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  #1  
Old 02-06-2008, 11:48 PM
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Question heater problem

my heater isnt hardly putting out any heat. i always have it on 85, i should be roasting my ass off, but instead i have to wear my coat. it blows out luke-warm air, it runs all the time, and another thing, how do i get it to come out the vents? the only time it seem to remotely come out of the vents was about the 72 setting? any thoughts?

Tom
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  #2  
Old 02-07-2008, 12:13 AM
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Sounds like you need to turn the heat down to 72 deg.

The heat comes out of the lower heat vents, and the only way to get it above is to put in on defrost mode. The air conditioner blows out the vents above. Is the car warming up? Does your air conditioner work? Maybe the heat exchanger is not working. Please give a few more details so we can figure this out.
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  #3  
Old 02-07-2008, 04:35 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ensteele View Post
Sounds like you need to turn the heat down to 72 deg.

The heat comes out of the lower heat vents, and the only way to get it above is to put in on defrost mode. The air conditioner blows out the vents above. Is the car warming up? Does your air conditioner work? Maybe the heat exchanger is not working. Please give a few more details so we can figure this out.

ok umm, i dont know if the A/C works, i havent tried it. even when the car is at operating temperature it doesnt get very warm. and by vent i forgot to put in that it wont come out the front face vents? it comes out the feet vents and the top window vents just not the front ones... i dont know alot about the heater system. do you think i need a radiator flush? would that help?

Tom
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  #4  
Old 02-07-2008, 07:14 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ensteele View Post
The heat comes out of the lower heat vents, and the only way to get it above is to put in on defrost mode. The air conditioner blows out the vents above.
I run my heat in ECON mode all the time, set at 21*C, and it clears the ice off the windshield fine. My AC compressor bearings are toast, so I cut the AC belt off.
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  #5  
Old 02-07-2008, 08:35 PM
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no air out the face vebts?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Crazy_pilot View Post
I run my heat in ECON mode all the time, set at 21*C, and it clears the ice off the windshield fine. My AC compressor bearings are toast, so I cut the AC belt off.
The air is not supposed to come out those vents when you have the temp set higher than the temp inside the car. Heater is for the lower vents. There is a baffle in the system that closes off the air conditioning face vents when you are trying to get the car warm.

Give a little background on your car?
Good luck,
Keith
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  #6  
Old 02-07-2008, 08:38 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kwren View Post
The air is not supposed to come out those vents when you have the temp set higher than the temp inside the car. Heater is for the lower vents. There is a baffle in the system that closes off the air conditioning face vents when you are trying to get the car warm.

Give a little background on your car?
Good luck,
Keith
ok cool, i get that part now. umm but i still have the problem with it not getting very warm. its a 92. the heater runs all the time, it never gets very warm, i have it on 85 and i still have to wear my coat? idk
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Old 02-07-2008, 08:43 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kwren View Post
The air is not supposed to come out those vents when you have the temp set higher than the temp inside the car. Heater is for the lower vents. There is a baffle in the system that closes off the air conditioning face vents when you are trying to get the car warm.

Give a little background on your car?
Good luck,
Keith
Background? Ummm...I used to use defrost as required, but then the compressor started getting angry, so I cut the belt off. Ever since I have left the climate control at 21 degrees C in ECON mode. I haven't pushed a button in days. It melts the snow/ice off my windshield just fine in this setting, even today in heavy snow in traffic the windshield remained clear. The driver door windows tend to fog, but that's it.
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Old 02-07-2008, 08:45 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by snofrek View Post
ok cool, i get that part now. umm but i still have the problem with it not getting very warm. its a 92. the heater runs all the time, it never gets very warm, i have it on 85 and i still have to wear my coat? idk
When's the last time you flushed the coolant? The heater core could have a blockage. (unlikely though)

You might also have a bad thermostat. Does the coolant temp gauge do anything weird? It should stay at one temp consistently once warmed up.
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  #9  
Old 02-07-2008, 08:46 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Crazy_pilot View Post
When's the last time you flushed the coolant? The heater core could have a blockage. (unlikely though)

You might also have a bad thermostat. Does the coolant temp gauge do anything weird? It should stay at one temp consistently once warmed up.
no i havent flushed the coolant., and no, the temp gauge stays the same, like it should.
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  #10  
Old 02-07-2008, 11:18 PM
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Thermostat?

If your car warms up fast like it should then the thermostat is working right. The design on our cars heating system allows majority of colant to flow through the heater core when the car engine is started. If you set your temperature to 72, you will get plenty warm if the heater is working right. Yours of course isn't. Does the fan blow air pretty fast when you have the heater set to 80'ish?
The heater fan has to blow pretty fast to heat quickly.
If you reach down in front of yourself below the dash with the heater running you can feel where the air comes out.
Let us know exactly what is happening.
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  #11  
Old 02-08-2008, 10:00 AM
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whats the coolant level at? do you know how to run a diagnostic on the climate control system? if not its in the how tos
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  #12  
Old 02-08-2008, 10:26 AM
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Yes, you really ought to do the self diagnostic test.

Details here: http://www.subaru-svx.net/photos/files/How-To/14349.pdf

Do the test and see if you come up with codes, that will be a help in sussing your problem.

Joe
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  #13  
Old 02-08-2008, 04:58 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kwren View Post
If your car warms up fast like it should then the thermostat is working right. The design on our cars heating system allows majority of colant to flow through the heater core when the car engine is started. If you set your temperature to 72, you will get plenty warm if the heater is working right. Yours of course isn't. Does the fan blow air pretty fast when you have the heater set to 80'ish?
The heater fan has to blow pretty fast to heat quickly.
If you reach down in front of yourself below the dash with the heater running you can feel where the air comes out.
Let us know exactly what is happening.
ya it blows at full when it is at 85... and it blows luke warm air. never gets real hot.
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  #14  
Old 02-08-2008, 05:08 PM
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Have you checked your coolant level yet?
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  #15  
Old 02-08-2008, 05:10 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dragoontwo View Post
Have you checked your coolant level yet?
yes i have and it is full, actually a little bit above the full mark....
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