Bad Thermostat?? Sucky heat...

[dt23400]

Alright so this is what i have going. When my car warms up in the morning, it gets to about center of the gauge. I turn the heat on and its nice ans strong for about 20 seconds and then the heat itself goes downhill to a colder temp. MY temp gauge doesnt move untill i start driving. Then when i drive for a while it gets down to the first line. I couldnt find this to be an exact symptom but if anybody has any idea please tell me. Thanks

 

[2gGSXEclipse]

Sounds kinda funny to me how the heat diminishes....but the temp gauge still reads normal....weird. I think your right on. I would first check coolant level if you havent and see how that is...after that i would change the thermostat...its a 20-25 dollar part and a half hour fix at most.

 

[tsihottie]

hmmm......not necessarily a bad thermostat. Both my 2g's did what yours is doing and i had a 160 stat in the gsx and a 195 in the talon a while ago. I think that the heat on these cars are just not that great. Ive never been in one that had toasty heat to be honest.

 

[dt23400]

The coolant level is good But i just want the heat to be as good as it starts in the begining. Im not expecting it to b like my diesel was or anything. But its getting pretty cold over here and well let me tell u it sucks haha my hands get to cold to easily. Going to have to start wearing gloves i spose.

 

[m0nk3estylez]

It will do that If the car has no thermalsat. So check if u have one

 

[2gGSXEclipse]

Yea I live in Chicago and i know my heat in the winter is just fine...I have to think if coolant levels are ok id go ahead and pull the radiator hosing to check the thermo...like monk3 said....may not have any thermostat or it might be faulty...either way hope u get it fixed man

 

[dt23400]

Alright ill attempt to pull that off tonight and check. Thanks for the input guys. Ill get back on later tonight and tell you whats going on.

 

[blackGSX2g]

Can you log your actual temp numbers? The factory gauge has a wide range of 'normal'. Do you lose heat at idle, or when you start driving at faster speeds?

FYI my car pumps out heat in the winter like crazy. I could drive with the sunroof open in the middle of winter with no problems staying warm. Definately something up with it.

 

[BrandonDSM]

I seem to be having the same problem. Except my heat is pretty good when i drive, but when Im at idle, the heat slowly starts to die off until i start driving again.

 

[jeremy19984g63]

See this all the time. Heater core mostly stopped up! take off the lines running to the core and use a water hose with real good flow to blow it out. or get a new heater core for about $130.00

 

[dt23400]

ill check the logger in a little bit. im about to go to my friends garage and attempt to test the heater core and maybe put the thermostat in..

alright im stay at a constant 65c when driving and the water is frozen over here so no heater core tonight so ill probably do it all tomorrow

 

[carpethead10]

WOW - funny how as soon as the temp drops this problem shows up I too am having an issue. Here is how it goes;
I start the car and let it warm up. I turn on the heat (not moving) and its not really that warm, i mean barely. Then I start to drive and the temp gauge goes from middle all the way back down to the C as I drive, and feel NO heat at all. When I hit a stop light or stop for a min, the gauge starts going back up.

I am wondering if there is even a thermostat in the car and I am also thinking the heater core might be plugged up. Is it possible to be pugged up with only 100k on the car? Lastly, I know this is kind of a dumb question but where exactly is the thermostat in these cars? Im a new owner and havent really taken time to check it out.

 

[motomattxxx]

You guys have no thermostats...

 

[ArcticChill22]

Ok so if you've checked your coolant, thermosat, etc etc. Then your problem is your heater core because I had the EXACT same problem on my 95 GS 420a. They dont cost too much but its a PITA to install..seriously. I would take it to a shop and give them the great opportunity to install it. Im sure they will cuss under their breaths

 

[brassc2007]

yes it is possible it depends on what your run for coolant. If you run a 50/50 mix of antifreeze and tap water than yes very likely tap water causes rust. If you run a 50/50 mix of distilled water than it is less likely there will be alot of rust like i said it depends on what you run for coolant.

 

[carpethead10]

If JUST the heater core was bad, why would the engine temp drop? I could see why there would be no heat IN the car if the heater core was clogged but I dont see how/why the engine temp would drop as the car is driven.

Good point Brassc2007 - using distilled water with the correct mixture of anifree to water will generate FAR less rust in the system. Unfortunately with the car being owned by 3 others before me, I highly doubt they ran distilled water in it. None the less, I will be doing a fulsh of the system when I check and see if there is even a thermostat in the car.

 

[08talon08]

try flushing out your heater core first and also flush your entire coolant system should fix the problem

 

[ArcticChill22]

Well the temp gauge on my GST drops really really low on my GST also but its 20 degrees outside and I figured it was because of my AE Radiator and Large FMIC making the air going into the intake really cold. But im a noob also so who knows. Just an educated guess.

 

[brassc2007]

usually if it is a thermostat you will have lower temps at idle and it wont warm up till you are driving and when you come to a stop it will drop quickly have you tried a radiator cap at all if its not holding pressure it will not perform to the best also as you said could be the thermostat easy and cheap repairs have you tried running it without the radiator cap and squezing the bottom radiator hose to make sure you have no air pockets.

 

[motomattxxx]

usually if it is a thermostat you will have lower temps at idle and it wont warm up till you are driving and when you come to a stop it will drop quickly have you tried a radiator cap at all if its not holding pressure it will not perform to the best also as you said could be the thermostat easy and cheap repairs have you tried running it without the radiator cap and squezing the bottom radiator hose to make sure you have no air pockets.

Quite the opposite is true: if you have a thermostat that is stuck open or none at all the car will get warm at an idle condition but lose the heat as the car is moving. If the thermostat was stuck shut the car would be overheating and would have great heat, if the radiator cap was bad, again the car would overheat.

 

[shadohc]

I would change out the heater core it sounds like it is blocked up

 

[dt23400]

it was a bad thermostat and a bad radiator cap. Still got to get the cap then itll all be good. Thermostat was stuck open so yea. All good to go now.

 

[shadohc]

I am glad that was a easy fix for you

 

[95talonracer]

Sounds like its low on coolant but it looks like you fixed it so good to hear.