Heating for Vauxhall Zafira not working?

My wifes Zafira had this problem and here's an option to try before you spend loads at the vauxhall garage. Open the bonnet and at the back of the engine bay you will see two hoses going to the bulkhead. These are the heater hoses and the bottom one is out and the top one is in. The hoses come off easily if you pull back the plastic retaining ring at the end of the hose and then pull the hose off the bulkhead mounted metal pipe. Do this for both hoses and bend them up and fix them in the up position so you don't lose any water (plus antifreeze). Get your garden hose pipe and fit a quick fit "click" connecter to it. You will need the male part of the connecter outwards and you can get all the fitting at any garden center or B&Q. Put the male end into the metal heater pipe (top one first) it should just fit, and turn on the tap. You will get water going everywhere but you should see a good flow through the heater radiator coming out of the bottom metal heater pipe. Run for a few minutes and reverse the input to the bottom pipe and flush backwards through the heater radiator. I saw quite a bit of mucky water coming out of ours. Once the flow runs clear reconnect the radiator rubber pipes remembering to push the plastic retaining rings back into place after the pipe is in the correct position. Start the engine and and if you're lucky like me you will have heat. I think that sludge builds up over the years and I also put radweld into my radiator when I had a leak from the main engine radiator which I don't suppose helped the heater flow. This is worth a try and it worked for me and cost nothing unlike vauxhall dealers.

Ian
January 2014

Found this on another size, not sure if it works:


There is an additional valve in the coolant circuit to the heater matrix.
This valve stops flow of coolant through the matrix when the heat control is set to fully cold.

It is a round disc shaped object, about 2" dia., with a single vacuum pipe coming out of the top, and is mounted on one of the two coolant pipes where they run through the bulkhead (engine side) and into the heater box.

Try disconnecting and plugging this vacuum hose and seeing if the heater then works.

If it does, then the vaccum control system for this valve has a fault.
If it doesn't, then either the valve is stuck or there is a blockage or air lock in the heater matrix or pipes to it.

Jarvster
November 2010

i have only cold air coming out of the blowers on all settings and when turning the heating dial on there is a continuos clicking noise.

colin james
December 2009