No heat

jeffro312

Original poster
Member
Oct 4, 2012
442
East Haven,Ct
04 rainier was 9 degrees out started truck was rough and sounded weird battery gauge went out of wack past 19 is now stuck burried to the right. Let it warm up some

Drove for a good 10 miles and heat was blowing cold. Shut off did some errands got back in punched it hard then heat started working

This morning again 9 degrees start truck now its rough kind of bouncing truck side to side slightly then smoothed out then again no heat

Drove good 20 miles. No heat. The coolant guage is straight up down

Checked rear heat nothing. No idea if ac works as its 9 degrees out

Any help be apreciated
 

The_Roadie

Lifetime VIP Donor
Member
Nov 19, 2011
9,957
Portland, OR
The gauge issue is a simple stepper motor in the gauge cluster stickiness. I wouldn't worry.

Assume your BLOWER is OK and blows OK airflow? A few folks describe a blower problem as no heat or cooling.

If it's a temperature issue, is it the same using both controls?

How old is the coolant, has it been checked for being good down to your current outside temps, and how's the level in the radiator and in the overflow tank?

If you park it indoors and let it soak up a bit of warmth, does it work right away?
 

jeffro312

Original poster
Member
Oct 4, 2012
442
East Haven,Ct
Roadie I changed fluid over summer when I did thermostat it blows air just not hot I drove to work parked it 9am it was 9 degrees Just got in started it its now 3pm its 26 and heat is amazingly hot right away as usual
 

am-radio

Member
Apr 24, 2012
178
I can't explain the no heat, but the temperature gauge could be the stepper motor like the roadie said, or if you plugged it in and it was warmer than -17 C or 1 F, you could get a check engine light and the engine temperature gauge will not work.
 

The_Roadie

Lifetime VIP Donor
Member
Nov 19, 2011
9,957
Portland, OR
Can't explain it. If it goes cold again, check the coolant hoses going through the firewall to see if they're hot. If they are, then you have an actuator problem. If they aren't, then you have a coolant flow problem. If you had an EXT and the problem was in the back only, then I'd suspect the control valve or booster pump.
 

jeffro312

Original poster
Member
Oct 4, 2012
442
East Haven,Ct
Doesnt the actuators just control air flow to different places ie face floor defrost

Dont think rainiers go ext. But I do have rear heat wich was cold also.

2 days in a row 9 degrees in am doesnt work then later in the day it works. Just strange can coolant flow problem be intermitten if so wouldnt engine over heat
 

CaptainXL

Member
Dec 4, 2011
2,445
I would look into the voltage issue before worrying about heat. Open the hood and get a direct reading off the battery terminals with the help of someone who can start the vehicle for you. Have them look at the voltage gauge for comparison with your readings using a multimeter.

The only way I could explain the no heat issue (if issues are connected) is if our HVAC system has some type of overvoltage protection. This would effectively cause the HVAC actuators to be inoperative. But I didn't design the system so I don't know.
 

jeffro312

Original poster
Member
Oct 4, 2012
442
East Haven,Ct
I think gauge is just a sticky stepper as my spedo stopped and gas needle is funky. Even when heat works needpe for battery stuck all the way past 19
 

CaptainXL

Member
Dec 4, 2011
2,445
jeffro312 said:
I think gauge is just a sticky stepper as my spedo stopped and gas needle is funky. Even when heat works needpe for battery stuck all the way past 19

Sounds like an electrical connection issue under the dash or behind cluster. Possibly a loose ground? Just speculating. Any work been done lately under there?
 

CaptainXL

Member
Dec 4, 2011
2,445
The reason I brought up a possible ground issue is that I see you are in a northern area right on the ocean. So that might be a possibility. I am kind of out if ideas. If it was me I would check frame to body grounds and reseat dash cluster main connector. Clean the engine bay of salt at a self serve car wash bay.
 

jeffro312

Original poster
Member
Oct 4, 2012
442
East Haven,Ct
Think it only acts up when super cold out side anytime its over 20 outside heat works fine

Not sure what you call it but the jet egine turbine sound that comes on when I start car then goes off. When its below 10 when heat doesnt work that sound is non existant
 

triz

Member
Apr 22, 2013
746
Cold weather definitely can cause havoc on vehicles. It might just a bubble in the coolant system. Could be the water pump on its way out.

