Heater Trouble

[Fog Dogg]

Hey, I've asked at a few automotive forums, but none have provided me with an answer, so I'm going to ask my friends here at Neowin.

My father is having trouble with the heat in his car, whenever he turns it on, it takes like 45 minutes to 1 hour for heat to actually be produced. When the heat is turned on too early then nothing but cold air is blown in. The thermostat was just replaced, and it had no effect on the temperature.

The needle indicating engine temperature is pretty much always at cold, barely fluctuating during the first hour of use. When heat starts getting produced, the needle barely points to "warm", never reaches "hot" like our other cars.

Does anyone know what is causing such a delay and how to fix it?

Thanks alot in advance.

EDIT: Errors.

Edited January 17, 2005 by Fog Dogg

[Shibby]

i remember once my dad had an austin mastro van.

his heater was crap and he always found a puddle of water in the footwell, turned out to be the heating matrix. after it got replaced his van was nice and warm.

that might be it prehaps?

[Chicane-UK Veteran]

Was thinking heater matrix also (often referred to as heater core in America) - will be expensive to get swapped but it sounds like whats to blame to be honest.

[Fog Dogg]

Alright, thanks guys... I'll tell my dad that :D.

[Homer]

Basically what the other guys said, but also get the pump on the engine checked because the fact that the gauge isn't going above cold for a looong time makes me suspicious that water isn't getting around the engine properly.

[supernova_00]

Check the heater blower, heater core, and maybe get an engine block warmer so the engine stays warm during the night.

and Homer that would cause the engine to overheat within 5 minutes so thats not the problem.

[Homer]

Ahh, I'll be quiet then. Pain's making me talk outta my ass, as usual. :p

[gdodson]

Depending on how cold it is, you could cover up the grill on the car with a plastic bag or something to retain the heat (only if the car has an air dam under the front bumper). If it has no air dam, make a small hole in the bag to let some air in. Only do this if the outside temperature is around -5 or less celcius.

[Fog Dogg]

We have 3 cars that leave here in the morning, 2 have this problem, and 1 gets heat in like 5 minutes; so I don't think that it's the environment.

If it is the heater core, would that explain why the gauge registers as cold for such a long time?

Thanks.

[rvbfan]

Engine block thermostat is staying open so the motor is not

building up any heat. That explains why it won't warm up until

it is under load for a long time. Homer was right(sort of) the thermostat staying open will cause the coolant to keep flowing around the engine thus not allowing for any heat build up.

Should only cost about $50 to fix.

Edited January 19, 2005 by keratosis

[Fog Dogg]

Makes sense... Thanks alot for the answer :D.