Hey guys,

Im back again.I have a 99 3.2tl with 157,000. When I turn on the heater to 90 degress it does not blow hot air instead it blows cold air. Is there anyone that might have an idea of why its doing this. I don't use the heater and ac often. I maybe used it 5X during the summer and 5X during the winter season last year and they were working fine. The AC is perfect, it does not have any problems. What i noticed though, when i warm up the car it gives a very slushy noise, im thinking its the tubes, in the dash without the heater or ac being on (if this has anything to do with it).I will be changing the timing belt soon because I need to, will this help out the heater problem or is it tottaly independent?. If anyone has any ideas please let me know thanks.

99three2l
Northern VA

 

Sounds as if you are low on antifreeze. When the engine is cold, check the level in the radiator and the overflow tank.

Miner

 

^^umm no.

try turning your car on. and then pressing the OFF button on your AC to make sure the entire unit is off, then turn your car off. wait a bit and then start up your car, let it warm up, and THEN turn the heat on. this usually works for me

 

i would say theres a prob with ur heater core, since its blowing only cold air, seems like no pressure is in the a/c system, id get a pressure test done to see if any leaks

 

It turns out I was low on Antifreeze..so i put some in...I drove the car for about 15mins then turned on the heater...still no heat just cold air but not as cold as the cold AC air..any more suggestions?

 

I did exactly as you did still im not getting any heat..im thinking it deals with the timing belt since i need to change it asap...what do you think?

 

Yeah the problem is, every time i take my car for a checkup at the dealership they come out with more problem details than i went in for..So what do you think is wrong with the heater core because the ac works fine?

 

It turns out I was low on Antifreeze..so i put some in...I drove the car for about 15mins then turned on the heater...still no heat just cold air but not as cold as the cold AC air..any more suggestions?

 

I did exactly as you did still im not getting any heat..im thinking it deals with the timing belt since i need to change it asap...what do you think?

 

actually when was the last time u did a coolant flush? does the car temp ever raise ie. the gauges? does ur rad cap get hot? cuz to me seems thats the coolant in the heatercore is not hot enuff to give out heat. so it can be a prob even in ur coolant system, or even something like a stuck closed tstat..

 

umm yes.

i agree, the sounds are probably bubbles in the system.. do a coolant flush or at the very least, try to get the bubbles out. and just to check, you do mean it's blowing cold air when the car is warm right?

 

i did my coolant flush back in Feb of 07, well now that you mention it, This summer when its about 90 degrees outside and i turn on my car it would say something like 105 on the thermostat it comes to its senses after like two minutes if thats what you are talking about. im going to check the radiator cap tmrw and let you know..and whats a tstat?

 

yea the heater is blowing cold air after warming up. Its cold air on 90degree max but not as cold as the 60 degrees AC. Can I do a coolant flush by myself or do I need to take it to a mechanic? how do i get the bubbles out?

 

I've noticed on mine that if the temp. control is set somewhere between the extremes (not fully clockwise or counterclockwise) when I first start the car, and after it warms up, sometimes the heater won't work. Discovered that if I turn the temp. control fully clockwise (max. heat) & leave it there for a few seconds, then turn it back down to where I want it, it will work.

 

I had the same problem. This fixed it for me:

In the engine compartment, there's a cable that goes through the firewall (i.e. into the passenger compartment). You can reach it from the passenger side. This cable has a plastic cover that retracts and extends and has something to do with the heating. When it "sticks", you won't get heat. I just wiped it with a damp paper towel to get rid of the accumulated dirt and retracted/extended it to loosen it up and then I got heat. Some people put WD-40 on it, but I didn't bother.

I got this solution by googling my problem and I included Accords in my search, but don't recall if this solution was from an Accord-related board or this one. Some other people say there's a green part in the passenger side near the glove compartment that fails, but I didn't need to check that part. Sorry I don't have more specifics. If I found it by googling, you can too.

 

I read about that too wng- checked mine and it was working ok tho. There's a thread on here somewhere with the specifics.

 

So do i look for it from the passenger side or from by the engine? what color is the wire and/or plastic covor and what do you mean it sticks? and to what does it stick 2?

 

I will try it tomorrow and let you know..its too cold to go outside rite now

 

Get somebody to turn the temp. control while you stand on pass. side & look near firewall for a cable to move, you'll spot it.

 

Open the hood, stand on the passenger side, look for a thin black/grey cable (well, mine was dirty) that goes into the firewall (the side that separates the passenger compartment from the engine compartment). The plastic covering it was thin, as well. There's only a handful of things that pass through the firewall; you'll find it.

I'm going from my very fuzzy memory, so look it up yourself as others have posted much more clearer instructions.

 

This was exactly what I was going to mention. I had a "no heat" problem in my 1999 TL last year and it was due to the cable sticking. I just worked it a little with my hand and I started getting heat again. I didn't clean or oil the cable but that's probably a good idea.

 

well i found a black cable that runs into the firewall thats connected to the fuse box...i unplugged it from the fuse box and there was yellowish sticky stuff (looks like wax) inside the plug. So i cleaned it with a damp paper towel but I wasnt sure if that was it..the cable has a black plastic cover it looked like it can retract but it wouldnt budge, i didn't want to pull it too hard and unplug it from the passenger side...inside the the plastic cover cable there are three wires that run into the fire wall..i goggled for the instructions but i couldn't find it..any hints on key words to use.

 

i think I am having problems locating the actual cable...does it run from the fuse box into the passenger firewall?...i found a black cable that has three wires inside it that runs from the fuse box into the firewall and cleaned it but still no heat

 

See the cable location information in the following thread:

https://acurazine.com/forums/2g-tl-problems-fixes-117/have-ac-but-no-heat-686910/

Good luck!

