Hey all.

My BA heater just stopped working altogether.

Before I start taking things apart in a major way, is there any way I can diagnose between whether the HIM is faulty, or, whether the blender shaft is broken?

I don't know if the following is pure coincidence, or, whether this caused a fail in the HIM; read on...

We're cruising along taking my kids to school, when suddenly my son is yelling "Dad! DAD!! DAAAAAD!!!" and pointing at smoke wafting out of the rear pillar where the wiring connects to the rear screen demister. Screech to a halt. Electrical burning smell. Quickly turn off the demister (it was chilly and the rear screen was fogged), aircon, everything. Smouldering stops. Quickly disconnect the wire to the rear demister, for safety. Wait a few minutes. Seems all good.

Carry on cruising to school. Then five minutes down the road, BOOM!!! the rear windscreen literally exploded. REALLY loudly. Day not going well so far, and it's only 8:30am

Anyway. Later on (having had the rear screen temporarily patched with adhesive film till the replacement glass arrives), I go to heat the car up for the kids after school, and... cold air only. F**K.

Some other notes:

I've checked all the fuses - everything 100% okay.

With the engine hot and running, and the heater turned to maximum heat, the heater feed and return pipes in the engine bay are really hot to the touch.

With the engine off (so I can hear clearly), and the ignition ON, when I turn the heater dial e.g. from "cold" fully round to "hot", I can hear a faint whirr and then a faint kinda "clunk" from inside the dash/HIM area. This makes me think the HIM is actually okay??, because the heater dial is "making something happen" inside the dash.

ANY advice appreciated, before I decide whether or not to attack the full dash-out repair job. I'm a single Dad and use the car every day with work, I'm knackered without wheels so don't want it end up stuck in the driveway in bits, if I can avoid it.

What a s**t day it's been. But I've had worse. Thanks for any advice.

i had this problem few months back and it wasn't the HIM OR SHARFT I was a small split in heater hose. this might be a good place to start

Thanks man - heater hoses have just been replaced with silicon so all good there...