bbznyc

So NY weather is just great. One you sweat to death, another day you need a coat. During cold winter i was using the heater on "full auto" all the time - no problem. Few days ago i had to use AC cause it was madly hot. Today i use my heater again - DOESN'T WORK!!!!!!!!!! WHAT THE HELL????

I shut the car off and turn it back on - no luck


Please someone let me know what it can be...


Thanks

`ill*tl

Check to see if you're coolant is low..also, when's the last time you replaced your A/C Micron filter?

bbznyc

my car is '99tl with 114k on it. coolant??? - i will take a look. I dont' think i changed it in a while.... anything else????

`ill*tl

Its probably just your filter. Go take a look and see whether its dirty or not. The A/C Micron filter is located behind your glove box.

bbznyc

it should be easily accessible, right? there were posts about it.... i'll look it up...

Thanks... will follow up... tomorrow...

bbznyc

well what do you know... i checked the fuses. I checked the filters. NO PROBLEMS! what else can be??? My car's heater don't work............ i never heard anyone having this problem... wth???

LiQiCE

Might be your thermostat. If its broken the car might think its a different temperature then it really is ... So while you're telling it you want it to be 70 degrees inside and its 60 out, it think its actually 80 and it turns on the A/C

You'd probably have to have a dealer check that out though.

bbznyc

that sounds awefully expensive....

LiQiCE

I don't think replacing the thermostat would be expensive if thats what it is. The part itself is probably cheap ... I'm not sure where the thermostat for the cabin is on our cars, so I dunno how hard it is to replace, but if its easy you might be able to just buy the part... thats assuming this is what the problem is.

bbznyc

just to be safe, i asked Tim that question... let's see what he says, otherwise i have to start saving...

Severin

Nah, forget all that stuff. You're baffles are stuck to divert all the air over the A/C evaporator rather than through the heater core; since you used the air they definately switched to that position. It's just your luck they decided to stay there.

So, go get the servo motor replaced. It is quite common for them to break.

PS: Try cycling between cold and hot temp settings a lot quickly (1-2 seconds at max/min); you just may get the servo motor to work again - you'll know right away.

bbznyc

er... where is it located??? can i do it myself??

elah

check if you put it on 90, it should bypass the thermostat.

bbznyc

why?

Seotaji

my heater didn't work and they fixed it by replacing the control panel.

bbznyc

- i tried recycling the motor 1-2 seconds - no luck!

- i tried putting the the heater to 90 degrees - no luck!

- heater panel.... that sounds like a lot of $$$

BTW - my AC works perfectly well...

pianoman41

What does the engine temperature gauge read once the car has been running for ten minutes and is at normal operating temperature? The needle should read just a little bit below halfway 99% of the time. If it reads low (closer to cold), then your engine thermostat is probably stuck open (which is what happens when they go). The engine doesn't get up to full heat because the coolant is constantly cycling and you don't get any heat in the cabin as a result.

Seotaji

oh and my servo motor was replaced.

damn faulty parts.

bbznyc

the temperature gauge is somewhere at halfway all the time. Also, should the coolant level be near the neck of the opening of the radiator when the car is cold or when its hot??? What does the amount of coolant has to do with blowing hot air in the car.


Another point: it can't be the thermostat because it seems as if the fan speed increases when i increase the temp... so it knows that temp went up....

SEOTAJI - HOW MUCH WAS YOUR REPAIR??? or what is under warranty?

pianoman41

Don't EVER open the radiator cap when the car is hot!!!! You can be severely burned! When the car is hot the coolant system is under pressure (more effective for cooling), and if you open the cap you release the pressure and hot coolant (anywhere from 170 to 230 degrees) will come spraying out. You should never have to open the cap--ever--but if you do, make sure the car is cold. Use the overflow bottle to judge the level. When the car is up to normal operating temperature the fluid should be at the max level and when cold it shouldn't be any lower than the min level.

Coolant is relative to hot air in the car because that's how you get heat in the car. You have a heater core which is a small radiator that has coolant in it. The coolant is warmed by the engine and the heater ducts pass over and around the heater core. The heater core warms the air in the ducts and then the blower pushes the warm air into the car. That's why it takes a few minutes to get heat in the winter. The engine heats up first, which in turn is heating the coolant in the engine, which flows through the heater core to heat the air getting pushed into the cabin.

If you don't have enough coolant in the car, the heater core may not get enough coolant in it and it won't effectively heat the air going into the cabin. If the thermostat is stuck, the coolant may cycle constantly through the engine and radiator. If it does that then it gets cooled considerably by the radiator in the front of the car. After a while, even though the engine is still warm the coolant itself is cooler than that. With cold coolant in the heater core you don't get any heat.

But since your temperature gauge is reading normal, I don't think it's your engine thermostat. I would still check the coolant level (using the reservoir bottle) and make sure it is not low. Other than that, like members here have suggested, it could be the baffles are stuck or it could be a malfunctioning CABIN ambient temperature sensor. That's going to require a visit to the dealer.

bbznyc

Wow... first let me thank you for a thorough insight... second i wasn't crazy enough to open the radiator cap to check the level of coolant while the car is hot. There is just perfect amount of coolant. As it stands now, i checked that there is warm air going into the cabin because the pipes that lead from the radiator are actually warm. So now i am even more baffled... The possibility of blower not working are out of the question because it increases and decrease "blowing" as i regulate temperature. This might even rule out possibilty that the thermostat is not working. So sadly to say i might have to attend a dealer... THEY WILL RIP ME APART - and give me a new opening !!! Why god, why???