Heater Controls

[Graham-P]

Now that I have made a panel up to house the air con / blower / heater valve controls I would like to finish it by adding some grafics i.e. I II III for the blower speeds and the blue and red bands for the temps. Any ideas where I could get these from???
Also what about different knobs, the rubber ones are ok as they have the symbols on the front but I would like something a bit more 'alli' looking.

Edited by Graham-P on Thursday 12th July 20:46

[RazMan]

Graham, it depends on the size of the graphics required bu you can probably get something cut at your local sign shop - I used to get good results down to 5mm or so. To make sure they stay put just give them a light coat od laquer.

mmmmmmm, Air con ............ I just fitted the poor man's version to my car this week

Suprisingly effective

[gritbox]

Ive got a lazer etcher at work...you are welcome to drop by and etch a piece of ali if you want.... then you can have a bit of Cosworth in your car

[Davrianman]

Hi Graham,

Saw these the other day in Car Builders Solutions..

http://www.nfauto.co.uk/switch_legends.htm

May be useful? How does the servo controlled heater valve work? Have you tested it yet?

Cheers

Mart

[Graham-P]

Razman, good point, there are a couple of sign places around here, I'll give them a call. I have the helicopter vents in a box somewhere I will fit them when I pluck up the courage to drill the perspex!!!

Martin, the valve works very well and smoothly, I have located it at the rear of the passenger luggage bin. . . . . .but I did notice that the rollbar bracing strut (CanAm) still got very warm, though not hot like before, with the valve closed. Anyone else get a very warm luggage bin with the valve closed? It was suggested before that it was down to conduction, but it's the warm strut that's a bit of a worry.

[ultimad]

Hi Graham - how will you operate the heater valve - is it via solenoid and if so which one did you buy ? I want to retrofit this when i do my centry console - I haven't really looked into this yet but should I operate the cable (in its recommended location) from the solenoid or somehow try to fit the solenoid directly to the valve (although I'm not entirely sure this will be possible given its location at the front of the passenger luggage bin)

[Graham-P]

It's the valve that Vintage Air do, part number is 50507-VUA, only thing is you can't buy direct from VA but have to go through their dealer outlet, which to be honest is a bit hit and miss. I went with Davrianman and I believe it was SoCalSpeedShopEast who supplied us, but shipping was around 4 weeks.
It comes all wired up all you have to do is locate the switch (small pot) the knob is the same design as the factory knobs, wire into a circuit that's ignition fed and replace the valve. I repositioned my valve to the back of the luggage bin, the small ECU I stuck inside the dash next to the door hinge and still had plenty of wiring.
Having just looked at the VA site I see that they do decals and control panels with different knobs,some backlit, although can't really see the quality as it's a pdf file in black and white.

Edited by Graham-P on Friday 13th July 15:11

[craig-ultima]

Now that I've banged up my car for a few weeks (again) I think I'm going to install a summer/winter lock-off valve for the heater core water flow.

I finally fixed my air con leaks a month ago and I noticed that depending on when I started the AC during a drive, the AC would work at different levels. Essentially it looks like the standard H pipe and manually set heater control valve still allow hot coolant to pass into the heater core even when off. So I think I might replace the H pipe from the factory with a 2x2 switch that completely disconnects the heater core during our hot midwest summers.

[Davrianman]

Hi Craig,

I was thinking of using a Ford Ka (also fiesta and transit) heater control valve, the same as stig's, but operate it seperately from the AC control switch. This way, with the AC on, you will completely bypass the heater matrix back to engine.

Has anyone tried this?

Also, is the 'H' piece fitting really required?

Cheers

[RazMan]

I think that my heater valve is from a KA. It's a neat little plastic solenoid valve which is normally open (heater on) and you apply power to the solenoid to bypass the flow. In the off position it allows a very small amount of water to flow through the matrix, presumably to prevent airlocks

Edited by RazMan on Monday 16th July 23:00

[CanAm Dave]

Hi Graham

Did you see Garry Shipstones GTR it was parked next to mine at Stoneleigh. His A/C ali controls were from an Elise and looked the part. There were pics of it in the complete kit car article couple of months ago.

Regards Dave

[Daston]

for nobs you could try these might be a bit too bling tho

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=1823&...

[GTRMikie]

Davrianman said:

Also, is the 'H' piece fitting really required?

Cheers

When I built my car in 1999 the air con / heater kit did not include an "H" piece. The car has been running trouble free without one for the past 7 years (and the heater matrix remains cold with the heater valve shut)

[Alan 2]

GTRMikie said:

Davrianman said:

Also, is the 'H' piece fitting really required?

Cheers

When I built my car in 1999 the air con / heater kit did not include an "H" piece. The car has been running trouble free without one for the past 7 years (and the heater matrix remains cold with the heater valve shut)

Mine is the same. No "H" piece, no problem. Alan.

[Davrianman]

Thanks for the info chaps. I won't bother fitting one then.

Cheers,

Mart