 

the thread doesn't have the location but thanks anyways

 

tstat: thermostat. it controls the flow of coolant in your engine when the coolant reaches a certain temp (it's usually 105deg C).. if it is stuck open, then coolant always flows and never really has time to heat up.

 

how can i find it? im getting different answers from different people but im thinking this is the problem since i am hearing slushing sound coming from the dash while idling or in park.

 

These are the comments I was referring to:

...if you look under the passenger side dash, on the left of the glove box. there is a black box with a green plug. this is a blend door motor. they go bad all the time. to check, put the ac off and blower on high. put temp at 60 deg. then watch the motor as you raise the temp it should move. if it doesn't then there's your problem. also in the engine bay on the fire wall, check the heater valve and make sure it moves. it's just above the rear mount. there will be a cable that runs in to the fire wall.

I didn't want to accept defeat so I gathered my tools: sweater, flashlight and my ultra bright led keychain and headed out to the driveway. At first I couldn't make out which one is the heater valve, but after a minute or two of poking at every thing by the firewall I finally found that little valve.......

.....After I wiggled it couple times, I started my car and waited for it to warm up a bit. Then turned the heat on, and warm air starting blowing. Awesome! Then I went back to the hood to spray some WD 40 around the area of the heating valve since the car was too fat to fit under the strut bar. Thank you, 240 acura tech for the tip, I'd have end up taking it to the stealership and get ripped off. Awesome people on this site!

 

Bingo! That was the exact post which led me to look for that "heater valve" (which I called a cable). It's NOT connected to the fuse box. Keep looking; there's only a couple of things that go through the firewall. Maybe I should've described it more like a rod than a cable. It's thin.

 

Slight variation on the theme: For "years" I've been freezing from the "Auto" A/C even on a Texas summer day. My fix all along has been to crank the control all the way over to 90, wait for the dampers to do their thing and heat starts coming out. Then I reset it to where I want. Works OK until I shut off and restart. The dealer wants $107 just to diagnose it - he says it would be cheaper to keep doing what I've been doing. Am I "the only one in the whole world" with this problem? ('01 TL with 117K miles.)

 

No, heater on mine acts same way.

 

Sounds like the blend door on your heater box. It may be an electrical problem from the switch (knob) or a mechanical problem from the door.

 

I had the same exact problem 2 months ago on my 1999 Acura 3.2 TL. One day my mom was driving the car and the car warmed up to the operating temperature, we turned the heater on to warm the inside cabin and found out it was blowing hot air.

I checked for low coolant and found the coolant level was good, checked to see if the thermostat was opening to early and replace it with Acura and that didn't solve the problem. It was a few days I couldn't actually drive the car and had my mom drive me to a shuttle to go to work because the car defoster wouldn't work to clear the windows. One day after a serious snow storm in Delaware. I went in checked the heater hoses in the engine bay that were going to the firewall. They were both hot so I figured that coolant is getting in and out the heater core. I then checked the valve that controls the coolant to the heater core and found it was sticky. I toggled with it a few and went in the car and turned the heater on. It still was blowing cool air. I got fed up and checked under the passenger side of the vehicle of the car in saw a little motor device that controls the blend door. As It is a small black box that has a white arm that has a metal arm that moves when you turn the temperture dial on the dash. As I moved the white arm manual as I was turning the temperature dial the hot heat began blowing out!!

I'm not sure if the blend door motor is going bad or not but after messing with that little motor the car from that point forward has been blowing heat!

I would check that out, that could be your problem. It worked for me and solved it.

 

This was something I always wondered about too. I've always done the cheap fix and turned the knob to max heat. I read in the owners manual that this engages the heat only. My problem was when adjusting to about 75 degrees where I like it, I would sometimes get the a/c and heater mix and sometimes it would only blow cold. Can you imagine how happy I am to find this post? I hoped I wasn't going to replace a climate control unit. My mom replaced hers on her MB E320 and it cost her around $2000! Thanks to all you guys and your diligence in figuring out all the little problem fixes. I'm with the other member ^. I'm not going to the stealership unless its to get parts from acura carland. They rock! Thanks again to all of Acurazine.

 

This worked for me on my 2000 TL. The silver/gray cable would stick and hold the a/c on cold (open). I loosened it by hand and just need to make sure I don't crank the auto all the way into the blue.

 

YES YES!!! THIS WORKED! I have a 99 TL, same thing and I reached under and lightly pushed the mechanism to get it unstuck and the hot air began blasting out. I shot some garage door spray up there because WD40 will just evaporate and disolve any grease that's in there. Thanks All Who posted here. It was not the Thermastat, Nor the Door, just a stuck plastic part that needed some gentle nudging. THANKS@!

 

are there any pic available to see what does this mechanism look like.

 

heres a pic of it.it looks like a small throttle body(i guess you can say). i just loosened mine with some WD-40 since mine was stuck,thus explaining why its been on and off since early this year
but hope the pic helps anyone trying to find it.
its behind the engine so you'd have to get back there with some type of light source to make it easy to spot

 

Here's another photo of the heater valve cable that tends to get stuck. I was changing my spark plugs recently and thought it would be a good opportunity to take a photo.

If you stand in front of the car, bend over and look at the rear spark plugs at the back of the engine. It's a bit lower than those spark plugs.

 

^^ Thanks you two ^^

I thought my heat was good but I have to turn it up to 90 and wait like 3 minutes in the car before I actually start to feel the heat.