2004 LS430, SORNed for ages, now heater doesn't blow

[Random]

Hello, new here, trying to get my late partner's LPG'd 2004 LS430 back on the road after about 2 years sat on the driveway. Friend of a friend came and sorted the most obvious problems, but when MOT day rolled round (mostly to check if there's any big work/welding needed rather than actually expecting it to pass) it was -7 and I discovered that the heater wasn't working, so had to cancel as I couldn't get it demisted just by wiping it. Checked stuff like lights previously but not that. It's warmed up enough now that I could probably get it to the MOT place without a heater but I'd be happier if it was working, especially as my arms aren't long enough to wipe that much window while driving if it does start to fog.

Today it finally stopped raining long enough for me to go outside and check the fuses. I've never seen the square type of fuses before, but assuming you're supposed to be able to see if they've gone by looking through their tops, they all seem fine. #1 in the long thin fuse box towards the back was sticking up a bit, so I pushed it back into place, reconnected the Battery and started the car up hoping the issue was that simple. It wasn't. I had the engine running for several minutes while I faffed around poking things on the climate section of the screen trying to get something to happen. When I press the FRONT button to the right of the screen it lights up and sometimes it makes a noise like a hoover starting up (but much quieter) for a second or so then after a bit the light goes out. If I press the OFF button with a fan on it, sometimes if I then go into Climate and press HI or press the FRONT button again, it'll make that noise again. Sometimes it doesn't. ONCE it blew merrily for all of about a second and then went off again. No matter what I pressed, I couldn't get it to do that again.

Presumably if it was a fuse it wouldn't do anything at all, but car electrics are a terrifying mystery to me, doubly so when there's what looks like eleventy million wires, all black. Is it likely to be a dodgy wire somewhere? Something that's damp and not happy about it? Something full of leaves? Some consumable I've not thought of which needs changing? A problem somewhere else entirely that I would never guess is related? Any hints you can give would be appreciated (especially if they don't involve buying a multimeter).

 

[Micholas]

Sounds like your blower motor. It’s quite a common part to fail on all car brands.. but you’ll need this properly diagnosed.

I’ll probably be strung up on here for this.. But I find the blower/air con system on LS430’s problematic at the best of times. I’ve had mine now for 2 years and I’m forever chasing faults with it. Once one is fixed, a month or so later another will develop. It’s had issues since I got the car. Pretty indicative of the rest of the car. The engines very reliable though! 😃

[Random]

I saw... somewhere that it can be low coolant, so nipped out with a torch and had a look and it is low, so off to Halfords in the morning. Of all the cars he had, this one has probably been the least problematic, electrically... but then the rest of them were british.

[cruisermark]

11 minutes ago, Random said:

I saw... somewhere that it can be low coolant, so nipped out with a torch and had a look and it is low, so off to Halfords in the morning. Of all the cars he had, this one has probably been the least problematic, electrically... but then the rest of them were british.

hold fire ! - these cars always show low coolant when the engine is cold - I will upload a picture of coolant tank in the morning - compare it with yours before taking any action.

On a side not you should never use anything in these cars apart from Toyota Red coolant.

has the radiator been changed on yours?

[steve2006]

Hi Random and welcome to the LOC.

Bear in mind these cars have Climate Control and being computer controlled the blower will not operate until the engine has warmed up if the selected cabin temperature is above ambient temperature to avoid blowing cold air into a cold cabin.

Did you leave the car running long enough for the coolant to warm up to the normal level on the gauge?

[Random]

Hi guys,

I have no idea whether the radiator has been changed, but it looks like someone's had the plastic bit off the front at some point because the bolts don't look original to me and one of them doesn't appear to be attached to anything, it's just sat in a hole. Googling indicated that there should be a filler cap under there for the coolant but there isn't, dunno if that tells you anything about whether it's been replaced. Halfords web site indicated that their own-brand OAT stuff was right when I gave it the reg. Haven't put any in, though, because the cap on the little tank thing on the left is stuck/done up tighter than I can get off without some sort of tool. I was going to see if the MOT place would do it for me. Is it just that IAT and OAT shouldn't be mixed or would the OAT do something horrid? Because I wouldn't want to bet that the thing doesn't have OAT in it already.

I was sat in the car poking things for at least five minutes, possibly longer (I was prodding my phone for a bit) and it wasn't as cold out as it was a couple of weeks ago, dunno if that would be long enough. It was never my daily drive, but I'm pretty sure it never had an issue with demisting/defrosting the screen when he had it. I would have expected him to sell it on and get something else if it had because he was used to the heated windscreens on the rover 75s we had previously and his mother used to say he changed his car more often than some people change their socks.

[Random]

Alright, so, after having to cancel again due to weather, today was finally MOT day.

At the weekend, when I moved it around a bit on the driveway (mostly to make sure it did roll, steer and stop) a dead pigeon fell out, which didn't seem like a particularly promising start. Still, even with no heater it was nicer to drive than the 107 and somehow it passed (after being treated to one new tyre) and boss let me go get it. While driving it home after slapping some tax on it, the 'front' light didn't go out and I could feel some warmth coming out, it just wasn't blowing.

So. 1) There's a bewildering number of fuses in there - any idea which one(s) specifically I need to check? 2) Is this likely to be the bit I need to replace? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/324808013258?hash=item4ba010f5ca:g:HOAAAOSw87JhVHc-