2000 Neon no heat

[zr440]

My dodge neon has very low heat. I've tried two different thermostats, replaced the radiator cap, flushed the coolant and heater core, and checked the blend door. None of this has changed anything. The temp gauge runs below the 1/4 mark all the time. Any ideas?

[ikeyballz]

ok..i think first, you should check:

IS the engine getting hot in the first 10-15 mins...? (hot to touch..gonna burn-type of hot..)

if it is, its gotta be one of two things (that i can think of)

1) your heater core is plugged..and radiator flush didnt fix it.. (it doesnt, sometimes..specially if youre heater wasnt turned on while it was being flushed..)
2) your A/C blower motor is broken.

im leaning towards heater core is partially plugged OR covered...

[zr440]

I flushed the heater core separate using a hose. The water came through both ways fine. I ended up flushing the radiator by itself and the heat started to work much better. Now it's getting worse again so I am thinking the radiator is getting plugged up.

Josh

[ikeyballz]

could be.. when you flushed it, did a lot of crap come out? deposits, etc? if it did, a 2nd flush might be good. if anything, dont put any coolant in your engine, let it warm up (not too hot cuz plain water will boil fast!) and then let it cool, then flush, and repeat that a few times,....if all that comes out = water ,then go fill it back up w. coolant and let it run. if that sitll doesnt work, what i noticed in my neon..was that the heater core/coolant core had crap stuck on it.. that prevented airflow..so maybe that could be one..

you DO feel air blowing tho right? just not warm air..

[rudesworld]

i am running into this exact problem. The neon first was overheating. After changing the thermostat twice and this time using a cooling 185deg and the cap. I had to disconnected all the hoses and remove the supply tubes going to the heater core circuit (had the remove the intake to get to the tubes) The tubes were completely clogged. I used a shop vac and a water hose and flushed out the radiator, heater core, tubes and block each seperately. the shop vac allowed me to flush it both ways. Now after everthing is together it doesn't overheat and stays at the 1/4 mark on the gauge BUT i get little heat. i am going to try to reflush heater core seperatly i think i might by still clogged but not as bad now.

Is there any special instructions on refilling the system as in purging it?

[ikeyballz]

if youre gonna take the core out, id recomend spending the money for a new core cuz if the inside is coated with gunk youre not gonna be able to take it all off..

[Acloskey]

Hi. I read this post shortly after I bought my 200 Neon and found that it had little to no heat at all. I changed the thermostat (which was bad), and flushed the cooling system. Still no heat. On a whim, I switched the hoses around on the heater core so that the in and out were reversed. I figured that this would reverse the flow through the core and possibly flush itself out naturally. IT WORKED!!! I now have great heat. I hope this tip helps you.

AC

[neongirl]

Acloskey, that tip worked wonderfully! My dad fixed my car and now I have heat and better gas mileage!! Thank you so much!

[jrgonewild]

Acloskey!!..After you switched the hoses on the core, did you eventually switch them back????Your fix worked beautifully but am wondering if it is a good idea to switch them back to original position. Thanks:

[Mdg321]

My 2000 Dodge Neon heater failed to produce heat. After realizing that the heater blower and thermostat were in good working condition, I focused on the heater core as the root of the problem. I disconnected the heater core inlet/outlet hoses from both ports. Next, I used a high pressure carwash sprayer to force water into both inlet/outlet ports, ultimately pushing out rust and dirt material to unclogging the heater core. My Dodge Neon heater works fine now. Hope this post helps to resolve your heater problem as well.