99 escort heat??

barteldt · #1 11-06-2008, 02:07 AM

working on daughters 99 escort se 2.0 this car has always had great heat even with the heater fan switch only running in low it always got warm in car. we live in norhern wisconsin so if it heats here it mustve been good . now though i get luke warm at best. heat gauge seems fine it goes to about the middle and stays there so i think thermostat is ok. i was going to change it but i broke the housing stud off so im gonna leave well enuf alone top hose is hot as is radiator cap. im getting this hissing sound that seems to be coming from one of the steel lines on driver side i think it might be ac and ive noticed that this line is cool up to a certain point maybe where the hiss is coming from and there it gets very hot. could this be affecting the cabin heat?any suggestions im thinking of flushing the core but i dont know if this is the prob either

Davescort97 · #2 11-06-2008, 03:22 PM

You could be right about flushing the heater core. Hot coolant flows from the thermostat housing into your heater. It flows hot all the time and the temp. you want inside is determined by the blend door. The blend door directs air through the core for maximum heating. The air is first cooled though the AC evaporator to remove moisture and then is directed though the heater core for all settings except the upper vents only and lower heater.. The blend door position is operated by a vacuum motor. If the vacuum line going to the blend door is defective it will have a bearing on how much heat you are getting. The only 2 positons on the heater control that aren't cooled first by the AC are the upper vents and the lower heater mode. That out of the way, if not your problem then the heater core needs to be back flushed. Disconnect the two heater hoses and flush it both ways to get it cleaned out.

barteldt · #3 11-06-2008, 11:32 PM

so talking to my daughter today and she reminds me that she had a new cooling fan installed this summer but it turned out that nothing was wrong with the one she took out could the sensor that turns this fan off be bad because the fan continually runs and i can hear the ac compressor kicking in and out every few seconds...should it run all the time even from a cold start

Davescort97 · #4 11-09-2008, 10:25 PM

The fan shouldn't run all the time unless the AC is on. The compressor shouldn't be coming on and off unless the freon is low and you have it set for the AC. When the sensor for the cooling fan is bad it WILL run all the time. It is the one with 3 wires going to it. The other with 2 wires is the sensor for the temp guage.

barteldt · #5 11-10-2008, 05:07 AM

is there anywat to disconnect ac compressor for winter so it will stop engaging

Davescort97 · #6 11-10-2008, 01:30 PM

Yes there is. Locate the receiver/dryer on the passenger side firewall. It looks like a cylindrical tube with an electrical connection to it. This is called the low pressure switch. When freon gets too low in charge this keeps the compresssor from coming on. Unplug the electrical connector to the receiver/dryer and it should keep the compressor from coming on. If this doesn't work disconnect the electrical connection to the clutch on the A/C compressor. I mentioned it last because the switch on the Receiver/ Driyer is easier to get to.