Ford Focus Cc (Petrol) Heater Problem??

[markw96]

After a bit of advice here, i hope someone can help, ive searched forums ect but to no avail.

The heater is working as such i.e the fan is working and blowing out air, but only cold, it will not blow out any hot air what so ever.

To cut a long story short it worked perfectly until the weekend (when it was hot) and the ac (on cold) was used alot, now when its came to be used on a cold morning it just dont seem to get warm at all. Any help with this matter would be greatly appreciated!

[artscot79]

ide look at the dial first the heater dial is it actually turning? with the fan on 3 and set to cold as you turn it to hot you should hear a change in tone as the flap closes for outside air.

the ac itself wouldnt affect it so it has to be the dial the flap or a heater valve

[markw96]

Firstly thanks for the reply, just been out to the car and tried what you have suggested and i couldnt hear a change in tone. What would this indicate the problem as being? the heater flap?

[artscot79]

sounds like its stuck in cold perhaps the cables come undone you should be able to check by removing the kick plate son the passenger and drivers side 2 torq screws on the pass side 1 on the drivers side t25 i believe then the covers simply pop off youll see the wires andmechanisms from there but i believe they are a pig to fix so maybe a trip to a dealer is in order they know the tricks so usually they can get it done quickly

[markw96]

I'll have a look at that in the morning, thanks for your advice.

[markw96]

Right jobs a good un, all fixed. It was simply the cable that goes from the heater control knob that was simply bent, a slight kink in it. It was an easy job to.

1. Remove the plastic facia around the stereo & heater controls.

2. Undo the 4 torex(25) bolts holding in the stereo, pull it out unclip the aerial and leads at the the back.

3. Unclip the cable (marked red) Straighten up the cable (was kinked where ive circled black)

Checked it was working, then replaced it all back.

[Stoney871]

Excellent job there Sir. :)

[Inter City]

Thanks Guys,I just had exactly the same problem and after reading your forum I found my cable had a kink,think I will have to change cable soon,does anyone know if this is a straight forward job to do?..but thanks for steering me to repairing my heater,it was 0 degrees this morning,,!!

[slartibartfast]

Hi, I have a problem I am struggling with. Nobody seems to know how to remove the cable with the green collar on that is shown in the pictures above. The Haynes manual is no use at all, it just says remove the cables. Any help how to get it off would be greatly appreciated. I can pull it back so far, but as I pull it, there seems to be some kind of hidden spring holding it in. I cannot find anywhere that I might be able to squeze to unclip it, and if I turn it, the air direction knob turns with it.

Cheers.

Phil.

[Stoney871]

If it's any use to you, heres a photo of what the inside of the socket looks like.

There doesn't appear to be any tabs or clips for holding the cable in.-

[slartibartfast]

If it's any use to you, heres a photo of what the inside of the socket looks like.

There doesn't appear to be any tabs or clips for holding the cable in.-

Thanks for the pic.

I have a complete heater control panel with me on my desk, it has red illumination, and I want to swap it for my current green illuminated one. the odd shaped insides match the green collar that sits inside it, and enables the green collar to turn with the knob. I have looked long and hard at the one on my desk and the one fitted to my car at the moment that has the cable attached, but I just dont know what is holding it in that is springy enough for me to pull the green collar back for a limited distance The further I pull back, the harder the unseen "springy thing" tries to pull it back in, and I don't want to break anything, as cable replacement my be an expensive main dealer job. The only clue is that when the direction control knob is set to the screen and feet position, a slot appears in the black part that the green part goes into, this can be seen whilst looking directly into the oblong hole on the back, directly behind the centre of the air direction knob. Hope this makes sense. Not knowing how to do this when it is probably easy is driving me nuts.

Phil.

[Stoney871]

I know exactly what you mean.

The one i'd taking photos of is a blue converted unit i've been trying to find time to fit myself.

Look at this photo, when the dial is aligned as you say (notch lining up) look to the other circled bit.

It seems when the notch aligns then there is a clear hole through to the area where the base of the cable would clip in.

Maybe an access port to push a clip?

I'm going to make the asumption that the notches being aligned is a visual reference mark for when trying to remove the unit in the confined area of the car while the cables are attached (not a lot of free play to pull the unit right out to see what you're doing?)

[Stoney871]

Further to this post, looking on eBay, someone is selling a heater control with the cable in place but disconnected from the other end instead.

Maybe it's easier to remove the other end and then swap the cable over on a steady surface away from the car?

