Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Maintenance & Servicing Roadster heater matrix drip (possibly ?)

I know/understand little about the workings of my car's heater (about as much as Bridget Jones asking "What happens at the office ?"). But could that be the source of a small puddle that has recently started appearing under the car ?

It's only been there the last few times I've been out, and then parked-up overnight. It has coincided with the cold weather, when I've been turning the heater knob on to full (and similarly, I don't know what that actually does -- is it connected to some kind of servo motor to open/close vents, or is it a simple mechanical linkage ?). The puddle-ette is about a couple of tablespoons, of a clear and unfamiliar smelling liquid. It evaporates once wiped away, but it doesn't look/feel/smell like radiator coolant, not oil, not petrol, not washer fluid, not brake fluid.... very slightly like cabbage water or cat's wee (and no I don't have a cat). Despite peering closely into the bowels of the car in the area ahead of the gearbox, I can't see any signs of a drip. So before I pull anything apart, any ideas ?

M'lord .... the heater shares the radiator water so it should look/feel/smell like that if it's from there.

K

One of the features of Trad Morgans is that in really cold weather, the metal coolant pipes contract just enough to allow a small weep from the joint with a rubber hose.

I had a long battle with my Roadster over a couple of winters because of this feature. This was made worse because the long pipe which runs under the nearside exhaust manifold is angled at the rear end and is not perfectly round.

Look behind the engine on the nearside, where you will find the water pump and thermostat housing, and a host of rubber hoses. One is a short straight pipe. With the engine OFF!, rub your finger around the joins..........

It could also be from the washer bottle.

Thanks chaps, I'll check those out.
And yes, it's colourless so I assume like the coolant in the rad, only that should have some antifreeze ? And the washer liquid is blue.

It's not unknown for the Heater matrixes to fail. I know of one on a Roadster and mine +8 both leaked into the footwell.

Eek, that's a job for tomorrow -- pad around in the footwell and hunt for soggy patches.

Simple mechanical linkage Peter. The knob operates a push/pull bowden cable in turn operating remotely fairly common heater valve, controlling the coolant flow through the core.

Thanks Richard, I can relate to that. Bowden cables (used to, c.1980) provide an excellent means of attaching skis/bidings. And selecting gears on mountain bikes. So if I need to, I'll get poking around the cables.

Could it be battery acid? Try tasting....
Or does a 2009 Roadster have air conditioning?

Ah yes, I love the taste of battery acid in the morning (not really...). My car does have A/C, but the matrix is at the front of the car.


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