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01-04-2010, 08:58 AM | #1 |
Drives: 09 3dr LB MT Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Lehigh Valley, PA
Posts: 681
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heater control box issue
Well, my car needs to see the shop. Warranty work. I was driving in to work this morning when I noticed that when my legs would normally be warm, they were cold. I checked the heat controls: they were on full heat, fan speed 2, with the heat setting on the notch between full feet and half feet/half upper vent. I checked the upper vents: hot air was blowing out. So I thought to myself, "not again!!!"
My previous car, 2006 Mitsu Lancer ES, had an issue last winter for which the dealer (was still under warranty) had it for like a week and a half. The heater control box had a broken arm or something like that which did not allow it to move as it should have to allow hot air to pass to the floor vents. Kinda like what I'm dealing with now. But with the Mitsu, I could understand it. I bought it used. It was previously a rental car. Had over 40k on it when I took it in. But on my brand new 09 with only 12,200 miles on it?? Hasn't been abused. This is the first winter it's seen. This is a bit strange!!! So I called my dealer (since it is a warranty issue). Called the service line but was answered by Finance. They transferred me to Service, but I got a voicemail instead of a person. Left a message and am waiting on a call back. Here's the bigger issue though: it's my only means of transportation. I can't take time off from work while the car is being fixed. I'm hoping they have some kind of loaner car they can give me while they fix mine. Otherwise I can't get it fixed. This sucks!!!!
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2009 3dr LB MT Meteorite Metalic. Car bought 8/7/09. Now over 89k miles of trouble free driving, other than user error!! |
01-04-2010, 09:50 AM | #2 | |
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Drives: 09 5dr LB, 2x 08 3dr LB Join Date: Oct 2008
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Posts: 13,460
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Quote:
There is a 40A one labeled HTR, a 30A one labeled HTR SUB1 and a 40A one labeled HTR SUB2 (all under the hood), a 7.5A one labeled A/C and a 10A one labeled GAUGE (both under the bottom of the dash) . |
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01-04-2010, 10:33 AM | #3 |
Drives: 09 3dr LB MT Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Lehigh Valley, PA
Posts: 681
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Nope, I havn't dropped it off yet. I'm in Philly. Yoda Eggbert is in North Wales. And the dealer is in Bethlehem.
*sigh* Would be nice if it was just a fuse issue. But I have a feeling it's not. Kinda goes along with how 2010 has started off in other areas...
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2009 3dr LB MT Meteorite Metalic. Car bought 8/7/09. Now over 89k miles of trouble free driving, other than user error!! |
01-04-2010, 09:27 PM | #4 |
Drives: 09 3dr LB MT Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Lehigh Valley, PA
Posts: 681
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So try this one on for size. I swear that I was getting cold air on my legs this morning. This afternoon on my drive home (same drive I take every day, and I've had colder mornings and afternoons than today) I still had a little cold air from the floor. Had an appointment to go to before getting home. On my way back to the house and while the car was parked in the drive way, I had warm air from the floor. Checked all fuses you mentioned Scott, and then took it for a test drive. Worked fine... So now I'm wondering if I had some fluke this morning or what. I'll certainly keep an eye (or leg in this case) on it in the morning and see how it acts... But I found it quite strange.
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2009 3dr LB MT Meteorite Metalic. Car bought 8/7/09. Now over 89k miles of trouble free driving, other than user error!! |
01-06-2010, 06:46 PM | #5 |
Drives: 08 3DR 5M Bayou Blue; 09 Fos Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: New Hampshire
Posts: 622
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The air door diverter may have frozen in the incorrect position. I think its all mechanical. Can you pop out the glove box and see what critters you have living in your cabin filter?! You may have had a red squirrel stuck in there!
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01-07-2010, 07:11 AM | #6 | |
Drives: 09 3dr LB MT Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Lehigh Valley, PA
Posts: 681
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Quote:
This is the odd thing: (I'll preface this with the fact that my daily commute is over an hour drive each way, the car is garage kept at night, AM commute is generally around 4:30-5am leave time; PM commute is around 5pm leave time) Monday AM: hot air from vents, cold air from floor, interior never fully warmed up. Monday PM: hot air from vents, slightly less cold air from floor, by the time I got home, I was having warm air from floor, even before checking the fuses like CTScott suggested. Checked fuses, test drive with boyfriend driving, car warmed up fine just going around town. Tuesday AM: warm air from floor, but interior never fully warmed up Tuesday PM: warm air from both, interior warmed up Wednesday AM: interior warmed up Wednesday PM: interior warmed up Thursday AM: seems to be working fine again I use the same heat settings all the time. So that is not a variable in this situation. The only other piece of information to note is that after arriving home from work on Thursday Dec 31st, the car sat in the garage until Monday morning. If we went anywhere over the extended weekend, we took his car (both brand new cars, but his has prolly only a 3rd of the miles mine has on it). So I'm royally confused on this one. The only thing I can figure is that from sitting that many days, something got stuck somewhere and it took a few days of running the car till it got worked out...
