no heat??

[jw 325ic]

i swapped dash facias in my girls car for one with no cracks. and when i was connecting the climate control cables on the new facia, i saw a spark behind the facia on the right side, and that was it. before i swapped the facias, the heat worked perfectly, with the temp gauge around 1/4 it would blow warm like my car. i also replaced the ac/circulation switch with another one that didnt work...but lights up and has labels, but now...

1. when the windshield defoggers on it blows hot, and if you leave it on, the bottom(feet) vent stays warm too.

2. with only the bottom vent on, it blows luke warm, and sometimes cold (this is with the climate control all the way hot.

3. and the middle vent, no matter what other vents are on, it always blows cold even with heat on.

blower motor works fine, and as i said it worked perfectly before i swapped facias.

anyone know what this could be? i need to fix this asap cuz im sick of getting into a cold car and going out in the cold. like some warmth every now and then...

[jw 325ic]

bump surely someone knows what to do..

[SchnellerVert]

Is the vent opening not the dash vent but wher the air is directed thru when it passes the heater core?

[jw 325ic]

hmm im not sure...would i have to remove the facia again to check that? or can i access it if i take the glove box apart?

when i turn the windshield vent on, it blows hot, and then with that still on, the feet vent blows hot. but the middle vent still blows cold. it sounds like that could be the case but i dont see how i coulve have messed that up just changing the facia. i was thinking maybe that spark i saw messed up the heater core valve. is that a possibility? i know i need to go run all these tests on it to check these things out, but if i can diagnose what it is without standing in the cold for awhile that would be great...

[SchnellerVert]

Having the defrost and feet function is best in crappy weather. It will meet in the middle.

[StereoInstaller1]

DO this: kneel outside of car, with your head between the steering wheel and the center console. Turn the heater to "hot", then while listening to the area of the heater core, turn the key on and off. Listen for a fairly loud CLICK while turning on the heater, right down by the gas pedal.

I think your heater control valve fuse is blown. Look at page 6411-0 on your BMW electrical manual: http://www.wedophones.com/Manuals/BM...g%20Manual.pdf

[jw 325ic]

its actually for the 91 coupe but it should be about the same right?

[jw 325ic]

do you mean the actual fuse #20 in the fuse box or something else? the fuse itself looked fine. could it be the actual valve is fubar'd and needs to be replaced?

[StereoInstaller1]

Here is the link to the '91 coupe: http://www.wedophones.com/Manuals/BM...g%20Manual.pdf

[jw 325ic]

update...did the "click" test, and didnt hear anything. did the same thing on my vert(heat works perfect on it) and i could hear the click that you're talking about. all i heard on the 91 was the blower motor running. but i looked at fuse #20 and its fine...i read in a thread i found when i searched that the valve can get fucked and sometimes needs replacing. does this sound right?

[StereoInstaller1]

Yeah, but according to that electrical manual, there is a seperate fuse just for that valve.

Called the "AC INLINE FUSE", who knows where it is. I have an '88 with no dash in it. I will see if I can find it and shoot you a pic.

The reason I am so interested in this is because I want 100% functional AC in both mine and the GFs car.

Luke

[StereoInstaller1]

OH MY DEAR FUCKING GOD, I found that fuse.

You are gonna hate this, unless you weigh 150 pounds and are triple elbowed.

This fuse is on a separate holder, basically directly above that hot water valve, about 1" from the underside of the dash. Don't even think about it, just pull the drivers seat, pull the underdash panel, pull the vent on the side of the heater box and grab a flashlight.


YEEEEECH! Good luck, man.

Luke

[StereoInstaller1]

Oh yeah, the car I found it on has no dash and STILL took me 15 minutes...and I already knew what I was looking for!

[DaveSmed]

Oh thats evil. Very evil.

Well, if you are looking for a fix that will definitely get your heat back, you can remove the valve from the core, set it on a bench and stick a screwdriver straight through it. Viola, you have heat, and your valve will always be open.

[jw 325ic]

wouldn't that mean that the heat would always be on? As in even with it on cold, it would only have heat coming out?