heater takes forever to get warm

Bill Vanek wrote:
> On Wed, 19 Feb 2014 20:15:57 -0500, "Steve W." >
> wrote:
>
>> Bill Vanek wrote:
>>> On Wed, 19 Feb 2014 10:36:00 -0500, "Steve W." >
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Tom Del Rosso wrote:
>>>>> In a 2002 LeSabre the hot air is lukewarm for at least an hour. It could be
>>>>> normal but that seems unlikely.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>> bad thermostat, plugged heater core, Blend doors stuck closed
>>> The thermostat should turn the CEL on, though, right?
>> Not usually. The computer just assumes that the vehicle is taking longer
>> to warm up.
>
> It might be mfr. specific. Some GM cars would reliably set the code if
> the thermostat was staying open. At least it seemed that way, and the
> Buick is definitely GM...
>
> I don't know if that car still used a heater control valve that shut
> off the coolant flow to the heater core. That could also be stuck
> closed. But then again, his description of the temperature variation
> while driving does look like a thermostat.

I've seen a code set because the engine ran too cold but only on certain
vehicles.

02 Buick. No control valve inline. Just the blend/mode door

--
Steve W.

Steve W. wrote:
>
> Thermostat is stuck open.
> Temperature should start at ambient, Start engine and temp should
> rapidly climb to right around 210-220 degrees and stay there. You
> might get a few fluctuations as the thermostat cycles as it heats up
> and hit's the thermostats opening temp (195)
> Shouldn't take much over 305 minutes from cold for the temp to
> stabilize.
> This assumes your coolant level is full.

Thanks. You mean 3-5 minutes?


--

Reply in group, but if emailing, add a zero and remove the last word.

On 2/19/2014 3:38 AM, Tom Del Rosso wrote:
> In a 2002 LeSabre the hot air is lukewarm for at least an hour. It could be
> normal but that seems unlikely.
>
>

Check the most likely problem area first. Move the heater temperature
control to make sure the linkage is still working. If the system is
vacuum operated listen for the door movement. As far as I know, a bad
engine thermostat wouldn't cause the heater to not work. I'm assuming
that you're not affected by some freakishly cold weather.

dsi1 wrote:
> On 2/19/2014 3:38 AM, Tom Del Rosso wrote:
> > In a 2002 LeSabre the hot air is lukewarm for at least an hour. It
> > could be normal but that seems unlikely.
> >
> >
>
> Check the most likely problem area first. Move the heater temperature
> control to make sure the linkage is still working. If the system is
> vacuum operated listen for the door movement. As far as I know, a bad
> engine thermostat wouldn't cause the heater to not work. I'm assuming
> that you're not affected by some freakishly cold weather.

I sure am affected by freakishly cold weather, but the issue predated it.

I haven't used the car since the OP but I'll check all the suggestions
today.


--

Reply in group, but if emailing, add a zero and remove the last word.

Tom Del Rosso wrote:
> Steve W. wrote:
>> Thermostat is stuck open.
>> Temperature should start at ambient, Start engine and temp should
>> rapidly climb to right around 210-220 degrees and stay there. You
>> might get a few fluctuations as the thermostat cycles as it heats up
>> and hit's the thermostats opening temp (195)
>> Shouldn't take much over 305 minutes from cold for the temp to
>> stabilize.
>> This assumes your coolant level is full.
>
> Thanks. You mean 3-5 minutes?
>
>

Yeah. Need to get an intelligent keyboard...

--
Steve W.

Tom Del Rosso wrote:
> dsi1 wrote:
>> On 2/19/2014 3:38 AM, Tom Del Rosso wrote:
>>> In a 2002 LeSabre the hot air is lukewarm for at least an hour. It
>>> could be normal but that seems unlikely.
>>>
>>>
>> Check the most likely problem area first. Move the heater temperature
>> control to make sure the linkage is still working. If the system is
>> vacuum operated listen for the door movement. As far as I know, a bad
>> engine thermostat wouldn't cause the heater to not work. I'm assuming
>> that you're not affected by some freakishly cold weather.
>
> I sure am affected by freakishly cold weather, but the issue predated it.
>
> I haven't used the car since the OP but I'll check all the suggestions
> today.
>
>

