This has been a continuing problem for years. I have no heat coming out of the vents. I had taken it to the dealer 4 times for this issue and they always got a little heat, but now it is out of warranty. They told me they had replaced the heater control valve, the temp control panel, and flushed the system. They could get me some heat but it has never been right. Now I have no heat and winter is coming up. I tested the aux. heater pump and I can feel it working, so it is not a fuse in that system. I do not know if it is actually pumping, but it is turning on. I have just replaced the thermostat housing, so there are no more leaks and they system is full. I am hoping someone can point me in the right direction to determine what the real problem is.

I honestly don't think the dealer replaced the control panel and the heater control valve as they said or if they did they just put my old one back in when it did not solve the problem. The bulb is burned out on the display and the heater control valve does not look like it has been replaced.

 

I recommend investigating the heater pump further - take it apart and grease the race in the cap, it could be powered but not spinning.
Once you have it out of the car you can test it with a length of pipe and a bucket of water to see if there's flow, if not go with the re-grease.

 

I will check the pump out and make sure it is actually pumping. I can feel the a viabration in the motor when I disconnect and reconnect the motor. Is there any way to check the Heater Control Valve?

 

Don't count on this check... the electric rotor inside may spin (and so vibrate while working) but if it's clogged the propeller may spin in just 10% of it's normal speed. The problem is that the movement of the electrical motor to the propeller is driven by magnets to insure that if the propeller can't spin the motor won't die as well.

My suggestion is to open the heater pump, to clean it well and to test it. 99% of the heating problems in these models is caused by this small pump.

 

Thank you very much. I actually have a used one that I have never tested. I will open, clean and test this before I take the old one out. I will let you know how it turns out.

 

My heater seemed to be malfunctioning, but I came across this idea on the forum:


Run the temp arrow all the way to max, then all the way to min, all the way to max, and back to min. Then set where you want. Evidently it recalibrates something in the control head. Worked for me! And doesn't cost anything to try.

 

Boomer,

Thank you for the info. I will give it a try tonight and let you know.

Hunter

 

Update.....
I tried the min-max thing several times last night and no luck.

I was able to take apart the other aux pump that I had and it was spotless, so I connected the pump to the car wiring, ran an old garden hose to a bucket of water and just tested it on the fender. the pump did pump water in a steady stream but I can't say it was particularly forcful. i am sure the pump in the car would not have to pull fluid up and over the side of a bucket as through the heater hose assembly.

I am planning on taking this apart this weekend. While I have it apart I was going to test the heater core with a garden hose to make sure it is flowing freely. Is there any test that I can do to check the heater control valve while it is out of the car? I sure don't want to make more than on antifreeze mess.

Thank you

 

Update.....
I did not empty the system this weekend, the 2 year old came first. I did check the voltage going to the heater control valve. With the temp controls on HI the voltage to the heater control valve was 8 volts. With the temp at LO, the AC came on and the voltage was at 18volts. Does this sound right?

The voltage going to the aux water pump was at 18 volts also.

When I remove the aux pump and heater control valve this weekend, i was going to flush the heater core. Well, first I was going to see if there is flow throught the core with a garden hose. Any tips?

Thanks,

Hunter

 

Finally figured it out!!!! Plugged heater core. I took out the heater control valve and it worked fine, but then went to put water throught the core with a garden hose and absolutely nothing. I combination of air and water got the water flowing free and clear. Thank you all for the help, it is nice to finally have heat!!!!