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car heater hesitates before coming on

Hi. I own a 93 Tempo. I had the water pump replace two months ago. Yesterday, the heater started hesitating before coming on. When I turn the car on, with the heater wide open, it just does not start for about five seconds. It works fine once it's on, never stops, and gives out plenty of heat. The car does not overheat (unless the gauge is lying to me). The car tends to stall when I stop and put it into reverse to back into the driveway. Not sure what is related to what because I am, unfortunately, a woman who knows nothing about mechanics. I hate to spned more money on an old car just to find out that nothing is seriously wrong with it, because I just spent money to have the rear brakes done, replace ignition things, etc. But I don't want to be stuck with a non-functioning heater/defroster in the middle of winter. Any advice would be appreciated. My email is snipped-for-privacy@lycos.com . Thank you. Judy

Reply to
Judy
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Judy, you should have the thermostat replaced in your car. It is not an expensive part (less than $10). Get one with a higher temp. rating. That way when you start the car, the engine heat is first transferred to heat the compartment and then the radiator. The Thermostst typically is located at the end of the upper radiator hose where it meets the engine in a dome shaped housing.

Also I would recommend using a good quality cooling system cleaner additive to clean the scaly deposits inside the cooling system, and replace the old coolant with a new 50/50 mix from Prestone or leading brand.

Reply to
Rajsircar

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond. Today the blower just "cut out" for a few seconds three or four times, then worked fine. I think I probably confuse more than I explain. I use heater and blower as the same word. The blower thingie does not come on right away sometimes. Today it came on ok, but then when I turned the setting up and down for the amount of air, it stopped for a few seconds. Is that what it will do if the thermostat is gone?

Thanks :)

Reply to
Judy

No, the thermostat wouldn't affect the blower. That sounds more like a bad fan switch, motor, or a loose connection somewhere..

Reply to
Robert Hancock

No, the thermostat has nothing to do with the heater blower motor. The thermostat is a mechanical device that controls the flow of engine coolant through the radiator. Your problem is electrical in nature, I'd guess it might be a broken resistor pack or a defective blower switch.

As far as the previous poster's recommendation to change the thermostat to a higher temperature unit- don't. Not only would it have nothing to do with fixing your problem, your car's engine control computer was designed to work best with the engine in a certain temperature range.

And *never* change the thermostat to a lower temperature than the factory recommened value. It won't help with cooling, and it will definitely negatively affect the engine computer control system.

Reply to
Mark Olson

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