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Problem defrosting the car!

A

aleckz

Golden Member
It has just started getting pretty frigid here and my girlfriends 04 Spectra is deciding not to defrost. She's be starting it 15 minutes before work and nothing happens. I've been reading around that it might be a bubble in the system or even the blower motor. Any suggestions?

Cliffs:

-Defrost not working, dangerous to drive...


+Bubble in system
+Blower Motor
+Thermostat maybe?

Any suggestions would be great!
 
Originally posted by: aleckz
-Defrost not working, dangerous to drive...

+Bubble in system
+Blower Motor
+Thermostat maybe?
Click to expand...
Bubble: Maybe. Let the car cool completely, remove the radiator cap. Start it with the cap off, and let it heat up for 20-25 minutes. Stand by with a gallon of coolant/water mix and be ready to top off the radiator if the level falls below the brim. (This usually works on most cars, it might be slightly different on Kia).

Blower: Probably not, if there's air coming out of the vents then not likely.

Thermostat: Maybe. Does the heat gauge show the car getting into the middle between Cold Hot? If it never gets above C, it's very possible it could be the thermostat.
 
Some detail would be nice. Does air come out of any the vents? Is it warm? Are you setting it to defrost after starting? Can you feel air coming out of the defront vents?
 
If there is air flow from the proper vents and it eventually gets warm I would suspect a stuck open thermostat, if you have a temp gauge and it never rises above the 1/4 mark it is just about a certainty in cold weather all it takes is for the thermostat to not fully close I would get an oe stat and seal/gskt and it is a pretty simple job to swap it.
 
If you mean the car is not making any heat for the cabin then the most common problems of that are a bad Thermostat, Rad Cap, and low fluid. Replace the first 2 then top off with fluid and see if that does it.
 
I replaced the thermostat yesterday, it was stuck open, fixed the problems and the heat is back.

Sorry didn't post that it was able to blow full blast, just no heat was coming out with the air :/ and also I didn't believe it to be the blower motor since when they usually go they leak and you can smell the coolant.

Appreciate all the help though.
 
Originally posted by: aleckz
I replaced the thermostat yesterday, it was stuck open, fixed the problems and the heat is back.

Sorry didn't post that it was able to blow full blast, just no heat was coming out with the air :/ and also I didn't believe it to be the blower motor since when they usually go they leak and you can smell the coolant.

Appreciate all the help though.
Click to expand...

Replace the Rad. cap as well. Cheap and should be done with a thermostat replacment.
 
I've had two of these fail open and I believe a thermostat failure's MO is to fail open (for safety's sake). It does make driving in the winter a b*tch, though, even in Alabama.
 
I'd rather have it fail open than close, happened in my old 2000 Neon... Thank god I checked my gas gauge and noticed the rising temp gauge.
 
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