1987 Heater Help

Hello Group,

My mother is freezing in her 1987 Camry! The heater is acting up.

1. The heater will only ever work on the top 2 speeds.
2. Most of the time, it will only blow cold air.
3. It will blow hot air about 10% of the time. When it works, it works very well.


Any thoughts, folks? My sweet old mother, a hard working underpaid Kindergarten teacher, really needs your help!

Merry Christmas

Charles

sounds like a couple problems 1.heater blower switch is shot 2. maybe low on antifreeze? 3. thermostat sticky, fails open 4. also check that the heat control valve is operating properlt ie. not sticking closed

The fact that the heater only works on the top 2 speeds is most likely the blower motor resistor. Follow the wiring back from the blower motor and you will see the resistor. It is usually held in by 1 or 2 screws. Disconnect the connector and take the screw(s) out and the resistor will come right out. There will be some springs that look like large pen springs shaped in a diamond or square formation on the back side. 2 of them will be broken. This is a dealer only part and will run about $50.

on the other problem, follow augie7071's advice. My best guess is the car is low on coolant. If that's the case, fill it up with a 50/50 mix of antifreeze and water and then bleed the cooling system. If this fixes the problem, check for a leak in the cooling system. Coolant should not be consumed by the car. It has to be leaking somewhere.

Good luck.

Mike

Thanks for the replies! I talked to mom, and she said that the problem has been going on for some time. She said had a rad flush done in an attempt to correct the problem, but the problem continued.

In that the problem in intermittent, and she can get heat once in a while, does that rule out a heater core?

She's really worried about this. A local mechanic quoted her $1200 Canadian (she's in the Vancouver area) to fix it. He said that the repair would be expensive because the whole dash would have to be removed.

Cheers

Charles

Thanks for the replies! I talked to mom, and she said that the problem has been going on for some time. She said had a rad flush done in an attempt to correct the problem, but the problem continued.

In that the problem in intermittent, and she can get heat once in a while, does that rule out a heater core?

She's really worried about this. A local mechanic quoted her $1200 Canadian (she's in the Vancouver area) to fix it. He said that the repair would be expensive because the whole dash would have to be removed.

Cheers

Charles


I think you are correct in assuming that since the car gives heat once in a while that it does rule out the heater core. I would check the cheap things suggested here first.

Mike

I just had a similar problem with my 2001. Only the highest speed on the blower was working. I removed the blower motor resister and inspected it. It had a copper strap coming out of it, which was soldered to the metal frame, of the resister. The solder had melted breaking the circuit. I just soldered the strap back to the grounding point on the resister's frame, then bolted it back in place and hooked the wires back up. Works like new again. So you may not even have to buy a new one.

I think you're too late! Irene 44 froze in the school parking lot.

Beltman713 look at the date of the post before yours.

I think you're too late! Irene 44 froze in the school parking lot.

Beltman713 look at the date of the post before yours.
Yeh, you are right!!!
But the repair tip beltman713 gave us is still very valuable.

Thank you, beltman713!

Sam