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YACT kinda, More Like YACPT

J

Jhill

Diamond Member
ok so i know a thermostat in a car is responsible for getting the hot air from the engine into the interior of the car

my girlfriends car doesnt really get warm, her heater is sub-par
is the most likely option just replacing the thermostat or what?
1992 tempo in case you're wondering

thanx
 
Well for starters, your definition of what a thermostat does is way off.

But for your problem the thermostat could possibly be to blame and is usually cheap - so it'd be a good place to start.

 
OK a thermo controls the flow of coolant from the block to the radiator
Sutck closed your car overheats stuck open your right you won't get much heat because the heater core 'a mini radiator inside the car' only has cold coolant to work with.

Idiot light or temp gauge, If its got a gauge if it never moves up any you may need a thermostat, easy to change and cheap, get the highest temp rated one for your car.
If its a 4 banger and cold out get a winter front or poor mans winter front, cardboard with a 5" diameter hole in it in front of the radiator. You could try this first as it is the easiest to do. If the gauge makes it to the normal range your done.
Don't forget to take it out in the spring
 
Originally posted by: desy
OK a thermo controls the flow of coolant from the block to the radiator
Sutck closed your car overheats stuck open your right you won't get much heat because the heater core 'a mini radiator inside the car' only has cold coolant to work with.

Idiot light or temp gauge, If its got a gauge if it never moves up any you may need a thermostat, easy to change and cheap, get the highest temp rated one for your car.
If its a 4 banger and cold out get a winter front or poor mans winter front, cardboard with a 5" diameter hole in it in front of the radiator. You could try this first as it is the easiest to do. If the gauge makes it to the normal range your done.
Don't forget to take it out in the spring
Click to expand...

wow your a genius
i think the temp guage still reads normal.
would the thermostat still affect that?


 
Does any hot air come out of the heater at all? Or is it just barely hot (with car fully warmed up and temp gauge at about middle)? Is the blower motor working? Is the coolant full?

Mark
 
Originally posted by: Minjin
Does any hot air come out of the heater at all? Or is it just barely hot (with car fully warmed up and temp gauge at about middle)? Is the blower motor working? Is the coolant full?

Mark
Click to expand...

luke warm air, while car is warmed, temp guage in the middle, and the blower is blowing fine
coolant is at normal level

 
slide a peice of cardboard in between the grill and radiator, pre cut a 5" dia hole in the center of the cardboard.
Or twist tie, cable tie carboard in front of the grill blocking air to the radiator I've seen a lot of festive beer boxes for this purpose 😉
Personally, I like to hide the cardboard but its easier to 'open up' the cardboard externally on warm days if you notice the gauge climbing too high.
 
The car is running at normal operating temperature. The cardboard trick would be completely pointless and ineffective at fixing this problem.

There are only a few likely problems here if we assume that the coolant temp gauge is properly functioning:

1. Coolant isn't flowing through the heater core (either none, or very little)
2. Blower motor air isn't going completely through the heater core.

For the first situation, there are a few possibilities. Low coolant. Recheck the coolant level and make certain that if it has a coolant overflow/expansion bottle and separate radiator cap, that you check to make sure the radiator is filled completely. Just looking at the bottle isn't good enough. While you are there, check to be certain that your water/antifreeze ratio is good. You're not going to get much in the way of heat if the coolant is mostly frozen. Check to see if a previous owner installed a manual heater blockoff valve in one of the hoses. Has the heat ever worked since she's owned it? The heater core could also be partially clogged. You can test this with compressed air (be careful) or water.

For the second situation, the flap on the heater box isn't closing all the way or switching to where it needs to be. You need to get up under the dash and take a look at it. While you're under there, feel the core to see if its getting hot (if its not hot, go back to the previous paragraph). The hot/cold linkage could simply be broken or disconnected. All it takes is a spring or cable and you won't get hot air because air isn't blowing through the heater core.

Look at that stuff and go from there.

Mark
 
http://www.advanceautoparts.com/english/youcan/html/ccr/ccr20031201hc.html

I agree there is probably something more like corrosion, blocking the heater core
BUT it is a POS 92 Tempo.

The article above doesn't advocate cardboard but when I bought a brand new Civic the DEALERSHIP told me to put cardboard in front. 4 bangers have trouble generating enough heat in the winter. Killing cold air rushing into the engine compartment and getting things a little warmer faster won't hurt either.
I changed the heater core myself out on my 94 Corsica this summer, not a easy job and a expensive one if you want a mechanic to do it. This fellow doesn't know what a thermostat does.
I was trying to keep it simple.

Here is a dead simple diagram of what is going on for you Coolant system
 
what if the car is idle and its still not pushing out hot air?
wouldnt that cardboard thing not work then, because that works with the wind
being pushed in to cool the radiator through forward motion?
 
The cardboard thing works by restricting airflow to the radiator which it will do even if the car isn't moving.
Sometimes though when its cold and it routinely gets to -40 around here in North Sask
the engine doesn't warm up enough to even trigger the thermostat to start the flow to the radiator, nice huh 😎
 
dude, don't put cardboard infront of your radiator, it wasn't designed to have that restricted air flow.

your problem is you either have a leak after the air blows by your heater core, or the heater core may be plugged.
 
