Car heater blowing cold air


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Old 11-01-07, 04:55 PM
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Car heater blowing cold air

Got in the car to go to work this morning, coldest morning so far, of course, defrost is blowing cold air and doesn't warm up. Vents blowing cold air, floor getting cold air. Took it into the shop, they said the thermostat was stuck, replaced it, had heat again. While running errands, turned the temp control down, as it had warmed up. After work, went to turn heat back up and blowing cold air again! 2003 Monte Carlo...any ideas?
 

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11-01-07, 05:20 PM
FordGuy83
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Do you have a temp gauge on the dash. If so, what is it reading. If the thermostat is working properly, the engine should warm up in 5 to 10 minutes. If it never warms up, you won't get any heat and that points to a thermostat that is stuck open. I would be suprised if a new thermostat would fail that quickly though. If it is warming up, when it is warm, open the hood and find the water hoses that go to the heater core and see if they are hot, if so then it would appear to be something with the vent controls that direct air through the core or the A/C evaporator. Also, keep an eye on your coolant level. I dont know that low level would necessarily starve the heater core of coolant but if it is low, fill it up and see what happens.
 
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Old 11-01-07, 05:20 PM
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Do you have a temp gauge on the dash. If so, what is it reading. If the thermostat is working properly, the engine should warm up in 5 to 10 minutes. If it never warms up, you won't get any heat and that points to a thermostat that is stuck open. I would be suprised if a new thermostat would fail that quickly though. If it is warming up, when it is warm, open the hood and find the water hoses that go to the heater core and see if they are hot, if so then it would appear to be something with the vent controls that direct air through the core or the A/C evaporator. Also, keep an eye on your coolant level. I dont know that low level would necessarily starve the heater core of coolant but if it is low, fill it up and see what happens.
 
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Old 11-01-07, 07:19 PM
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I do have a temp gauge on the dash, and the car seems to be warming up to a normal temperature. It's hard to determine exactly what that is as the marks don't work out "even", if that makes any sense, but I think it's heating up to about 180-190? The mechanic added antifreeze when he changed out the thermostat. You've completely lost me with the water hoses to heater core. I can barely find the windshield washer tank thingie. The vent control would make sense, since the heat worked until I turned the temperature control down...then when I turned it up, I had no heat again. Is the vent control a major repair? I've already spent $100 that I maybe didn't need to since it didn't fix the problem?
 
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Old 11-01-07, 07:36 PM
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I don't know much about the vent control systems outside of the fact that they used to be a vaccum controlled system and I think that they still are. On the temp. gauge, if the needle gets to approx. the middle of the gauge, that is normal and on most vehicles somewhere between 170 and 200. Did you check you coolant level? It should be a white tinted plastic reservior with a red fluid in it and I believe that it will have a pressure cap on top. I think that you will need to take it to a shop but it would probably be good to have an idea of what is going on before you head in. If you want help identifying the heater hoses under the hood, let me know. (or send a picture)
 
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Old 11-01-07, 08:03 PM
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Thanks for the info. Not supposed to be as cold tomorrow, so will investigate over the weekend and maybe send a pic.
 
 

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