my heater doesnt blow hot

[bcrosby]

What would make my heater not blow hot? Now that its getting cold out ive noticed that my heater just doesnt blow hot. Could it be the thermostat? Any ideas would be appriciated.

 

[Buck_Team_Ty]

What is your engine temp. looking like? If its up way high then its a good chance its your thermostat...

 

[bcrosby]

Engine temp is normal, right in the middle of the gauge, I had a different DSM last winter and the heater burned you out of the car if you left in on high. This car is just barely warm after a 20 min. drive to work. I just hope its the thermo.

 

[turboholic]

-Check the coolant hoses that goes into the firewall by the fuel filter, they're for the heater, the hose might clog or something.

 

[abstraction]

prolly the thermostat... shouldn't cost too much to replace.. had the same problem with an old minivan i used to have.... could drive it for hours... engine would be warm..... not HOT .. but normal... heater would be frigid....

 

[crazyjoe]

Also check to make sure you have enough antifreeze. If you're low, your heater won't perform as well. Otherwise, it cold be cloged hoses or a clogged heater core.

 

[Brodie]

I just got my car back together and im having alot of little problems, one of them being i live near chicago and have NO HEAT. The classic heater core blowing syptoms havent happened. i just have no heat. when the car is on and the selector is to cold its DAMN cold i move it to hot, it warms up like ONE degree, what do i do.

 

[Brodie]

btw i checked the HVAC controls and there doesnt seem to be a problem there.

 

[turbolover2]

Does it get warm if you hold the RPMs up? If so, check the coolant, it's probably low. From there, look for a leak.

 

[Brodie]

the heat doesnt blow hot no matter what i do, i checked for leaks and found none. but i can try adding more coolant.

 

[laserblue]

Does the temp gauge read 1/2 way up like normal? If not, the thermostat may be stuck open. Does the radiator feel hot after some driving? Again- it may be the thermostat or it could be a weird circulation problem. Do the hoses [in the engine compartment] to and from the heater core feel hot? Maybe the heater core is clogged. Can you definately 'feel' and 'hear' that the temp knob is actually moving 'something' when you turn it? If the hoses are hot but no heat is blowing then perhaps the baffles/air directors may not be moving to the correct position. Does the air feel warmer at low speed fan setting? That's signs of poor circulation, cool water temp or partially clogged core. All these things must be checked. I've had cars with weak heat but never with no heat! My Laser has the hottest heat of any car that I've ever owned. LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU DISCOVER.... If all else fails--- I hear that Florida is nice this time of year!!!!!!

 

[Brodie]

well. To everyone still tuning in. I have heat now
it turns out that the selector on the box broke. From what i could see before the selector moved and worked fine but its was actually stripped and not moving anything. So i pulled one from my other car (parts car) and replaced it and now im all good.

 

[laserblue]

Wow, you mean that my post might have helped !!! Great, YOU'VE GOT HEAT. I guess that with me writing hundreds of posts ... sooner or later I'd be of help. [I'm talkin' about the part in my post above where I wrote "Can you definately 'feel' and 'hear' that the temp knob is actually moving 'something' when you turn it?"]
Good luck, great holidays,
JOEL [my real name, not nick-name]

 

[Redspyder98]

My heater creates heat only when I rev up the engine. When I am on Idle it doesn't heat up at all. The higher the engine is reving the hotter the air gets, and it gets very hot after a while of driving.
I need you help, if anyone knows what possibly could be wrong, please tell me.

 

[fasteclipse1992]

sounds like low coolant add more. revin it up is causin the water pump to spin faster to be able to move the coolant through the heater core

 

[steve]

Everytime I've lost heat in the wintertime it's been due to the thermostat failing open. If your getting heat at a standstill but not with any air moving over the car try replacing it with a OEM thermostat.

Steve

 

[igorsgonemadd]

anyone ever have there heater quit blowing. Well i just did so i tried replacing the heater motor that didnt work. I have checked fuses all seem to be good assuming i have checked the right ones anyone have this happen?

 

[leakyfaucet]

Are you saying the fan doesn't work?

 

[igorsgonemadd]

Yes the fan does not come on.

 

[Defiant]

First guess: It's the resistor pack in the heater, just downstream of the blower.

 

[igorsgonemadd]

Ok not to sound like a complete idiot but what in the world is a resistor pack? Your not talking about a relay are you? Please explain more I would greatly appreciate it

Thanks Igor

 

[Defiant]

To control the speed of the heater blower, the switch on the dash runs circuits through a couple of resistors. Follow the wiring down to the heater housing, you'll see where they go to the side of the blower housing.

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=97686

They use resistors because it's the cheapest way to control the speed of high-amperage devices like blowers. It's in the heater airflow because they get hot as all hell.

Uh... you did already check your fuses, right?

It could also be that the dash switch has taken "le merde tres plus grand", or that the harness is unplugged. You been dicking around under there lately?

 

[igorsgonemadd]

Thanks Defiant you really seem to know these cars. I am going to try to look at this more tonight (my wife has the car now). I do not think it is a fuse because it starteds working once then quit again shortly. Also I read the thread you pointed out, im sorry I didnt search in the first place. I will in the future. However in that particular thread his hi speed worked. None of my speeds work. So do you still think it could be the resistor pack? Thanks again fo your help.

Igor

 

[Defiant]

If you're eating fuses, there may be a short in the circuit.

 

[igorsgonemadd]

Yippee I have heat. Weird but all I did was replace a fuse that wasnt broken in the first place. I checked the wires going to the resistor pack with a test light and got no power so I figured that it was in the switch or somewhere before the switch. But when you turn the ac on and turn the dial the auxillary fan came on, so I figured that if it is sending power to that then it is probably sending it to the blower to. So I checked my fuses again and I noticed when I pulled the fuse out that there was carbon on it and underneath it looked kind of burnt but the fuse wasnt broken. So I thought maybe the carbon was keeping it from making good contact or maybe the fuse was bad (if that is even possible). So I replaced it and crossed my fingers and whala I have air. I am kind of concerned about the area that appears to be burnt. Should I be? I had stereo, amps and subs put in when i got the car. Maybe they blew something then. So should I be worried.