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ccccold air only blowing from heater


bullied by a Ram
01-13-2005, 11:25 PM
Hopefully a ram pro can help me with my heater problem and save me from these very cold days in the Puget Sound area. I have a '96 Ram 2500 V-10 that blows cold air only when the heater control dial is turned to the heat position. I mean no heat at all! Engine temp doe's not seem to be affected and runs in the neutral zone on the temp guage. I'm thinking one of several things could cause this but I am trying to put off the "exploratory" surgery with hope that I can get some ideas and help here...........?????????????????

whoamioitsme
01-13-2005, 11:34 PM
with the engine warm grab the feed and return hoses to the heater core as it may b pluged ! if both hoses are the same temp they probly r not !Or there is a flutter valve that controls the flow of coolant thrue the core it may b the colpred to it is in behind the glove box i belive
Hope this helps ya

bullied by a Ram
01-14-2005, 10:32 AM
whoamioitsme, thanks for the response , I'll look into that today and post the findings.

whoamioitsme
01-14-2005, 01:03 PM
Found theys tricks out there for u to look at to
Things to check firstSteve Knickerbocker:

First, make sure you have a thermostat and you're not low on coolant. If that checks out you can usually use a garden hose to blow the crud out of the heater core. I just had to do this on my Voyager and I've done it on my Dart. Worked each time for me. Sometimes it'll take quite a few alternations between heater core nipples to get clear, crud free water to flow.

Mike Nakagawa:

Also, sometimes if the coolant level gets low, air gets trapped in the heater core because it is a high point in the system. Solution for this is to jack up the front of the car (ramps), remove the rad. cap, warm up the car and keep running with the heater on high. Low pressure without the cap will allow air to dissolve in the coolant and leak out at the open cap.

Then watch that you don't get bubbles stuck near the thermostat when you close everything up. Squeeze the upper radiator hose [editor's note: CAREFULLY! and make SURE it's WELL AND FIRMLY ATTACHED first!] and fill coolant up to the neck as you release the hose. Keep doing it until there are no bubbles when you squeeze.

If you want to try to clear out the heater core, someone in the past recommended full strength vinegar then back flush with a hose.

I just changed the heater core on my elder Spirit. Not difficult, just time consuming, particularly if you reassemble a few things out of order, and have to redo it to get some blocked part to fit. The box with the heater core and A/C exchanger is huge. Oh yeah, my A/C was dry, so that was one less worry, otherwise you need to purge the system and make sure it stays clean through reassembly.

IMPORTANT: see our full guide to bleeding the system!

Dave:

Bubbles in the coolant seems to be the #1 cause of overheating and head failure, so please read this guide even if you have a mechanic changing your antifreeze - indeed, even if a dealer does.

Heater coresGerald Richey:

Your heater core can become clogged and leave no other noticeable problems with the remaining cooling system. As a matter of fact; if anything clogs first, it will normally be the heater core. The heater core has the smallest passages in the entire cooling system. If a "pour in" repair was ever made two or more times, depending on the pour in brand, I can nearly guarantee that at least a partial clog in the heater core will occur causing less effective heating. [Problems can occur without "pour in" repairs, too.]

If the heat control slider (the gadget you move to adjust the amount of heat/cold air coming in) loses its connection to the duct, your car is still producing heat, but it's not coming in to the passenger compartment!

The radiator cap may also not be making a tight seal.

whoamioitsme
01-18-2005, 06:14 PM
So what did u find was your prob an how did you fix it or are you still freezin you but off i know it is cold head in ontario :sleep:

JohnnyG27
01-22-2005, 02:32 PM
I am now having the same problems....98 1500 2wd...NO Heat....I changed the thermostat last year. I will try and blow out the heater core and see if that solves the problem. Thanks guys! I will keep you posted if that does the job.

bullied by a Ram
01-23-2005, 01:19 PM
So what did u find was your prob an how did you fix it or are you still freezin you but off i know it is cold head in ontario :sleep:

Hey Whoa, I still haven't gotten around to fixing the problem yet. I did feel both of the hoses (not very visible on a V-10) and they both were warm. I'm going to spend some time today and check the valve vaccuum (or cable) to see if that's the problem. Not looking forward to removing the heater core if that turns out to be the problem - the hoses and A/C lines are very close to the motor and looks to be a real pain. Thanks for the follow up - I'll let you know.

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