Is this a heater core issue or something else?
Is this a heater core issue or something else?
So I discussed an issue with heat on my car before back in the summer. Turns out the door actuators were sticking. It ended up getting stuck on defrost one rainy evening. Well we just had our first big cold come through here. It's been below freezing the last 2 days. I noticed my car has heat when you put hands to the vents but if you try to put fan on HI (sad there isn't any other in between setting) it'll cool the core down and the air will get cooler. Turns almost to a/c if you go from 85 to 90 so I leave it on 85. I looked at the links on heater core issues and inspected it when I fixed the actuators and it's not leaking or seeping. Only thing I can think is maybe it's plugged. I'll need to check the inlet/outlet temps of the core to know for sure. I'm curious if there's anything else I should look for before I go any further. It's odd that when I switch from 85 to 90 degrees it loses all heat.
Re: Is this a heater core issue or something else?
I played with it some last night. With ambient temps between 30 and 35 I can actually put my hands on all the heater hoses and not get burned. The heater core temps seem to be a bit lower than the radiator hose temp but not drastically. Also inlet and outlet seem to be very similar. I noticed when temp is set to 90 the system does NOT turn the compressor off. This caused the evap core to cool down so when I turned fan speeds up it cooled the box down. After driving about 20 minutes the cabin is comfortable but not the burning in the face sensation you get from most newer cars set to max heat. Is this just normal or is it possible the engine is maybe running too cold? Seeing as I can touch the upper hose and even rad. cap and not get burned. Theyre hot but not burning, instant reflex of pulling your hand back hot. Temp gauge stays about 1/2 way but I do know the temp and ecu use a different sensor.