My gf's car heater doesnt work..

[SinNisTeR]

She drives a 93 VW passat vr6. her heater blew out and it would cost tons to fix it. i was wondering if there would be any hazards in getting a normal indoor heater and a power inverter and hooking it up in her car. i know this is low budget, but she needs a quick cheap fix.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Can't see why not other then the fact that it might eat the battery but as long as the car is always running I assume (yes, assume) that the alternator can charge the battery and keep up with the heater. Get the smallest wattage possible.

 

[NutBucket]

Heater blew out? If the heater blew out the carpet would be wet from the coolant. I think more likely the valve/actuator is broken/stuck. If its got climate control then its probably wonder VW electrics to blame.

At any rate, they have little heaters that plug into the cig. lighter. Not sure how warm they are tho.

 

[SinNisTeR]

ya, im not getting anything huge, all it has to heat is the inside of a car. "valve/actuator is broken/stuck" probably, i have no clue. all i know is that she's gone into many mechanics and they all said the same thing, and were quoting a lot..

 

[hondAS2ooo170]

try checking is the blend door. that might be the cause

 

[SchrodingersDog]

That car's too old to be doing any major work anyway. Just get a cigarette lighter heater and you're good. Then drive the car to Florida and sell it.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: hondAS2ooo170
try checking is the blend door. that might be the cause

English speaks much?

 

[hondAS2ooo170]

Originally posted by: SchrodingersDog
That car's too old to be doing any major work anyway. Just get a cigarette lighter heater and you're good. Then drive the car to Florida and sell it.

Its not that old

 

[NutBucket]

Originally posted by: SchrodingersDog
That car's too old to be doing any major work anyway. Just get a cigarette lighter heater and you're good. Then drive the car to Florida and sell it.

Man, its even been damned cold in SoCal lately. Not NY cold, but still cold!

 

[NutBucket]

OP, are you sure there's no funny smells or dampness in the carpet/floormats?

 

[nakedfrog]

Why do you need a heater?

 

[hondAS2ooo170]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: hondAS2ooo170
try checking is the blend door. that might be the cause

English speaks much?

try checking the blend door.
this controls the amount of cold or hot air that is mixed/blended to the cockpit

 

[CVSiN]

Originally posted by: hondAS2ooo170

Originally posted by: SchrodingersDog
That car's too old to be doing any major work anyway. Just get a cigarette lighter heater and you're good. Then drive the car to Florida and sell it.

Its not that old

1993 is not too old to work on...

 

[SchrodingersDog]

Originally posted by: hondAS2ooo170

Originally posted by: SchrodingersDog
That car's too old to be doing any major work anyway. Just get a cigarette lighter heater and you're good. Then drive the car to Florida and sell it.

Its not that old

Eleven years? Maybe you should treat yourself more often. It's halfway to being a "classic".

 

[NutBucket]

Originally posted by: SchrodingersDog

Originally posted by: hondAS2ooo170

Originally posted by: SchrodingersDog
That car's too old to be doing any major work anyway. Just get a cigarette lighter heater and you're good. Then drive the car to Florida and sell it.

Its not that old

Eleven years? Maybe you should treat yourself more often. It's halfway to being a "classic".

OOO! If I keep my accord a few more years it'll be classic too!:roll:

 

[Analog]

Originally posted by: SinNisTeR
She drives a 93 VW passat vr6. her heater blew out and it would cost tons to fix it. i was wondering if there would be any hazards in getting a normal indoor heater and a power inverter and hooking it up in her car. i know this is low budget, but she needs a quick cheap fix.

A normal indoor heater starts at about 1.5KW and some are 2.0KW! An inverter that can power something like that will cost you in the neighborhood of $500. Get the heater core fixed, it'll be cheaper.

 

[hondAS2ooo170]

Originally posted by: SchrodingersDog

Originally posted by: hondAS2ooo170

Originally posted by: SchrodingersDog
That car's too old to be doing any major work anyway. Just get a cigarette lighter heater and you're good. Then drive the car to Florida and sell it.

Its not that old

Eleven years? Maybe you should treat yourself more often. It's halfway to being a "classic".

dude i drive an 1989 nissan 240sx and its worth fixing and im running 330000 miles on it

 

[Nebor]

Originally posted by: CVSiN

Originally posted by: hondAS2ooo170

Originally posted by: SchrodingersDog
That car's too old to be doing any major work anyway. Just get a cigarette lighter heater and you're good. Then drive the car to Florida and sell it.

Its not that old

1993 is not too old to work on...

Man, 2000 is too old to work a damn Volkswagen. Hitler's Revenge, that's what they are.

 

[Papagayo]

light a candle..

 

[SinNisTeR]

well, we live in utah, and we are driving to LA for xmas. i think she needs one all the time. so im just gonna get one for her. no water gets in the car, amazingly because the sun roof doesnt close all the way. its a miracle this car drives as well as it does. it's on its second engine too. how well do those 12v cig heaters work? what would be a good wattage? thanks for the help guys.

 

[hondAS2ooo170]

Originally posted by: Nebor

Originally posted by: CVSiN

Originally posted by: hondAS2ooo170

Originally posted by: SchrodingersDog
That car's too old to be doing any major work anyway. Just get a cigarette lighter heater and you're good. Then drive the car to Florida and sell it.

Its not that old

1993 is not too old to work on...

Man, 2000 is too old to work a damn Volkswagen. Hitler's Revenge, that's what they are.

back off the volkswagon

 

[Nebor]

Originally posted by: SinNisTeR
well, we live in utah, and we are driving to LA for xmas. i think she needs one all the time. so im just gonna get one for her. no water gets in the car, amazingly because the sun roof doesnt close all the way. its a miracle this car drives as well as it does. it's on its second engine too. how well do those 12v cig heaters work? what would be a good wattage? thanks for the help guys.

Now that's Volkswagen engineering! BTW, you should probably verify that the 12v outlet actually works, this is a VW, after all.

 

[hondAS2ooo170]

Originally posted by: SinNisTeR
well, we live in utah, and we are driving to LA for xmas. i think she needs one all the time. so im just gonna get one for her. no water gets in the car, amazingly because the sun roof doesnt close all the way. its a miracle this car drives as well as it does. it's on its second engine too. how well do those 12v cig heaters work? what would be a good wattage? thanks for the help guys.

holly crap wat did she do to it

 

[Adul]

mine stop working as well and I don't really feel like going through the trouble of figuring it out. My mechanic will look at it for 38 bucks.

 

[NutBucket]

Originally posted by: SinNisTeR
well, we live in utah, and we are driving to LA for xmas. i think she needs one all the time. so im just gonna get one for her. no water gets in the car, amazingly because the sun roof doesnt close all the way. its a miracle this car drives as well as it does. it's on its second engine too. how well do those 12v cig heaters work? what would be a good wattage? thanks for the help guys.

Just checkin. If there was water in the car then I could understand the mechanic quoting you a lot. Replacing heater cores is not a cheap or easy job. I know my friend was quoted more then $1k from a Volvo dealer to replace his. He asked for kicks since he's a mechanic as well. It did take more then 8 hours to totally finish the job tho.