07 Aug The Most Common Car Heater Problems
If you live anywhere near the East Coast of the United States, or even towards the sunny west where fall and winter temperatures can dip below human comfort levels, then you can appreciate a working car heater.
Sometimes, however, cold air is blowing out when there should be hot air, or it won’t start – any number of issues that have you pulling out your hair. In the following, we’ll take a look at the most common car heater issues..
- The Refrigerant or Coolant
This may the most common overall; if you have run out of coolant, then your car heater will blow out air that has not been treated, and thus will not provide any warmth. The compressor that comprises your car heater employs refrigerant to move cold air out and warm the place. If it has run out of this refrigerant/coolant, then once you replace it, working order should be restored. It’s helpful to search the system for a leak, too, if you feel you should not have depleted the coolant by this time.
- Malfunctioning Thermostat
This part of the car heating system regulates the temperature of the engine; which needs to be at a certain operating temperature in order to work properly. It dumps excess heat by opening and closing, and can malfunction by failing to close or open. You can identify the issue if your engine is overheating or takes too long to warm up.
- Broken Fan
This issue is easy to identify. The car heater works – you can hear the sound – but the heat isn’t reaching you. If you eliminated a coolant leakage from above, then the fan may be stuck or broken. It’s easy to replace or perhaps fix.
In short, issues with your car heater are centered on either the compressor, the evaporator or the blower fan, and can be identified distinctly.
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