Chrysler Cirrus heater not working

I have a 1996 Chrysler Cirrus with a 2.4 engine and the heater does not
work. Once the engine has reached it's normal operating temperature and I
attempt to use the heater, there is an initial hot/warm air coming thru in
any selected position (floor, floor/vent, vent, etc) but it will gradually
turn into cool/cold air within 10 seconds or so. The A/C works properly in
the car and it is true cold air. Also I want to mention that the defroster
light does not light up but the defroster works.

It is getting cold in the mornings where I live and I need to find a
solution to this problem.

Thanks in advance for the help.

 

Perhaps you have a bad thermostat ... there is heat as long as the car
is idling or moving slowly but the engine cools off when moving at
regular speeds so you have no heat. If that's not the case, perhaps you
have a bad or clogged heater core.

 

Usually caused by restricted flow in the heater core. If yours has a water
valve that might not be opening all the way, or just built up crud in the
heater
core, you should try disconnecting the heater hoses from the engine block
(when the car is cold) and flushing the core with a garden hose, both
directions.

Sometimes this happens when people flush their cooling systems espically
with the chemical flushes which are great for removing scale and such and
sending it into the small passages in the heater core (and radiator) If you
ever do a chemical flush after you do the purge/deactivation cycle you need
to backflush the rad and heater core separately.

Ted

 

I have a 1996 Chrysler Cirrus with a 2.4 engine and the heater does not
work. Once the engine has reached it's normal operating temperature and I
attempt to use the heater, there is an initial hot/warm air coming thru in
any selected position (floor, floor/vent, vent, etc) but it will gradually
turn into cool/cold air within 10 seconds or so. The A/C works properly in
the car and it is true cold air. Also I want to mention that the defroster
light does not light up but the defroster works.

It is getting cold in the mornings where I live and I need to find a
solution to this problem.

Thanks in advance for the help.
-----------------------------------------------



The thermostat is new and the temperature is normal. I will also check the
temperature while the car is idling to see if there is a difference. I
think that the problem could be in the heater core as it was mentioned. I
will definitely flush the system and hope that it cures the problem.

I know some cars have bleeding valves for the cooling system (Nissans, BMW,
etc) but I did not see anything like that in the car nor the manual.

Thanks for your suggestions.

 

Based on what you say, I'd look for an obstruction in either the hot water
flow to/through the heater core OR a problem with the air flow over the
heater core and into the vehicle. I am not familiar with this car, but have
fixed a couple of other Chrysler Minivans that had problems with the vacuum
controlled valve in the heater line near the firewall and the interior
"blend" door that changes alignment based on the control settings for either
heat or A/C.

Good luck.

Bob

 

Thanks for all the suggestions provided and I'm happy to say that the
problem is fixed. The heater core was clogged. I first tried the regular
flow flush with a water hose and very little water came out of the other
end, then I decided to do a reverse flow and everything cleared. I have
replaced heater cores on BMWs before and those are nothing compared to all
the things that needed removal just to get to the heater core on this car.

Again, thanks for all the input.


I have a 1996 Chrysler Cirrus with a 2.4 engine and the heater does not
work. Once the engine has reached it's normal operating temperature and I
attempt to use the heater, there is an initial hot/warm air coming thru in
any selected position (floor, floor/vent, vent, etc) but it will gradually
turn into cool/cold air within 10 seconds or so. The A/C works properly in
the car and it is true cold air. Also I want to mention that the defroster
light does not light up but the defroster works.

It is getting cold in the mornings where I live and I need to find a
solution to this problem.

Thanks in advance for the help.

 

That's silly, why did you do that? I told you to disconnect the heater
hoses
at the block and do the flush through them. You don't need to disassemble
everything to get to the heater core to flush it. You only need to do that
if your removing and replacing the core.

Ted

 

I have a 1996 Chrysler Cirrus with a 2.4 engine and the heater does not
work. Once the engine has reached it's normal operating temperature and I
attempt to use the heater, there is an initial hot/warm air coming thru in
any selected position (floor, floor/vent, vent, etc) but it will gradually
turn into cool/cold air within 10 seconds or so. The A/C works properly in
the car and it is true cold air. Also I want to mention that the defroster
light does not light up but the defroster works.

It is getting cold in the mornings where I live and I need to find a
solution to this problem.

Thanks in advance for the help.

---------------

Ok, let me clarify that statement. I did not remove anything but looked
thru the radio hole and read the manual for a worst case scenario just in
case it needed removal. Thanks God it did not need removal because it would
had been time consuming and your suggestion saved me a lot of time and
pain!!! ;-)

Thanks for the help