V70 Thermostat

[chris900]

Originally Posted by Clan

As suggested above get an ELM 327 bluetooth device for about £5 to plug in the diagnostic socket and you can read out the coolant temp and all sorts of other parameters on your phone with the " Torque" app .
The thermostat is very expensive and hard to change on this engine so prove it faulty first . I have never known one fail yet ..

Have you been out on a longer journey yet to test the heater ? Do you know you have an electric element in the heater which warms the air whilst the engine warms up? You should get warm air in under a minute . Although it is the coldest part of the winter currently , a longer drive may show the heater ok?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_f...m+327&_sacat=0

Thanks Clan. Basically what is happening is this ... when the car is driven from cold it does produce some warm air after a minute or two but it doesn't get really hot no matter how long I drive it even with the climate set on high. It will warm the car but that's all it does, it doesn't get really 'snug' hot.
Is it possible that weak coolant could be the cause? I tested mine with one of those little syringe type things that has 3 balls in it. They all floated then one of them sank to the bottom again. The coolant is also devoid of any colour.

[Clan]

Originally Posted by chris900

Thanks Clan. Basically what is happening is this ... when the car is driven from cold it does produce some warm air after a minute or two but it doesn't get really hot no matter how long I drive it even with the climate set on high. It will warm the car but that's all it does, it doesn't get really 'snug' hot.

have you got the climate set to auto and 20 C ? try that you might find the air flow too fast otherwise ... you may be just noticing the difference the outside sub zero air temperature is making to what you are used to?

First thing is to look at the actual engine coolant running temperature ...

[chris900]

Originally Posted by Clan

have you got the climate set to auto and 20 C ? try that you might find the air flow too fast otherwise ... you may be just noticing the difference the outside sub zero air temperature is making to what you are used to?

First thing is to look at the actual engine coolant running temperature ...

Is it possible that weak coolant could be the cause? I tested mine with one of those little syringe type things that has 3 balls in it. They all floated then one of them sank to the bottom again. The coolant is also devoid of any colour.

[Clan]

Originally Posted by chris900

Is it possible that weak coolant could be the cause? I tested mine with one of those little syringe type things that has 3 balls in it. They all floated then one of them sank to the bottom again. The coolant is also devoid of any colour.

No , coolant has no effect at alll on the temperature .
sounds like the coolant needs changing , but two balls floating is not too bad regarding freezing .
Get 4 litres of volvo coolant when you change it , It is the best quality , does not require changing and it is also the best value .

[chris900]

Originally Posted by Clan

No , coolant has no effect at alll on the temperature .
sounds like the coolant needs changing , but two balls floating is not too bad regarding freezing .
Get 4 litres of volvo coolant when you change it , It is the best quality , does not require changing and it is also the best value .

Yes that's what I'll be doing. The closest Volvo dealer is 30 miles away so it's just a matter of finding the time to go and get it. In the meantime I'll try your suggestion about turning the heating down and setting it on auto.

[Clan]

Originally Posted by chris900

Yes that's what I'll be doing. The closest Volvo dealer is 30 miles away so it's just a matter of finding the time to go and get it. In the meantime I'll try your suggestion about turning the heating down and setting it on auto.

I would fix your problem first , you might need other parts which are more important at the moment 👍

[V70Zig]

Originally Posted by chris900

I don't have one

I don't have one either, but I do have Vida Dice and an ELM 327.
For what it cost it works just fine and I don't have a laptop sitting on the passenger seat with the Dice cable running to it to view the coolant temp.

Take the advise already posted on here and get one which should or should not rule out the thermostat.....dependant on the readings that is.

[Kev0607]

Originally Posted by chris900

Is it possible that weak coolant could be the cause? I tested mine with one of those little syringe type things that has 3 balls in it. They all floated then one of them sank to the bottom again. The coolant is also devoid of any colour.

Low coolant level may affect the heat, as in if there's hardly in the reservoir or radiator. The coolant itself won't though, but it sounds like yours needs changing at some point with it having no colour as such.

[MCFastybloke]

Flushed and changed today with minty green goodness, hard to get the temp over 90 tho even with full use of the slip road. will spike at 92 ish then settle down to late 80's when i have cruise on at 73 mph

[Clan]

Originally Posted by MCFastybloke

Flushed and changed today with minty green goodness, hard to get the temp over 90 tho even with full use of the slip road. will spike at 92 ish then settle down to late 80's when i have cruise on at 73 mph

that's not bad considering the ambient air temperature outside , ie freezing !