Might have a bad heater control valve. It's a valve that controls the flow of heated coolant into the heater core. It may be either vacuum or cable operated. If you have a weak vacuum signal due to a vacuum leak, the valve won't open completely or at all. If it's cable operated it may need to be adjusted, or the valve itself may be faulty.

I'll bet that's the issue.

The cardboard idea is useless.
 
So says the man from Florida ?
I'm 40 and have owned about 11 vehicles 3 new 8 used and EVERY single one of them gets a winterfront
Here disagree with popular mechanics then:roll:
"Some engines, particularly transverse four-cylinders, radiate so much heat so fast that there's no internal fix for extremely cold weather. It may not be an elegant solution, but put a piece of cardboard against the front of the radiator, blocking about half of the surface area. Trim it back if the engine starts running hot. Remember to remove the cardboard in the spring."

 
Originally posted by: SuperSix
Might have a bad heater control valve. It's a valve that controls the flow of heated coolant into the heater core. It may be either vacuum or cable operated. If you have a weak vacuum signal due to a vacuum leak, the valve won't open completely or at all. If it's cable operated it may need to be adjusted, or the valve itself may be faulty.

I'll bet that's the issue.

The cardboard idea is useless.
Click to expand...

A car this new shouldn't use a heater control valve, but if it does have one I agree its a likely failure point.

Mark
 
Originally posted by: SuperSix
Might have a bad heater control valve. It's a valve that controls the flow of heated coolant into the heater core. It may be either vacuum or cable operated. If you have a weak vacuum signal due to a vacuum leak, the valve won't open completely or at all. If it's cable operated it may need to be adjusted, or the valve itself may be faulty.

I'll bet that's the issue.

The cardboard idea is useless.
Click to expand...

Thats exactly what I would've guessed. I had a heater control valve in an older Chevrolet get stuck closed. Very little coolant, if any, was getting to the heater core. I just took the valve out and threw it in the trash. No more probs after that.
 
Originally posted by: Compton
Originally posted by: SuperSix
Might have a bad heater control valve. It's a valve that controls the flow of heated coolant into the heater core. It may be either vacuum or cable operated. If you have a weak vacuum signal due to a vacuum leak, the valve won't open completely or at all. If it's cable operated it may need to be adjusted, or the valve itself may be faulty.

I'll bet that's the issue.

The cardboard idea is useless.
Click to expand...

Thats exactly what I would've guessed. I had a heater control valve in an older Chevrolet get stuck closed. Very little coolant, if any, was getting to the heater core. I just took the valve out and threw it in the trash. No more probs after that.
Click to expand...


And your Tempo does indeed have a heater control valve, about $10.00 at hte local auto parts store.

I would replace it, not discard it, as if it's not there, it will greatly reduce the A/C's ability to cool as the hot collant will always be circulating through the heater core.


 
Originally posted by: SuperSix
Originally posted by: Compton
Originally posted by: SuperSix
Might have a bad heater control valve. It's a valve that controls the flow of heated coolant into the heater core. It may be either vacuum or cable operated. If you have a weak vacuum signal due to a vacuum leak, the valve won't open completely or at all. If it's cable operated it may need to be adjusted, or the valve itself may be faulty.

I'll bet that's the issue.

The cardboard idea is useless.
Click to expand...

Thats exactly what I would've guessed. I had a heater control valve in an older Chevrolet get stuck closed. Very little coolant, if any, was getting to the heater core. I just took the valve out and threw it in the trash. No more probs after that.
Click to expand...


I would replace it, not discard it, as if it's not there, it will greatly reduce the A/C's ability to cool as the hot collant will always be circulating through the heater core.
Click to expand...

Well that car has been retired. When I removed it, the A/C wasn't working anyway. 😉
 
Originally posted by: desy
So says the man from Florida ?
I'm 40 and have owned about 11 vehicles 3 new 8 used and EVERY single one of them gets a winterfront
Here disagree with popular mechanics then:roll:
"Some engines, particularly transverse four-cylinders, radiate so much heat so fast that there's no internal fix for extremely cold weather. It may not be an elegant solution, but put a piece of cardboard against the front of the radiator, blocking about half of the surface area. Trim it back if the engine starts running hot. Remember to remove the cardboard in the spring."
Click to expand...


Interesting.

The link you provided only says, and I quote (correctly), pertinent info bolded:
Simply blocking the radiator can make your car warm up faster in extremely cold weather.
Click to expand...

Great, you're 40 and had a handful of cars. There's still 80 year old rednecks here in Florida that take thermostats out thinking it will make their 1979 F150 run cooler - doesn't make it wise.

Did you fail to notice that the temp gauge is normal? So indeed, aside from a slightly faster warmup, your idea is useless, and has no bearing on the OP's issue.

A little FYI - I grew up in Massachusetts, in the Berkshire mountains, I know cold.

Thanks for the link - you should ahve directed the OP to it for guidance instead of trying to provem your irrelevant point.

Good luck with your cardboard.
 
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