[slartibartfast]

Further to this post, looking on eBay, someone is selling a heater control with the cable in place but disconnected from the other end instead.

Maybe it's easier to remove the other end and then swap the cable over on a steady surface away from the car?

I see what you mean about the visual reference, here is a pic of mine.

I had not spotted the one on eBay. That is very interesting, I thought it might be very difficult to remove the cable at the other end, but if it is easy, I would certainly do that to get the parts "on the table" for closer inspection, and I could also replace the cable, as it still works, but I have put a large crack in the green collar whilst trying to remove it! (oops). The main problem then is how do you remove the other end? The last thing I want to do is try it, and end up with a broken/disconected part that won't go back together, and then taking it to Ford and paying through the nose to get it fixed. Surely there is someone on the forum who has actually done this.

cheers.

Phil.

[Stoney871]

TBH, it's probably the same removal procedure for the other end.

If you've already broken your existing cable maybe it would be beneficial to get a replacement one then you can study the ends for reference purposes before going further?

[slartibartfast]

TBH, it's probably the same removal procedure for the other end.

If you've already broken your existing cable maybe it would be beneficial to get a replacement one then you can study the ends for reference purposes before going further?

That may be my next move, but I have not yet worked up enough courage to find the price from Ford.

Is the one for sale on eBay fixed price, or auction, as that may be cheaper than a cable on it's own?

I have now found the one on eBay, and it's £50

Thats a bit too rich ror me, I paid £15 for mine off eBay plus postage, and I don't need 3 heater conrtol panels!

[Stoney871]

As I'm in the same boat as you I'll probably buy a new cable too.

Surely even for ford it won't be that expensive. (famous last words)

If I could find one on eBay I'd be on it like a shot.

[slartibartfast]

We might have a bidding war if one comes up on fleabay.

But seriously, I rang my local Ford dealer, and typically, they said there were 2 different cables listed for my car, one at around £11 and one at around £24

I know which one I hope it is.

[Stoney871]

We might have a bidding war if one comes up on fleabay.

But seriously, I rang my local Ford dealer, and typically, they said there were 2 different cables listed for my car, one at around £11 and one at around £24

I know which one I hope it is.

I bet i know which one it will end up being though. ;)

[slartibartfast]

I won't be looking to change my heater controls over for the next few weeks, due to an upcoming trip to Australia.

If anyone wants to chip in with information about how to remove the cable with the green collar whilst I am away, please do so

Cheers.

Phil..

[Stoney871]

Went to my local stealers today to order a spare control cable so a/ i can experiment before touching the car, and b/ knowing me, i'll bust the original one in frustration when attempting to remove it so a spare will be handy.

They quoted £24 and it's at least 5 days delay for order as apparently the parts supplier for Ford is on strike at the moment.

[slartibartfast]

You did guess right about it being the dearer one!

I look foreward to your conclusions, so when I gat back from holiday in April, I will hopefully know how to get the bugger apart without more damage than I have already done.

Cheers.

Phil.

[Stoney871]

Right, update on the cable conundrum.

Picked up a spare cable from my local stealer and did a test fit on my upgraded heater control, I can confirm that there are no clips or notches on the end of the cable that goes into the control other than the cog type splines and a flat area that lines up with the shape of the hole.

Photos of the cable and both ends showing clips/lack of clips-

No resistance whatsoever when fitting and removing the cable-

If your cable won't pull out all i can suggest now is that it's jammed and needs wiggling and fettling on a flat surface.

I can also confirm that the part is called cable assembly - heater, is finis number 1329658 and costs £20.42 plus VAT.

[slartibartfast]

Thanks very much for the info and comprehensive pics.

So if you were to fit this cable, what would hold it in, and stop it coming away from the back of the air direction control?

Mine is going to remain hidden inside my dash untill I return from my holiday, but when I last tried to remove the cable, I could pull it away, but there was something pulling it back, the further I pulled it away, the stronger the resistance became. and if I let go, it would ping straight back in on its own. Because I could not see what was pulling it back in, I was not brave enough to pull it so far back that I could see the end.

I have no explanation for this, and it's very strange.

[Stoney871]

Was the unit unscrewed from the dash?

It could well be just the springiness of the cable resisting bending and causing the cable to push back in.

If it was still attached, try removing the unit and see if the cable then comes out more easily.

It would certainly seem that the only thing holding the cable into the socket is the springiness of the cable itself and the angle it sits at through the dash.