An open thermostat will cause the symptoms originally posted. Especially
given the rising/falling temperature of the engine.


http://www.ehow.com/list_7606570_sym...tuck-open.html
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/in...9055440AAxI1aw
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_t..._is_stuck_open
http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/13...tuck-open.html
http://hubpages.com/hub/How-to-Deter...ostat-is-Stuck

On 2/20/2014 8:38 AM, Tom Del Rosso wrote:
> dsi1 wrote:
>> On 2/19/2014 3:38 AM, Tom Del Rosso wrote:
>>> In a 2002 LeSabre the hot air is lukewarm for at least an hour. It
>>> could be normal but that seems unlikely.
>>>
>>>
>>
>> Check the most likely problem area first. Move the heater temperature
>> control to make sure the linkage is still working. If the system is
>> vacuum operated listen for the door movement. As far as I know, a bad
>> engine thermostat wouldn't cause the heater to not work. I'm assuming
>> that you're not affected by some freakishly cold weather.
>
> I sure am affected by freakishly cold weather, but the issue predated it.
>
> I haven't used the car since the OP but I'll check all the suggestions
> today.
>
>

If you suspect that an open thermostat is preventing your engine from
warming up, it's easy enough to check. Open the radiator cap and start
the engine. If you see coolant flowing through the radiator, your
thermostat is the problem. If not, try moving the temperature control to
the hot and cold positions. You should hear the door snapping shut. I'm
assuming you don't have some fancy digital automatic temperature controls.

"Steve W." > wrote in :

> Tom Del Rosso wrote:
>> Steve W. wrote:
>>> Thermostat is stuck open.
>>> Temperature should start at ambient, Start engine and temp should
>>> rapidly climb to right around 210-220 degrees and stay there. You
>>> might get a few fluctuations as the thermostat cycles as it heats up
>>> and hit's the thermostats opening temp (195)
>>> Shouldn't take much over 305 minutes from cold for the temp to
>>> stabilize.
>>> This assumes your coolant level is full.
>>
>> Thanks. You mean 3-5 minutes?
>>
>>
>
> Yeah. Need to get an intelligent keyboard...
>

Number one thing. check coolant level any low and your heat will suffer.
KB

dsi1 > wrote in
:

> On 2/20/2014 8:38 AM, Tom Del Rosso wrote:
>> dsi1 wrote:
>>> On 2/19/2014 3:38 AM, Tom Del Rosso wrote:
>>>> In a 2002 LeSabre the hot air is lukewarm for at least an hour. It
>>>> could be normal but that seems unlikely.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>> Check the most likely problem area first. Move the heater
>>> temperature control to make sure the linkage is still working. If
>>> the system is vacuum operated listen for the door movement. As far
>>> as I know, a bad engine thermostat wouldn't cause the heater to not
>>> work. I'm assuming that you're not affected by some freakishly cold
>>> weather.
>>
>> I sure am affected by freakishly cold weather, but the issue predated
>> it.
>>
>> I haven't used the car since the OP but I'll check all the
>> suggestions today.
>>
>>
>
> If you suspect that an open thermostat is preventing your engine from
> warming up, it's easy enough to check. Open the radiator cap and start
> the engine. If you see coolant flowing through the radiator, your
> thermostat is the problem. If not, try moving the temperature control
> to the hot and cold positions. You should hear the door snapping shut.
> I'm assuming you don't have some fancy digital automatic temperature
> controls.
>

and if you do that on a crossflow rad you will have antifreeze
everywhere. KB

dsi1 wrote:
> On 2/19/2014 3:38 AM, Tom Del Rosso wrote:
>> In a 2002 LeSabre the hot air is lukewarm for at least an hour. It
>> could be
>> normal but that seems unlikely.
>>
>>
>
> Check the most likely problem area first. Move the heater temperature
> control to make sure the linkage is still working. If the system is
> vacuum operated listen for the door movement. As far as I know, a bad
> engine thermostat wouldn't cause the heater to not work.....

of course it does, that's the text book indication of an open t-stat

jeeeez
GW