heater dead Options

[yaj204]

not sure what is the cause but when i put on my header i stripped the aftercat 02 sensor so i just put in a bolt and after a week my heat was dead, but i got a new 02 sensor on and its still dead, i think something is burnt out. anyone know whats wrong?

[playr158]

your heating system has nothing to do with your O2 sensors.

problems could be

a) heater core
b) heater control unit
c) the control for the coolant flow thats located in the engine bay is dead

[yaj204]

your heating system has nothing to do with your O2 sensors.

problems could be

a) heater core
b) heater control unit
c) the control for the coolant flow thats located in the engine bay is dead

any way i can check if its any of those before i just start changing it?

[99GT]

t-stat

[playr158]

our cars lack the electrical diagnostic systems for a simple plug in and scan to determine this issue.

i know you can check the valve. its inside the engine bay just left of the brake booster. there is a heater hose that runs to it and then one from it to the fire wall
you can see it here. Also check to make sure that the wire control for it has not broken or come off (i believe its right on top of it)



this valve is probably the least likely of the problems, but might as well check since its easy.
heater core is more likely.

does the car move the air at all when you turn heat on? or does it just blow cold?


and if it was his t-stat his car would be over heating.

This post has been edited by playr158: Dec 4, 2008 - 10:45 AM

[yaj204]

our cars lack the electrical diagnostic systems for a simple plug in and scan to determine this issue.

i know you can check the valve. its inside the engine bay just left of the brake booster. there is a heater hose that runs to it and then one from it to the fire wall
you can see it here. Also check to make sure that the wire control for it has not broken or come off (i believe its right on top of it)



this valve is probably the least likely of the problems, but might as well check since its easy.
heater core is more likely.

does the car move the air at all when you turn heat on? or does it just blow cold?


and if it was his t-stat his car would be over heating.

ok, so that is checking for the heater core, right? how do i check if the control unit and the coolant flow control?

it just blow cold air

[playr158]

no thats the coolant flow valve thingy.


heater core is inside the dash and the unit is what you move the knobby things on.

[99GT]

T-stat replaced cured my no heat in my car haha, it wasn't overheating also. I was just throwing it out there.

[playr158]

thats interesting...but cool stuff.

[99GT]

I was confused also about the tstat... but I spoke with 3 different mechanics and they all said tstat.

[yaj204]

I was confused also about the tstat... but I spoke with 3 different mechanics and they all said tstat.

what made your heat died?

[playr158]

I was confused also about the tstat... but I spoke with 3 different mechanics and they all said tstat.

yea because the thermostat regulates flow of coolant out of the block and to the radiator.
thus when it opens at "x" temp, coolant goes out to the radiator and cools down before coming into the block again.
if its not open coolant circulates in the block and gets hotter.
it doesn't control anything into the heater core

[nik]

thermostat

This post has been edited by nik: Dec 10, 2008 - 2:48 PM

[Bitter]

no, change the thermostat.

[yaj204]

any guidence on changing the tstat than?

[crimsonchin]

yeah the thermostat can fail either open or closed, if it fails open then coolant is always flowing through the radiator and if its cold out your stuff will never get hot so you'll never have heat. if it fails closed coolant never goes to the radiator and your stuff will overheat. i think i had to change mine at somewhere around 80k, i still had heat somewhat just not as hot as it should've been.

the moral of the story is notice whether the car still coming up to normal temp, if its staying low then i would say definitely the tstat.

on the 7a its toward the right (facing the engine) and towards the top, and its got a big hose running into it. its real easy to get to, no big deal.

i intended to write some steps on how to change it but my comp battery is dead and its about to cut off on me. but i can later tonight if anyone wants, i could also post a pic of exactly where the tstat is...

later.

[GriffGirl]

^ Exactly. Well put.

Follow your top radiator hose to where it goes into the engine. The thermostat is in the metal thingie that the upper radiator hose goes to on the engine block. Drain your coolant down below the level of the hose first though so you don't have coolant spilled all over the place. It's toxic to animals - and tasty to them too

[richee3]

My thermostat failed closed last winter. There was nothing like having to drive for 45 minutes before I had any heat at all -_-

If your motor isn't even warming up, then it's the thermostat for sure.

It costs about $6 to replace, and took maybe 5 minutes once I figured out which hose had it lol.

[Tech9ine]

i need to replace my thermostat on my 7a and cant find it. i followed the radiator hose to the red circle on my picture. nothing was in there and i got radiator fluid everywhere. the blue circle is the lower hose, is the stat in there?

[Spider77]

i need to replace my thermostat on my 7a and cant find it. i followed the radiator hose to the red circle on my picture. nothing was in there and i got radiator fluid everywhere. the blue circle is the lower hose, is the stat in there?

Should be. Here, check this out, should help you out. Thermostat