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Heater Help

Chuck MartinChuck Martin2009 Beck Speedster
As stated in a previous post (See Beautiful Coupe for Sale in Classifieds)Maggie and I had a heater installed in our JPS coupe yesterday. On the trip home from the shop we had plenty of air flow but no heat, but it was a very short drive so I reasoned it had not warmed up. So we took it for dinner last night and drove on the interstae at least 30 miles @ 65-70, plenty of air flow but not 1 degree warmer. Now by way of reference I've owned over 30 356's & 912's, and am on my 3rd Replica, so I do know how the heater works, and that they are very poor. However no change in temp what so ever. It was installed by the shop where I have all of my work done, and I looked under it today and it appears that heater boxes, flapper valves, cables etc. were installed correctly.

Additionally, the headlights would go off momentarily then come back on. It has been suggested that it may be a loose wire or high beam relay. I am definately not a Mechanic, but do know theory and understand how the heater is supposed to work.

Any help or suggestions will be greatfully appreciated.And yes, I will return to the shop on Monday. Thanks for your input.

Chuck

2009 Beck Speedster

 

 

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Chuck MartinChuck Martin2009 Beck Speedster
As stated in a previous post (See Beautiful Coupe for Sale in Classifieds)Maggie and I had a heater installed in our JPS coupe yesterday. On the trip home from the shop we had plenty of air flow but no heat, but it was a very short drive so I reasoned it had not warmed up. So we took it for dinner last night and drove on the interstae at least 30 miles @ 65-70, plenty of air flow but not 1 degree warmer. Now by way of reference I've owned over 30 356's & 912's, and am on my 3rd Replica, so I do know how the heater works, and that they are very poor. However no change in temp what so ever. It was installed by the shop where I have all of my work done, and I looked under it today and it appears that heater boxes, flapper valves, cables etc. were installed correctly.

Additionally, the headlights would go off momentarily then come back on. It has been suggested that it may be a loose wire or high beam relay. I am definately not a Mechanic, but do know theory and understand how the heater is supposed to work.

Any help or suggestions will be greatfully appreciated.And yes, I will return to the shop on Monday. Thanks for your input.

Chuck
WildBillWildBill
Chuck, the original stock VW boxes have a heavy finned heat sink(aluminum I think) inside, that heated the air as it passed. They weighed a good bit and made decent heat.

The "High Performance" versions don't have the heavy heat sinks. I don't know why they call them that, but it's probably because of the weight savings and not for the amount of heat they produce.

~WB
E ESFinWilton
Here's the fix Chuck!
Try post #199 in "knowledge" above. I went this route and can (& do) enjoy 75* cabin heat when it's 45* outside. I used a new set of heater slider plates on the tunnel : they work great. And, I use the stock location heater sliders to vent in cool air in the summer.
BTW... I run CB Performance 1 1/2" heater boxes. (no fins)

Good Luck!

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Chuck MartinChuck Martin2009 Beck Speedster
Everyone, thanks for your input. "Wild Bill" I did not look inside them prior to installation, however I can tell you that they were VERY heavy, hence probably not the high performance variety.

What I don't understand is the fact that my VS Speedster has the same system and it produces SOME heat.

Please keep your thoughts and ideas coming, as Maggie would like to use the coupe as her ocassional daily driver. Anyone with a JPS coupe figured it out ?

Thoughts and ideas about the headlight problem?

Thanks

Chuck
Troy SloanTroy Sloan Supporting Member
I agree with Keith. If everything is connected, just track down the problem like you would an electrical problem.

Is there heat at the engine, is there heat at the entrance to the heater boxes, is there heat at the exit of the heater boxes, is there heat where they connect to the frame, is there heat at the entrance to the tubes that run along side the car from the back to the front, is there heat where the tubes connect to the vents.

Let us know.
puffinatorpuffinator
Chuck
After your email yesterday, here are the photos I took last night of my JPS coupe. The shot sequence is from where the air flow enters the exchanger (1367 to 1364)) to where it enters the 'body tube' (1368) running up to the heater slot on the driver side of car. As I said, I get minimal heat but I do get some and I do get flow to the tiny defroster. I was actually surprised when I got caught in a rain storm and saw the defroster working.

The heat coming out is not going to be sufficient this winter so I plan on putting in a DC Thermal heater. I was waiting for their ducted version which has just been released however I am not sure that version is best for us. Search the Quartz heater thread.

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Chuck MartinChuck Martin2009 Beck Speedster
Thanks Rob. I beleive the problem is between the heat exchanger and the tube the runs along the rocker panel. The heat exchangers get hot but I think the tube exiting the heat exchanger is not hooked directly to the PVC pipe that runs along the body. The car is too low for me to get under it to check. I'll have to wait to get it over to the shop and up on the rack.

Chuck
Chuck MartinChuck Martin2009 Beck Speedster
Continuing saga of the heater. I have determined it was in deed installed correctly. It has the "good" heater boxes. Checked the temperatures all along the system from the heater boxes to the cabin inlet. Dramatic drop in temperature from heater box to cabin. I've started to insulate the piping, one side partially completed, feels like a slight improvement thus far. More to follow. Again thanks for everyone's help and suggestions.
David Stroud IM Roadster DDavid Stroud IM Roadster DOttawa Canada '83 IM Soob
Giday, Chuck. I'm just going through some iterations for a heating system ( water cooled engine ) with some old junk I just had sitting around the garage including an old heater core from an unknown source and tap water with air pushed by a small bilge blower. I got to wondering how hot the air was coming out of your heat exchanger. I'm trying to establish some base lines on performance before investing in final new parts. Could you share that info and how hot it was into the cabin? Thanks.
Troy SloanTroy Sloan Supporting Member
Chuck.
If you notice where the tubes leave the heater boxes and connect to the frame, that is where the restriction is. You are trying to force all of the air from both heater boxes into a single small tube. By pass that tube with Alan's method through the tunnel or with the FiberSteel bypass tubes and you will solve that problem.
Here is video of Bob Eiland's heater after we did the bypass.
Gordon NicholsGordon NicholsMassachusetts 1993 CMC Supporting Member
Yeah, my '57 Oval Sedan had heater output like that.

But the heater boxes were old and had a lot of leaks (and I was a high school kid with limited funding and never replaced them) so the cabin would quickly fill with blue exhaust smoke so I had to ride with the windows down in all weather, just to survive. It was luke-warm in the winter (because the windows were down) and stifling in the summer even with the windows down).

Lost a few cute girlfriends because of that car, but, hey! I'm a "Car Guy", right??

Maybe those fumes are the reason I'm this way.......er....ah....today.

ummmmmm.......What was I writing about?
FM Former Member
I too bypassed the frame and now have lots of hot air. I just bought some of the tubing VS uses, to bypass the frame. Simple and easy.

I had looked at those bilge pump inline blower fans, but they could introduce smelly air if there were any leaks in the heater boxes. That could be solved if these fans could be installed above in the engine compartment and were blowing the air down instead of pulling it down.

Anyone ever try that?
David Stroud IM Roadster DDavid Stroud IM Roadster DOttawa Canada '83 IM Soob
I've rigged mine now too with a bilge blower blowing through the firewall onto the heater core mounted on the front side of the firewall behind the rear seat. There's quite a bit of room up in there. I've got an older IM and by running the same kind of flexible hose to the frame on the aircooled types blow from the fan to the heater boxes, I get plenty of air through the regular heat channels.
Troy SloanTroy Sloan Supporting Member
FiberSteel is the company that sells them.

http://www.fibersteel.com

It's a tube that replaces the tube that goes from the heat exchanger to the frame. The frame is where all the restriction is and the Fibersteel tube goes directly from the heat exchanger to the tube that travels along the sides of the car up to the front heater vents, which dramatically increases the airflow from the heat exchangers. That is what the video above is showing.
Troy
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