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2009 3dr LB MT Meteorite Metalic. Car bought 8/7/09. Now over 89k miles of trouble free driving, other than user error!! |
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01-07-2010, 01:27 PM | #7 |
Drives: 08 Sedan Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Tyler, TX
Posts: 899
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[QUOTE=DevilGirl;430021]with the heat setting on the notch between full feet and half feet/half upper vent. QUOTE]
Theres your problem....You had the knob in "between" 2 settings rather than one setting. Maybe the flap that shuts off air flow to the floor was still closed or not open all the way. |
01-07-2010, 02:47 PM | #8 | |
Drives: 09 3dr LB MT Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Lehigh Valley, PA
Posts: 681
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Quote:
It actually is a setting. At least on mine. There's a dot there. And it "clicks" into place there too. There's just no picture there, other than a dot, to indicate the actual halfway mark between the 2.
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2009 3dr LB MT Meteorite Metalic. Car bought 8/7/09. Now over 89k miles of trouble free driving, other than user error!! |
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01-07-2010, 05:30 PM | #9 |
Drives: 08 Sedan Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Tyler, TX
Posts: 899
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If you turn the knobs while the car is turned off and listen to the flappers opening and closing you will not hear a big change from the picture settings and the dots in between. But when you move it from the in between dot to a picture, you will hear the flapper open or close all the way(depending which what you are turning the knob). Therefore, when you are one of the dots, the flap is barely open or barely closed. So if you turn it from the upper vent setting to the mid dot between vent/floor setting, this will cause the lower flap to barely open up, causing less air flow to reach the floor.
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01-08-2010, 06:44 AM | #10 | |
Drives: 09 3dr LB MT Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Lehigh Valley, PA
Posts: 681
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Quote:
Your theory does not apply. It would apply if something were changed between the time it was parked (when it worked properly) to the time it was used again (when it didn't work properly), but that is not the case.
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2009 3dr LB MT Meteorite Metalic. Car bought 8/7/09. Now over 89k miles of trouble free driving, other than user error!! |
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01-08-2010, 08:59 AM | #11 |
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Drives: 09 5dr LB, 2x 08 3dr LB Join Date: Oct 2008
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I just checked the effect of the knob on Crashy, who's air box is fully exposed, so I can see what happens when I adjust the air flow direction. There is a definite difference between Feet, Dot, and Defroster+Feet as far as the mode control dampers go. There are two sets of dampers (plastic flaps) that move when you turn that knob - An upper set of three that control flow to the defroster and/or center and side registers and a lower set that controls flow to the front and rear foot wells. The chart at the bottom shows the differences in flow for each of the settings. In the Dot mode, watching the dampers move, I'd say that the intended flow in that mode is equal output from foot and defroster.
I think what probably happened is that the lower one was sticking in the closed position and the cold air you were feeling down at the feet was probably just leakage through the firewall. Heat - Chart.jpg |
01-08-2010, 01:09 PM | #12 | |
Drives: 08 Sedan Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Tyler, TX
Posts: 899
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Quote:
ps...maybe a raccoon crawled up in their to get out of the weather and stopped up the vent. |
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01-08-2010, 03:45 PM | #13 |
Drives: 08 3DR 5M Bayou Blue; 09 Fos Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: New Hampshire
Posts: 622
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Someone stated here once that the cold weather package has a electric supplemental heater for very cold days - any verification on this? As to the OP, you may have an air bubble in your coolant. When the car is dead cold, remove the radiator cap (not overflow cap) and insure the fluid is ALL THE WAY TO THE TOP - almost overflowing. If not, you need a new cap and additional coolant added to the rad to get it full up. My heat is RED hot after just a 5 mins driving in sub -freezing weather. I do have the cold package too.
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