200/300tdi converted series landy's ?

[Cornish Rattler]

Hi guys

On a long distance drive, Cornwall back to Manchester my heater late 2a square type heater is nice and toasty in town and country driving but on fast roads like A roads and M ways the heater goes gold till i either slow right down or stop then once i get going again it goes cold again, is this common with a tdi conversion or do i have a problem, and yes there is a thermostate fitted, any idear's please 

[Bowie69]

 

A weak thermostat, very common even in new items, can do this. 

Or could just be the heater is being overcome by all the draughts....

What does your temp gauge say? 

Checked the water level? 

 

[Stellaghost]

Tdi's generally run very cool, especially at higher speeds some people put covers over part of the radiator to increase engine temp, nothing wrong with it it's how they are

Regards Stephen

[Cornish Rattler]

Nice one cheers 👍

[Cornish Rattler]

1 hour ago, Bowie69 said:

 

A weak thermostat, very common even in new items, can do this. 

Or could just be the heater is being overcome by all the draughts....

What does your temp gauge say? 

Checked the water level? 

 

I have recently changed the thermostate thinking it was that, coolant level is always spot on 👍

[Bowie69]

They do run cool, but you should get SOME heat out of it  

[Stellaghost]

Depends what you mean by heat, I agree there will be some heat, but Sid has never got warm enough inside with a tdi, but when he had a V8......

Oooooo does that mean I might get warmth in the future.......

Regards Stephen 

[FridgeFreezer]

In a draughty Series I'd be tempted to throw in a knock-off Eberspacher heater, these days the whole kit is under £100 and it will kick out way more heat than the LR item and can do it instantly from a cold start / with the engine off which is super useful on frosty mornings.

[Snagger]

My 200 (with electric fan) takes a while to warm up in the 109, but always gives very hot air even in the coldest conditions after 5min or so.  The 300 in the RR warmed up much quicker, despite the viscous fan.  Both are draft-free, so I suspect that is your biggest issue, but it does sound like you may also have thermostat problems.  For those, all the aftermarket brands seem troublesome, and even the LR boxed stuff a bit iffy.

[Cornish Rattler]

1 hour ago, Snagger said:

My 200 (with electric fan) takes a while to warm up in the 109, but always gives very hot air even in the coldest conditions after 5min or so.  The 300 in the RR warmed up much quicker, despite the viscous fan.  Both are draft-free, so I suspect that is your biggest issue, but it does sound like you may also have thermostat problems.  For those, all the aftermarket brands seem troublesome, and even the LR boxed stuff a bit iffy.

Can you recomend a decent one 👍

[Cornish Rattler]

1 hour ago, Snagger said:

My 200 (with electric fan) takes a while to warm up in the 109, but always gives very hot air even in the coldest conditions after 5min or so.  The 300 in the RR warmed up much quicker, despite the viscous fan.  Both are draft-free, so I suspect that is your biggest issue, but it does sound like you may also have thermostat problems.  For those, all the aftermarket brands seem troublesome, and even the LR boxed stuff a bit iffy.

As you say it is drafty in there and i know they are not air tight but my bonnet doesn't sit right as it looks like in its previous life someone has tried baring it up on both sides so that won't help, i do have a replacement bonnet to go on but that will be done when it gets a respray next year and i have been thinking about one of those one piece mats for in the cab which may help 

[landroversforever]

6 hours ago, Cornish Rattler said:

I have recently changed the thermostate thinking it was that, coolant level is always spot on 👍

Doesn't mean it's any good. 

Is the engine staying at temp? if not then it's still likely a thermostat issue. Old work colleague tried 6 before I found him a decent one which sorted it (Waxstat branded, but sold by allmakes)

 

[Cornish Rattler]

Ok i will order a few different makes and see what works 

[landroversforever]

Before you fire the parts cannon at the car…. What’s the engine temperature like? Is it dropping too?

[Cornish Rattler]

13 hours ago, landroversforever said:

Before you fire the parts cannon at the car…. What’s the engine temperature like? Is it dropping too?

When driving it will stay just above the cold mark but when your in traffic or come to a stop the gauge risers to normal and stays there that when you have heat then when you get going again the temp drops rapidly and the heater goes cold 

[landroversforever]

Thermostat for sure then. 

[Arjan]

A IR gun will tell you what is going on before you get into replacing stuff as it could be many things. I have found the gauge in my Series (200 Tdi) to start reading high which eventually turned out to be caused by the voltage stabilizer...

[landroversforever]

4 minutes ago, Arjan said:

A IR gun will tell you what is going on before you get into replacing stuff as it could be many things. I have found the gauge in my Series (200 Tdi) to start reading high which eventually turned out to be caused by the voltage stabilizer...

That's a good shout Arjan. But having said that, temp dropping whilst moving and coming up again when stopped is quite a good indicator for the stat. 

[Cornish Rattler]

Is it woth removing the thermostate and see what happends

[Bowie69]

It'll just be freezing the whole time. 

 

[Cornish Rattler]

1 hour ago, Bowie69 said:

It'll just be freezing the whole time. 

 

Ok 👍

[landroversforever]

Another quick test is taping some cardboard over the grill and going for a drive.... if the temp gauge and the heater behave then it's another bit of proof that the stat is the culprit. 

 

[Cornish Rattler]

2 hours ago, landroversforever said:

Another quick test is taping some cardboard over the grill and going for a drive.... if the temp gauge and the heater behave then it's another bit of proof that the stat is the culprit. 

 

Cheer's 👍

[deep]

You can easily check a thermostat by plonking it in a cup of very warm water with a thermometer in it.  Then add boiling water and note the temperature(s) that the thermostat opens and shuts at.  Check that against the specs and you will know if it is right.  Likewise, if you buy a new one, you can check it before fitting it.  Saves a lot of work and worry if it's not right!

[Bowie69]

I often find they open just enough to make things cold, lottery if you get a good one.