Try a bottle of Coolant Boost. That usually helps. I would try and raise the front a bit and burp the system with the heat on high and the cap off and see if any air got in the system.
 

jeffro312

Original poster
Member
Oct 4, 2012
442
East Haven,Ct
So an update 6 degrees this am this time I had no heat and rainier started to over heat pulled over and radiator was kinda jolting and popping probably coolant boiling bubbles. Drove more stopped to cool. Made it to work. 2 hours later start truck heat works all is fine

Maybe coolant isnt mixed for low temps will have to change it out see what happens
 

dla442

Member
Mar 31, 2012
249
grand rapids, mi
its been just as cold in Michigan and my TB throws fine heat. if you temp gage says at operating temp, also verify with a scan tool too(gage can lie when broke). Hoses to heater core both get hot? Isnt there a valve where the heater hoses go into then it allows heated water to pass into the core when needed? that could be the issue. A good 50/50 of dexcool is for 30 below temps, if you didn't mix well for your climate zone then perhaps starting to freeze which you would see in your reservoir. If hoses are both hot then you could have a blend door or actuator like roadie said. Are both radiator hoses hot when at op.temp? if not then you got another issue of circulation or your stat which should throw a code anyway. Its not that hard to figure out where the heat problem is if you look at these items.
 

jeffro312

Original poster
Member
Oct 4, 2012
442
East Haven,Ct
Well im sure its a coolant issue. Since truck was over heating this morning. So that led me to think theres some freezing wich blocked coolant flow. 2 hours after I got to work for break I started it and within a minute heat was working and no over heating. My assumption is the heat from over heating engine melted w.e ice blockage there was and allowed normal operation

Last summer I changed thermostat. Wasnt sure if entire system was empty and probably didnt measure exact 50/50 coolant so payback for not having the patience to take my time and pay attention to detail. May just add some dexcool as its absolutly freezing 8 degrees outside and no garage and not paying someone to do what I can. Hope for the best thanks guys.

My resivour is empty but radiater is full so cant see anything in there


Also think had partial freezing in my brake line as pedal was harder then usual and abs light kicked on then went off.

Seems like my rainier is mad at me. I payed alot of attention to her first 2 yrs ive had her this year I slacked off a little now I smell rotton eggs(clogged cat) speedo/gas gauge/battery gauge all dont work. Thank god for the msg center telling me how many miles till empty now coolant and brake issues. Oh and all happened in couple weeks span of time right when they took my unemployment away and waiting for first check from new job. I love it ha but she will get better poor rainier just has a cold. Lol
 

jeffro312

Original poster
Member
Oct 4, 2012
442
East Haven,Ct
the roadie said:
I would do it before it freezes enough to crack your block or blow out the plug. :eek:

Roadie last question. If fan clutch was going bad any no heat or overheating intermitten problems???

Jet noise sounds different at start up more like a shopvac now
 

IllogicTC

Member
Dec 30, 2013
3,452
the roadie said:
Dying fan clutches almost always fail with higher RPM than desired. So all they do is make excessive noise. The temp in the radiator is set by the thermostat, not by airflow over it.

On the bright side, a fan clutch in this failure mode is much less likely to lead to overheating. :yes:

And the thermostat does play a key role. It's involved in the cooling system from the start, unlike the fan and radiator which only comes into play after initial warm-up. If the thermostat is stuck open, your vehicle will take forever to warm up. If it's stuck closed, you're much more likely to overheat (as there's minimal/no flow to the radiator).
 

triz

Member
Apr 22, 2013
746
jeffro312 said:
Well im sure its a coolant issue. Since truck was over heating this morning. So that led me to think theres some freezing wich blocked coolant flow. 2 hours after I got to work for break I started it and within a minute heat was working and no over heating. My assumption is the heat from over heating engine melted w.e ice blockage there was and allowed normal operation

Last summer I changed thermostat. Wasnt sure if entire system was empty and probably didnt measure exact 50/50 coolant so payback for not having the patience to take my time and pay attention to detail. May just add some dexcool as its absolutly freezing 8 degrees outside and no garage and not paying someone to do what I can. Hope for the best thanks guys.

My resivour is empty but radiater is full so cant see anything in there


Also think had partial freezing in my brake line as pedal was harder then usual and abs light kicked on then went off.

Seems like my rainier is mad at me. I payed alot of attention to her first 2 yrs ive had her this year I slacked off a little now I smell rotton eggs(clogged cat) speedo/gas gauge/battery gauge all dont work. Thank god for the msg center telling me how many miles till empty now coolant and brake issues. Oh and all happened in couple weeks span of time right when they took my unemployment away and waiting for first check from new job. I love it ha but she will get better poor rainier just has a cold. Lol

This is making me think failing water pump.
 

meerschm

Member
Aug 26, 2012
1,079
You cannot just add a bit of full strength antifreeze. very hard to get much out of the radiator from the top without pulling a hose. you may not get the concentration high enough to make a difference.

you need to check the specific gravity of what is in the system. (local auto parts place may let you borrow a tester, if not, they are pretty cheap)

Peak/Antifreeze tester (PKFOAB) | Antifreeze Coolant Tester | AutoZone.com

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/ac...ze-tester/_/N-256i?itemIdentifier=529701_0_0_


if you want a minimum-cost update, you need to know what the concentration is now, and then figure out how much of what is in the system has to be replaced with undiluted dex-cool.

we can help with the math.

I bet you will end up pulling a lower hose to get this correct.
 

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