1996 Alfa 164 Super V6 Heater Problems

Hi all,

I've Got a 1996/7 164 V6 24V with Automatic Climate Control. The A/C works just perfectly and Thank God for that as here in Malta its quite hot in Summer. But Now its winter and the humidity is still high (as usual) so I need the car to throw heat rather than cold air. I've set the temperature to 24+ and the Outside temp was 16 but the air never began to warm up. The compressor kicked in a couple of times but nothing remote to Hot was coming out of the vents.

I ran the Engine up till Optimium temp and set the temp to almost high which automatically set the controls to Demist the windshield. I set it up to flow to the front but still No Heat !!!

Any one has got any ideas. I really need the heater in Winter the heated seats aren't enough to remove the humidity !! Can anyone help ?

Thanks A lot Guys

As you turn the required cabin temperature from hot to cold and back, can you hear a ticking noise behind the dashboard? IF so, it's possible that the little plastic gears on the stepper motor that moves the temperature distribution flap have stripped. IF you go under the bonnet and pull the plastic trim off the space between the false firewall and the base of the windscreen, it should expose the heater box. On the right hand side of the car is the main part of the heater box with the evaporator and pollen filter. CLoser towards the middle of the car, you will see the heater fan housing and the wiper motor. If you peer around the wiper motor end of the heater box with a torch, you might JUST be able to see a plastic arm with a cable going to it. See if you can see that assembly moving as you change the required temperature. IF not, it's definitely the stepper motor and that's a dashboard-out job, unfortunately!

Good Morning,


Thanks for the tip, I'll check it out and see if there is any movement over there. I sure hope its not the stepper motor, I hear clicking and the vents and distribution work fine but w hat I noticed was that the Climate control automatically shifted the vents to the Windshield and according to the manual if I am not mistaken, this happens when the mixed air temperature is less than 45 Degrees Centigrade. Could it be that the heater matrix is bust, corroded rock solid ? Ever since i got the car I never stopped spending. But you gotta love her

Do you have any photos of the cable I'm supposed to see ? could there be a little easier way to fix it, say open it 1/2 way in winter manually by shifting the lever from under the bonnet ?


I look forward to your answers & Thanks a million

Regards,

Keith

Hi Keith,

Yes, it's possible that the fault lies other than with the stepper motor. Under the bonnet (same place) you might be able to get to the pipes that feed the heater matrix. With the engine warm, feel them both to see if they are hot. It's unlikely that the matrix is leaking or you would be loosing coolant.

I don't have any photos I'm afraid and I doubt it would be possible to manually move the flap without damaging the stepper motor gearbox. If you disconnect the push-pull cable from the flap under the bonnet, it will just flop about so you wouldn't easily be able to set it to a mid position.

Have you tried the electrical self-test on the heater controls?

Alfa 164 Notes

See if that throws anything up.

Good luck!