climate control problem

[bentegviz]

hey everyone, have a small problem that i'd like to get fixed before winter hits. my msp blows cold air into the cabin even when it's theoretically supposed to blow hot air. defrost/floor/dash vents doesn't matter. a buddy of mine told me he had to replace his blower motor relay or could just be a fuse.

[nypest]

theoretically ? meaning you are asking for the heat setting?...... if its blowing its not the blower motor or its fuse. Look into the heater core.

[peajay]

plugged heater hose or heater core, air in coolant system, blown heater core, lack of coolant, broken cable to blend door....

[CnoTataymo]

plugged heater hose or heater core, air in coolant system, blown heater core, lack of coolant, broken cable to blend door....

Any of those can be the problem? Damn! My heater doesn't work sometimes too. Darn....

[crashkelly]

Same problem here. Heat is not working in my car. How would I know if the heater core is broken or what is the best way to figure out what is wrong with it? blower motor is fine just blows cold all the time. Coolant level is fine also.

[Jspeed17]

First of all, check coolant level. No coolant flow through core = no heat. Secondly, does the cold/hot knob have resistance like normal when you turn it???? If it feels easier to turn than normal, possible srtipped knob or a cable could have fallen off the hot/cold door and or control unit assembly. Good luck!!!

[peajay]

the cable is going to be the easy find because the knob will be too eay to turn.
as for a blown heater core you would most likely smell coolant in the car or start getting a film on the inside of your windows, not really all that likely.
as far the plugged core, i find them at work but pulling the heater hoses off both ends (inlet and outlet) and forcing water through the heater core with a garden hose, if it dribbles out or takes a lot of force to try and get some out it's most likely a heater core, they make some flush stuff available to try and clean it out but ive never used it.
as for a broken blend door, get under the dash (right side) and follow the cable till you see where it attaches and that should be the blend door, try moving it by hand (with the cable disconnected) and if it feels too easy or you hear something rattling around you may have a broken blend door.
as for the coolant level, thats obvious,
as for the air, it should work its way out. it shouldnt be there in the first place so unless you had done some recent work where you needed to be around the coolant i would imagine you have a leak somewhere
....
most of these precedures can be a little more complex than i got into so if you have questions let me know.
hope it helps someone

[bentegviz]

i'll check the coolant and maybe have a shop check the core, but when it's set to cold, it blows ice cold air, when it's on hot, it blows cold air.

[greasemonkey524]

What's the temp. gauge reading? Could the thermostat be stuck open?

[Jspeed17]

What's the temp. gauge reading? Could the thermostat be stuck open?

True, true...forgot to mention that...lol....nice to have auto techs like us on this forum huh??

[greasemonkey524]

True, true...forgot to mention that...lol....nice to have auto techs like us on this forum huh??

It seems like something is always left out. Hope it's something simple!

[peajay]

Even if the t-state is stuck open you will eventually get hot air, it will just take longer.

[greasemonkey524]

Even if the t-state is stuck open you will eventually get hot air, it will just take longer.

Yeah... I guess it all depends on how cold it is where he is.

[bentegviz]

the temp gauge still works fine, stays right in the middle after few minutes, just refuses to take the hot engine air and place it gently into the car interior.

[greasemonkey524]

That sounds like a plugged heater core to me...

[fr0st]

Even if the t-state is stuck open you will eventually get hot air, it will just take longer.

not over here you wouldn't

[bentegviz]

yeah, coolant level is fine. guess i'll have to look into a new heating core. i'm not looking forward to WI january & february with no heat.

[BOOSTR]

Did you do as Peajay suggested and evaluate the blend door. As long as the engine runs you'll have heat. Your blower fan might not work, but it will come through the vents, unless the cable is broke or the door is stuck. Trust me, you don't even want to think about heater core at this point.

[nypest]

What's the temp. gauge reading? Could the thermostat be stuck open?
True!

[nypest]

Did you do as Peajay suggested and evaluate the blend door. As long as the engine runs you'll have heat. Your blower fan might not work, but it will come through the vents, unless the cable is broke or the door is stuck. Trust me, you don't even want to think about heater core at this point.

$$

[bentegviz]

Did you do as Peajay suggested and evaluate the blend door. As long as the engine runs you'll have heat. Your blower fan might not work, but it will come through the vents, unless the cable is broke or the door is stuck. Trust me, you don't even want to think about heater core at this point.

lets hope it's the cable or door. now i just need a free weekend.

[BOOSTR]

I bet it is and hope that to be the case for you. Taking apart the dash to get to a heater core while not impossible, its labor intensive. As long as you don't see or smell coolant inside the passenger footwell, its not the heater core.

[greasemonkey524]

I bet it is and hope that to be the case for you. Taking apart the dash to get to a heater core while not impossible, its labor intensive. As long as you don't see or smell coolant inside the passenger footwell, its not the heater core.

Heater cores do get clogged though. It might not be letting warm coolant thru it causing no heat in the car. Sometimes you can get away with flushing them out. Not all of them leak when they go bad.

[bentegviz]

well, i just downloaded the workshop manual pdf for the 02 protege, it has a bunch of checklists in there for heating & a/c. hoping that helps.

[nypest]

well, i just downloaded the workshop manual pdf for the 02 protege, it has a bunch of checklists in there for heating & a/c. hoping that helps.

Good for you good luck that stuffs a PITA

[crashkelly]

well, i just downloaded the workshop manual pdf for the 02 protege, it has a bunch of checklists in there for heating & a/c. hoping that helps.

Hey you think you could send me that manual? I am having the same problem. I hope its the heater door, because I know my cables are connected but I have ripped apart that part of the dash a few times wiring up my sub and painting some of my interior pieces...so i think it might be the door, if not I dunno.

[bentegviz]

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=L72EHMH4

if anybody else is interested in the manual.

[jb1knobe]

Same problem, blowing luke-warm air.

Thanks! for the manual!

JB

[BBSF2]

Check the cable under the dash on the pass side. You pull the little plastic cover off where the passengers left foot would be. Underneath that, there are two clips, if the clip is just hangin there, u gotta put it back on where it belongs. This is a common problem and a very easy fix.
craig

[jb1knobe]

Turned out the the cable slipped off its guide anchor. Simple fix!

[Gasological]

Funny, when I bought mine from the dealer it was full heat all the time. However, since we're here... I can't seem to get air to come out floor vents.

Selecting face gets face, feet/face gets face, and floor gets a little bit of face. Any ideas?

[mightyray]

I'm having this same problem with lukewarm air but I don't understand what you mean by guide anchor. Could somebody post some pics about what wire or clip i need to put back in place? Plz help!

[mightyray]

Bump!

[mightyray]

Does anyone else have or has had this problem?