No Defrost or Footwell Heat, Dash vents fine

[crystalworks]

I have this same problem. Melt your face off air coming from dash vents but nothing from floor or upper. I figured a baffle actuator or something was stuck. Should have taken a look at it when I did my Avin but will start looking into it now.

So there is a wheel or bowden cable under there that gets stuck? I'll see what I can find.

Subbing for this in case a solution is found before I get a chance to dig in. The wife and I just got hit with bronchitis so... I'm not anxious to get in there at the moment. Hope our 1 year old daughter doesn't get it...

[thrillcat]

Originally Posted by bcredliner

Have you checked coolant level?

I haven't had a chance to yet. I've been swamped and I want to do some thawing before I pop the hood. We've had -35F wind chills all week and even inside the garage is below 32º. I don't want to snap anything at this point. Hoping to get that done this afternoon. I would like to think it's okay, since it just came out of the shop multiple times, the last time being just after Thanksgiving...

Crystalworks, mine seems to have only cut the defrost and floor once, and now it's more a matter of it not getting real warm, so that's the alley I'll be troubleshooting right now, unless it stops blowing from the defrost and floor again. - Hope you feel better soon, that stuff is nasty.

[thrillcat]

The coolant was about a liter low. Which is odd. Topped it off and will continue to monitor. It didn't melt my face, but it did seem warmer.

Also, oddly enough, and it could very well be me overanalyzing things, but I thought I noticed the fan doing some odd speed changes, even when I had it on manual control.

[bcredliner]

Did you bleed the system when you added coolant?

[thrillcat]

Originally Posted by bcredliner

Did you bleed the system when you added coolant?

I didn't. I stopped by my shop and they checked and added quick as I didn't have an appointment and they were pretty busy.

Thinking a bubble?

[thrillcat]

Checking over the service records, I'm seeing that the upper cooling system hoses were replaced almost exactly 2 years ago (15K miles ago) at the dealership. That's the last cooling system work that's been done.

[bcredliner]

Originally Posted by thrillcat

I didn't. I stopped by my shop and they checked and added quick as I didn't have an appointment and they were pretty busy.

Thinking a bubble?

Yes, the bleed screw should be opened when the engine is running at operating temp, the heat and fan are at max setting, the expansion tank is full---to be sure all the air is out of the system. Easy to do without going back to the shop. Just open the bleed screw a bit and leave it open until there is no air coming out with the coolant. Don't open it much and the screw doesn't need to be tightened much.

[thrillcat]

Originally Posted by bcredliner

Yes, the bleed screw should be opened when the engine is running at operating temp, the heat and fan are at max setting, the expansion tank is full---to be sure all the air is out of the system. Easy to do without going back to the shop. Just open the bleed screw a bit and leave it open until there is no air coming out with the coolant. Don't open it much and the screw doesn't need to be tightened much.

Just to clarify (this is all new to me, but I'm eager to know these things),

Get the X up to operating temperature
Leave engine running, heat & fan at max
Open fill cap? Yes or No?
Open bleed screw
Wait until coolant flows out with no air sputtering
Close bleed screw

[bcredliner]

Open the fill cap when the engine is cold and has not yet run to check if coolant is up to the proper level in the expansion tank. Put the cap back on and make sure it is tight.

Do not remove the fill cap when the engine is running as the system is pressurized. Open The bleed screw, right next to the fill cap, should be open only enough so that coolant comes out and leave it open until only coolant comes out. Do not remove the bleed screw.

[thrillcat]

Just checking back into this.

Coolant was about a liter low, topped off. Bled the system. Seems better, but temps also haven't been below 0ºF like they were, so I can't be sure.

Shop also said I should be keeping the stratified air dial all the way to the 3-red dots and dialing back to cool it off, since all it really does is mix in some fresh air. I was under the impression it should be kept in the middle as a default and adjusted either way...

Regardless, it seems better, but temps are also much more mild. Haven't had any snow/cold to really tell if it's taken care of and if the defrost can keep up. Time will tell at this point. I'll be in touch.