Heater Not working

rongrob · #1 11-14-2010, 06:51 PM

Hi guys, im new to my Ranger and this forum, so thanks in advance for helping out.

I have a newly purchased 1997 Ranger 2.3L XLT, 5sp manual, with 87,000 miles in beautiful condition. Was owned by an old farmer that said he used it to go to Church and to WalMart and the feed store on Saturday, LOL. The truck is imaculate and runs great.
Im working on the following:
1) New Cat Converter, the current one has a crack in one of the weld-seams and is buzzing, so thanks to EBAY, I have a new Maremont on the way.
2) Have the typical code of 1443, so Im fixing that one this week.
3) New Autolite platinum spark plugs and 10w30 Synthetic oil and new filter, new airfilter, new fuel filter.
3) My Heater doesnt work all the time. It worked several days ago and now with this last cold snap it wont do squat.
What is the usual problem with the heater now working????????? Is it Vacumn opened or is there a cable. What should I be looking for???????

thanks for any heater help you can give...... ron
PS: Ill post a pic later this week.

FireRanger · #2 11-14-2010, 07:20 PM

Thermostat is stuck open. You'll probably notice the temp gauge is staying low as well.

pooleo · #3 11-14-2010, 07:28 PM

I would start with letting the truck warm up. Then feel the heater core hoses. Check to see if both hoses are hot and the same temp with the fan off.

If only one is hot then a few things to check.

1) is the heater core plugged?

2) there is a vaccum operated valve in the heater core hoses. Remove this and install
(2) 5/8 barb fittings.

3) even if the thermostat is stuck open, eventually the truck will get hot enough to produce heat.

I can get heat as low as 120 on my temp gauge, its not hot, but is still warmer than no heat.

----------

also, is it that there is not heat or that the fan is not blowing...?

rongrob · #4 11-14-2010, 09:18 PM

Definitely not the thermostat, it is brand new. I just flushed the system and installed a new 180 thermostat. Im going to pull the heater hoses off and see if the core is plugged. When I flushed the cooling system, it was full of brown gunk that looked almost like mud.

Could be vacumn regulator on the heater hoses not functioning properly. May be stuck closed.
thanks

FireRanger · #5 11-15-2010, 04:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rongrob

Could be vacumn regulator on the heater hoses not functioning properly. May be stuck closed.
thanks

Yes, that is also a common failure. You can remove it completely or shove a screwdriver in it to force it open.

sheltonfilms · #6 11-15-2010, 10:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FireRanger

Yes, that is also a common failure. You can remove it completely or shove a screwdriver in it to force it open.

All the heater control valves I've seen usually get stuck open. Well its not really stuck, the rubber diaphragm in them degrades and loses vacuum pressure (enough to keep it from closing).

To tell if its working properly have a friend turn your air conditioning mode knob from vent to off, or from vent to max a/c. Vacuum to close the valve is only applied in the off and max a/c settings. You should see the valve opening and closing when the switch is being turned. (on the cylinder opposite of the vacuum line, little metal rod connected to lever). If its not in off or max a/c and still closed, then yes it is stuck. try pushing and pulling that little rod (its like 1/8" pin) and see if that frees it up.

Usually if there is a leak in the diaphragm your vents will switch to defrost when in the max a/c mode under acceleration (usually when going up a hill). This is because the vacuum actuators for the vents are ran off the same vacuum line, and eventually the whole system uses up its reserved vacuum (vacuum ball on passenger side fender) and defaults to the defroster.

no4el · #7 11-20-2010, 05:57 PM

Same problem but new truck, 2010 with 6,000 miles. Dealer too busy today and I have to wait until next week to get it fixed. I just wanted to see if it was something simple. thanks, No4EL

rongrob · #8 11-21-2010, 06:57 AM

Ok, here is an update on the heater problem:
1) I took all of the hoses off the heater core and flushed it out, nothing was blocking it, so it was free flowing
2) checked the heater water valve on the hoses going to the heater core, diaphram was free and the valve works perfectly when you turn the heater on and off..
3) flushed the entire system out, new anti-freeze, thermostat, hoses all ok, etc.
4) the heater door (operated by vacumn) works fine, opens and closes.

But still no heat. I'm not sure what else to look at and cold weather is getting here, even in the deep south......t,,

mhtranger · #9 11-21-2010, 07:53 AM

Could the system need to be bled? Maybe air in the heater system?

FireRanger · #10 11-21-2010, 08:47 AM

The vacuum operated door only controls recirculate vs outside air. The blend door that controls air flow through the heater core is electrically operated or mechanically by a cable from the control. I'm not sure if '99 was electric or cable operated. If it is electric, the modules sometimes burn out. It is accessible through the glove box opening.

Do both the heater core hoses get hot? If so than the above is your problem.

no4el · #11 11-24-2010, 06:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by no4el

Same problem but new truck, 2010 with 6,000 miles. Dealer too busy today and I have to wait until next week to get it fixed. I just wanted to see if it was something simple. thanks, No4EL

Noticed the coolant fluid was low. Lost most of the radiator fluid, the over-flow tube that goes across the top of the radiator and melted, thus causing a small hole. This caused the fluid to leak down the side of the radiator. The molded factory tube was replaced with reinforced rubber tubing.

mdblitz · #12 12-01-2010, 04:51 AM

Anyone ever hear of defroster clearing just half of the windshield? I can't see anything down in the defroster and the switch cycles all the vent doors. The passenger half of the windshield gets most all of the air flow.

FireRanger · #13 12-01-2010, 05:14 AM

Nope. Something must be blocking the air flow. Even with the lowest of air flow, it comes out the middle.

mdblitz · #14 12-01-2010, 03:36 PM

I was under the dash a few weeks ago looking for a way to access the defroster plumbing. Taking the radio out I could remove the center dash vents but couldn't get into the defroster.

Any suggestions.

rongrob · #15 12-02-2010, 06:23 AM

Ok, finally found my problem with the heater not working. My temperature gauge has not worked since I got the truck. I replaced the sending unitl because it was really caked full of crud from the cooling system not being flushed. Low and behold, witha new sending unit working fine, my heater all of a sudden starts working. There are several wires that connect to the temp. sending unit so I guess it must regulate the heater also. Wierd, but it works now.... thanks for the posts..