Technical Car blowing only cold air

[Richyd321]

Hi - I'm new here but used to own a 1967 500 and currently own a 2023 Abarth. However this is a question about my Aunts' car, which is a 2008 500.

Her HVAC system is having a hissy fit and the car only blows cold air. She has left it with me to look at, and the temperature reading on the aircon is flashing constantly, regardless of how hot or cold I set it. I haven't seen this before on our Abarth, so I'm wondering if the HVAC "head unit" has a problem...?? The car only blows cold air currently. Anything I should check or look at that's obvious..???

She has taken the car to a mechanic who wants £1500 but the car is only worth around that much and she is 80 yrs old, retired and cannot afford that kind of bill.

Any help would be greatly appreciated guys!

Thanks - Rich

 

[John202020]

Manual controls or climate control?

 

[varesecrazy]

Hi - I'm new here but used to own a 1967 500 and currently own a 2023 Abarth. However this is a question about my Aunts' car, which is a 2008 500.

Her HVAC system is having a hissy fit and the car only blows cold air. She has left it with me to look at, and the temperature reading on the aircon is flashing constantly, regardless of how hot or cold I set it. I haven't seen this before on our Abarth, so I'm wondering if the HVAC "head unit" has a problem...?? The car only blows cold air currently. Anything I should check or look at that's obvious..???

She has taken the car to a mechanic who wants £1500 but the car is only worth around that much and she is 80 yrs old, retired and cannot afford that kind of bill.

Any help would be greatly appreciated guys!

Thanks - Rich

Hi,

sounds like it has Digital Climate..

The system is far from bulletproof

But 1st, try a reset of the system

SEARCH on here, user @s130 has posted it a few times

 

[jrkitching]

There is a known fault on pre-2012 cars fitted with climate control. The flow of hot air is controlled by a flap which is actuated by a plastic rod, which is prone to breaking. Once it breaks, the flap stops moving, and it's buried deep inside the heater box where you can't easily get to it. It's one of the first things that goes into the bodyshell in the factory.

Unfortunately the 'official' way of repairing this is hugely complex, involving the removal of the dash, the steering column, most of the interior forward of the seats and both doors. If you're a professional mechanic who's done one before, it's a full days work; two home mechanics on the forum managed it, but it took them a week. And parts are not available separately, so you have to buy a complete heater box from Fiat; the last time I looked for a price on one was before Covid, and the part alone was well north of £1000 back then. Secondhand heater boxes are all too likely to have the same fault. An 'official' repair will cost considerably more than £1500 and more than the value of the car.

Fortunately there is another way, which involves a certain amount of improvisation, but there is a garage in Hampshire that can do this for a much more reasonable £175; check out this website, and scroll down to Fiat 500 climate control system repair. They're a well regarded garage and are familiar with the issue, so I'd say it's worth making the drive.

Be aware that if the improvised method is tried by someone who's not fully familiar with it, it can put the system beyond this repair, so be careful before trusting anyone else with this work.

There are also other faults which can stop the system working, so it's important to get a proper diagnosis from someone familiar with the system before committing to a repair.

However, on a 17yr old 500, there is the other option of buying a warm coat and a pair of gloves; lack of a functioning heater isn't going to stop anyone using the car for its primary function of providing transportation. When I first started driving, a heater was often an optional extra on basic cars.

 

[ReadyPlayerOne]

SCS are a great garage as I’ve taken my wife’s car there for repairs and wouldn’t look at going anywhere else.

 

[Richyd321]

Thanks for the replies guys. This is all very helpful. I will try a system reset and vacuum out the temp sensor, but if that doesn’t work looks like I’m taking a drive to Southampton.

Really appreciate everyone responding to this message