Disco 200tdi heater problems

Hi All

Just got an old 3dr Disco 200tdi with all the usual problems including an intermitant heater fan. Sometimes its very noisy/ screechy and cuts in and out and then settles down and runs ok, doesnt seem to be working at all at the moment. I've done a fair bit of searching on the subject of the heater fan on the forum and realise its a dash out job if its the motor its self.

Do the symptoms sound like the switch/ voltage regulator or the motor itself?

cheers

common fault on the 200tdi when they are getting on in years,very hard to find a good second hand one,yes iits dash out replace the whole heater.

mine's shagged too, and its the second one ive put in it. but that was second hand too!

i have now fitted a heated windscreen as a major precaution for the winter, but i have found that switching to recirculate and spraying wd40 down the air inlet (reached from up behind the glovebox) did make it work better.

also i carry a hammer in car, and when it doesnt work i give it a good tapping on in the middle of the drivers side foot vent (there is a platic trim to direct it from behind the dash, i tap it inside of the trim directly onto the box, hard to explain but you'll see) and that often gets it going when its needed!

the dash isnt difficult to take out but its definitely a PITA job if you know what i mean.

cheers

Do the symptoms sound like the switch/ voltage regulator or the motor itself?

Click to expand...

Definitely the motor - the screeching is due to the steel shaft running unlubricated in the plain bearing. Unless you can find a way of reliably lubricating it the problem will keep coming back. I rebuilt my motor with some small instrument ball bearing races that I found at work and it's been ok so far but the blower still has sod all output compared to most Fords.

Thanks for the info guys - confirms my worst fears! Sods law its broken just as the weather turns cold, I've got to leave it idling for ages for it to demist without the blower in these temps!

Any idea what sort of time it takes to take the dash out to change the motor - are we talking in hours or days? I'm trying to get a manual on flea bay to find out whats involved.

Did mine in a day ......and that was using the Haynes book of lies

mine took about 4 hours to get out and probably the same to get back in, and that was with no help or instruction.

as above, it's not a hard job, just PITA.

remove centre console, remove heater panel, remove instruments, steering wheel and column covers, remove passenger grab hanle, remove a pillar trims etc etc

basically remove everything

i've got the same problem too! are the heaters crap on the 200tdi? mine blow warm ish and my coolant level is fine, altho the temp guage on mine never goes up more than the first quater. any thing else i should check?

Between the front diff and the fan my stereo is drowned out!

Hi Lyndon

Got the same problem (aswell as a knackered heater motor!!), takes ages for the temp gauge on my disco to get anywhere near the 1/4 mark, I've changed the temp sender but its the same. From searching the forum it looks like the 200tdi does run cold but I've noticed that the fan is constantly turning even from a completely cold start up so I presume the engine never gets a chance to warm up. So the next job on my ever lengthening list is to look at the viscous "thing" to try and get so heat in the damn thing

Mine only runs on the fastest speed setting & after 10secs it roars like a train & the entire dash shakes! I will deffo try the WD40 up the air intake & the hammer trick otherwise its the dash out, or stick with the 12v hairdryer I bought off e-bay, that works but you dont half get funny looks from people!

12v hairdryer:clap2: what a cool idea blueskip. As there's so much snow in pembrokeshire at the moment I dont want to take the dash out at the moment as the disco is inuse everyday.

regards the engine temp, fit a new thermostat (ideally a hot one, the 300tdi thermostat was hotter opening) and also remove viscous fan

a 200tdi will be just fine in these temps with no fan

cheers

I had same problems as all you guys, screeching, only one speed etc. but got the heater out of the matrix and lubricated all the bearings in the motor itself and then ran it outsid the matrix to make sure it was all clean and smooth. Put back in and works fine but I have one problem which I would like some help with if anyone can...The previous owner had a problem with the fan switch, the one that selects the speed and he disconnected the wires off the back of it. I have a new one now but have no idea which wires go to which terminals on the switch because it was a moulded plug before. If anyone gets the matrix out could you please post a photo of the back of the fan switch so I can see the colour of the wires in relation to the plug. The diagram in the manual gives no indication and the switch itself has a strange set of contacts. cheers
Rob

This is the back of the switch, the bottom right pin is the main power into the switch.



This is a bad picture of the loom but you might be able to work it out, sorry best I have on hand as spent too long putting it back together so not wanting to take it apart again.

Not sure if it interests anyone but this is what the back of the blower motor tends to look like when it is worn out!!



The shaft simply runs in a brass/bronze bush and wears to a point of jamming all the time.

New ones are available from various suppliers and all have a common issue of being slightly too small to fit the housing properly and need shimming to get a snug fit, I have had my old one reconditioned and modded with bearings so that "when" the S/H one fails I can just fit the newly refurbed one and job done.

very nice

i never successfully got inside my heater boxes!

I’ve got a new motor to put inside my box. Does anyone no the easiest way of stripping the box without braking things

Half a dozen clips and some screws, some are bonded a bit too.

Be patient and feel what's happening as you pull it apart.

Do you no if any other heater boxes are the same as the 200 one ??

87-90 RRC are almost identical.

Why have you not fixed the one you have?

Thought you had a new motor for it?

You are searching for parts that are at least 25yrs old now and some over 30!

Fix what you have, if you really are struggling PM me, you can send it and all your parts via DPD/FEDEX/RoyalMail/courier of your choice and I will fix it free of charge and all you have to do is sort out the postage, might be easier than fannying around looking for that proverbial needle in't hay stack that might just be worse than the one you've got.