No heat in the cold cold midwest!

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cerealkilla1980

New Member
Oct 13, 2008
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indiana
Hi there all this is my first post so ill do my best not to anger everyone with my awful spelling.
OK here it goes. I just bought an 89 n/a about a month ago. When i bought it it was very warm ( and i was really excited to get such a good deal) so i didn't think to check the heater. Now its like 9 degrees and I'm freezing to death.
So i went ahead and replaced my thermostat with no help to the heater. The heater blows out air at low med and hi but it is always cold no matter what the little display is set at. I usually put it at 85 to test and it never gets cold no matter how long the car runs. I have asked a couple guys i know and they said if my heater core was bad i would smell antifreeze or see a little smoke (they aren't mechanics just guys that appear to know more about it than me) however i have no antifreeze smell or smoke just cold air.
So i thought i would put it to the experts. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
shaeff

shaeff

Kurt is FTMFW x2!!!!
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Mar 30, 2005
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Sounds like your heater valve is stuck closed. It's a common problem. Here's a diagram of it, located on the passenger side of the car on the firewall:



You can see the feed to the valve, and the outlet of the valve going to the core. If you look closer:



You can see there's a plunger on the underside of this valve, and a vacuum line on the top. First, make sure you have a good vacuum supply to the top of the valve. If you don't, fix that and your heat will likely work again. If the valve does not open (plunger should go UP w/ vacuum applied), then do this:

See the arrow under the valve pointing to the plunger? It'll require some force, but lift it up, and use zip ties, or a piece of bailing wire to hold it in the up position. This will allow heated coolant to circulate through the heatercore, thus giving you heat. :)

Hope that helps!
 
Grimsta

Grimsta

Supramania Contributor
May 30, 2007
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Santa Rosa, Ca.
The Vacuum Switching Valve is supposed to do what for the heating system now?

You have a HEATER VALVE that may not be working or you may have a plugged heater core. With a plugged heater core you wouldnt see any of those symptoms your friend mentioned. Another possibility is that your Climate Control unit isnt working. I'd suggest watching the heater valve under the hood and have a friend switch the temp from cold to hot and see if it actuates the heater valve. If it DOES then it looks like you're gonna have a plugged heater core. If it doesnt looks like you're gonna need a new Climate Control unit. What year is your car? If you end up needing the unit I have one from an 89
 
C

cerealkilla1980

New Member
Oct 13, 2008
4
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0
indiana
Hey guys thanks for the quick reply. I will check that out when i get home. I really wanted to go driving in the snow today, so it will be nice if i can do it with some heat.
 
C

cerealkilla1980

New Member
Oct 13, 2008
4
0
0
indiana
Hey guys you were exactly right thanks it was my heater valve i just zip tied it up and now im warm and toasty i was so warm and toasty i went out and did a whole lot of doughnuts
 
Grimsta

Grimsta

Supramania Contributor
May 30, 2007
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Santa Rosa, Ca.
Oh right, the water valve VSV, how could I have over looked that. Well thats where here \/\/
Grimsta;1196919 said:
I'd suggest watching the heater valve under the hood and have a friend switch the temp from cold to hot and see if it actuates the heater valve. If it doesnt looks like you're gonna need a new Climate Control unit.
Click to expand...
You would need to check for a signal at the VSV connector when you did that and if it gets signal, bad unit
 
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