

bigshonk did you fix the heater prob? What was wrong? And what's the go with your non bold nickname and n/a for posts? :confused: