Air Vent Smoke

[Fly Fishing Guide]

Hi all, I wonder if any of you have experieneced a problem I am having with my 1992 Surf or could shed any light on it. My surf has been fantastic, a 2.4 model used for 2 years shifting anglers all over the U.K., always full of gear etc., and driven up a very bumpy track each day for the last year. Anyway, you all know how good they are but today I experienced my first problem. Chatting with a mate on my mobile (via headset of course!) I suddenly cancelled the call as I was alarmed to see what appeared to be smoke coming from the main air vent. It was not a great deal of smoke but certainly enough to be noticable. Stopping at a local mechanics they gave me various nods, ooohs and ahhs and said it was most likely the heater matrix burning out or possible a problem with the solinoids not kicking in some of the vents properly, therefore the air box is becoming hot. Sounds plausible but I would like to check up on the various possibitlties prior to them ripping the dash board out!!!

One thing I have noticed is that if I switch to hot on the heater the smoke is there and seems to be getting worse, on cold the problem seems to go away.

Is it smoke? Could it be steam? Cooling all seems fine, gauges just as they have been for the last 2 years. Perfect. Truck serviced as regularly as possible.

Any ideas gratefully received, many thanks, Nick Hart.

[Silversurfer]

Is it smoke - does it smell like burning ?

I had a leaking heater matrix on a Ford once, and the leaking coolant smelt like someone had left the remains of a chinese take away under the dash

[DaveD]

Got the same thing in the red and rust Metro runabout its a pinhole in the heater matrix. sometimes mists up the passengerside of screen and gives off a whiff of curry. I'll get around to fixing it sometime

[jotto]

I would say its the heater matix as the same happened to my wifes surf. Have a feel of the carpets under the heater and see if they feel damp.

[whippet]

Happened once on mine... as I driving it home from Southampton, fresh off the the boat!

It occurred just after I had turned the A/C on... turned it off quickly!

A bit further up the road I decided to risk trying the A/C again... no probs.

Never happened again.

[kitesurf_phil]

If it is smoke rather than steam I would guess at the blower motor windings getting hot or even one the fan speed resistors getting hot. Only a hunch. BTW If it is the motor windings it'll whiff like rotten smoked mackeral!

[NiftyNev]

It's probably just excess moisture in the system I get a cloud of water vapour from mine if I have had the Air Con on for a while and then switch off because it gets a bit cold.When I press button to turn back on it takes a while to remove the moisture.As an example,see what happens to the outside of a glass when it is filled with cold liquid.The air around it is warmer and so the moisture in the air condenses on the outside of the glass.The same happens with the Air Con.

Neville

[Fly Fishing Guide]

Heater Matrix

Hi again, many thanks for all your help. Sure enough had a quick chat with my regular mechanic after all your helpful replies and looked over the carpets for moisture. I have these superb grit grabbing mats from Rough Tracks and sure enough there was some moisture there on the passenger side. Dipping my finger in it revealed a kind of oily texture, tasting it was sweet, i.e. anti freeze. This does point towards the heater matrix and so I will be ordering one tommorow. Another give away is the inside windows are steaming up. Thanks again for your help and I will let you know if this cures the problem in case anyone else experiences similar circumstances. By the way had a blow out on the M5 doing 80+ (sorry cops), in the fast lane a few days back. Drivers side front tyre and yet the Surf stayed upright and got me to the hard shoulder safely, thankfully without taking anyone else with it. What an amazing machine!

[marky]

Put an add in parts wanted for a MATRIX You maybe lucky.