Questions and Answers
Your Choice, Heat Or The Cliff
Q. Hi Vince, just found your web site. I've a question. I've got a 1987 Dodge Daytona 2.5 liter TBI automatic. I do all my own repairs, but this one's got me baffled. The heater hasn't worked for a couple years and I've vowed to fix it before winter or push it off a cliff.
The A/C and blower both work, but after pushing the heat control lever over to heat, not one iota of heat comes out of the vents. I've been through several of the cheap, plastic vacuum controlled temp valves and decided to just eliminate it from the system entirely with the coolant running through the heater core all the time. Still not one ounce of heat whatever. I did run a garden hose through the core with both hoses off and it flowed fine. It looks like to me that it must be in the control that opens the flaps under the dash.
I did notice about a year ago while the air is running that when you give it throttle, the vents in the dash close and the air is directed to your feet, then when I let up on the throttle (high vacuum condition) the air returns again to the dash vents. This tells me that I must have a vacuum leak and perhaps I have located the problem???
Will I need to pull out the whole heater unit to fix the problem? What do you think? Your input would be most appreciated.
Thanks,
DaveA. While the other mode doors are vacuum operated, the hot air door is cable operated. The cable goes from the temperature selector to the door and opens and closes it. The most common problem is that the cable mount on the heater box pops off and the cable just flops around instead of moving the door. They have also been known to kink and become useless. In this case replacing the cable is your only option.
The best way to check this is to crawl under the dash on the passenger side and look at the cable itself. Make sure the cable clip is attached. If it is move the lever back and forth and see if it moves freely. If it doesn't, then the cable is off or kinked at the control panel. You'll have to pop it out to check it there.
Additional Information provided courtesy of ALLDATA
