Author Topic: Warm air from centre vents  (Read 7837 times)

foulolron

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Warm air from centre vents
« on: 16 November 2011, 09:21:54 PM »
Hi All,

New to the forum and new to Saab's, just bought my first - it's a 9-3 1.9Tid Vector Sport (MY2006) with the newer style interior - dual climate control, still getting used to it, not sure if this is a fault or not but trying to get hot air from the centre dash vents and it's only warm (heating turned up full) - side vents nice and hot, any one have any ideas - thought it might be motorised flaps to direct the heat but not sure it the car has them (the a/c is ice cold from all vents when tried it)

Thanks

Max Headroom

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Re: Warm air from centre vents
« Reply #1 on: 16 November 2011, 11:42:57 PM »
Hello Foulolron, and a big welcome to the forum. Sounds like we have similar age/model cars (except mine has 93 million miles of headroom)

I'm getting plenty of hot out of the centre louvres on mine at approx the same rate it is coming from the side louvres. It does sound like you might have a crushed pipe, or a pipe that has come off.

Unfortunately I am new to the car, so not totally familiar with it as yet, but I am sure someone else here may be able to throw some light onto the suspected problem.

Guyver1

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Re: Warm air from centre vents
« Reply #2 on: 17 November 2011, 05:59:25 AM »
On your settings, (yours will different to mine as I have the older dashboard) , select heater controls, then choose to get the air coming out of the face level vents only. Then check your getting the same heat through all vents, if not then it could be the control unit is faulty or like Trenchfoot says it could be a crushed hose.

If it the heat feels the same throughout the vents, then all is fine, my vents get nuclear hot on the sides, but very little warm air comes through the centre vents when it's set to auto. If the centre vents got as hot as the sides, it would be more work to get the dual zones to stay at the required temp.

Also only getting higher temp out of side vents is like having central heating under your windows, it stops the cold air around the windows.

Max Headroom

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Re: Warm air from centre vents
« Reply #3 on: 17 November 2011, 09:02:34 AM »
Guyver you just pointed something out I might have overlooked.

I'm definately not in auto because Im getting this hot air blast through all louvres with the roof down. With the roof down I'm sure the AC is off.

I haven't tried it in auto


foulolron

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Re: Warm air from centre vents
« Reply #4 on: 17 November 2011, 12:50:01 PM »
Thanks for all the replys, I think I must have it on auto so will try it on manual at face level tonight on my way home, I'll update my findings

foulolron

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Re: Warm air from centre vents
« Reply #5 on: 17 November 2011, 09:27:58 PM »
Well......engine temp at normal so  cranked the heat up, face level on fan to full and although not the nuclear heat I expexted all vents seem to push out the same heat so looks like all OK there  ;D , but maybe it's me I just expected it to be hotter, just wondering what it'll be like in the depths of winter

Max Headroom

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Re: Warm air from centre vents
« Reply #6 on: 18 November 2011, 09:38:32 AM »
You do still sound quite concerned that this is not generating much heat.

With the hood down (so not in auto) I get a nicely warm blast I can direct onto my hands from those vents while driving - the centre one is not quite as good as the one on my right but I put this down to it being slightly further from the steering wheel.

If this is concerning you still that the heat is just not apparent, I'm wondering if you have a partially/blocked heater matrix or something.

foulolron

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Re: Warm air from centre vents
« Reply #7 on: 18 November 2011, 12:50:27 PM »
Just not sure what heat to expect - I p'xd a S Type Jag for the 9-3 - the Jag's heat was face meltingly hot, I'll get it checked out next week to be sure, also it seems to take longer for the engine temp to get to normal than the Jag - same journey to work after say 3 miles jag was up to temp where as in the 9-3 it's more like 5 miles

Guyver1

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Re: Warm air from centre vents
« Reply #8 on: 18 November 2011, 01:50:29 PM »
Sounds like you might have a dodgy thermostat, I only 2 miles at the most and the needle is centre of the dial. That would also explain the poor heating.

Max Headroom

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Re: Warm air from centre vents
« Reply #9 on: 18 November 2011, 05:04:47 PM »
...after say 3 miles jag was up to temp where as in the 9-3 it's more like 5 miles

Mine is up to temp way less than 5 miles, (at recent air temps) so could be you have probs with thermostat as has been suggested already

Rickl

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Re: Warm air from centre vents
« Reply #10 on: 19 November 2011, 11:37:28 AM »
Diesels can take considerably longer to warm up than petrols.  My 1.9 Tid takes about 4-5 miles in the winter before the temp guage moves to the middle.  My previous Vectra 2.2 diesel was the same (same engine as early 93 ss diesels).  I'm no expert, but I believe diesel fuel uses more of its latent energy providing power whereas petrol wastes more as heat (something like that - I took A-level physics in the 70s so I'm sure someone will be along soon to correct me), hence the better mileage.  Having said that SWMBO's Peugeot 207 1.6 diesel warms up a quickly as any petrol car.

Audax

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Re: Warm air from centre vents
« Reply #11 on: 19 November 2011, 01:41:50 PM »
I've checked this over the past few days in a few 9-3ss, it does indeed seem that with everything set to auto that the centre vents are not as hot as the outer ones, this does kind of make sense in that you want the heat on the windows.

Max Headroom

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Re: Warm air from centre vents
« Reply #12 on: 19 November 2011, 02:39:41 PM »
OK - have done two checks - both from cold, and the results are:
Mine takes about 3.5 miles to become fully warm (gauges) and that is from starting up and driving off without any hesitation, into the countryside at gentle speeds with one set of traffic lights en route that may or may not hold me up

Alan

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Re: Warm air from centre vents
« Reply #13 on: 19 November 2011, 07:47:18 PM »
My 1.9 is very sensitive to the type of road when it's warming up in winter. On level roads with 30 to 50 limits and no junctions it can still be only a quarter of the way up the dial after 6 or 7 miles. If it has to work a bit harder ie uphill 60 mph limit it's up to temp in 2.5 miles or less. ( thermostat's been checked and it's working fine ) Even before it's fully warmed up it does kick out a lot of heat and I don't need to set it above 24 to keep warm with the top down no matter how cold it is.

Saabman

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Re: Warm air from centre vents
« Reply #14 on: 20 November 2011, 06:51:07 AM »
I have bought a thermostat for mine a few weeks ago as on a journey to work the gauge seemed slow to rise and a lack of heat came out of the vents, I didn't get round to fitting it as ever since the heat seems sort of OK and the gauge has been rising quicker. I will no doubt get caught out on a frosty morning because I'm too lazy to do a simple job  ;)