Toyota Rav 4 heater

Didn't start rig in 1 week.

Go out yesterday, and the heater did not work on any level. Keep it going for about 1/2 hr, then get in slam the ds door, and bingo the heater works on all levels.

go figure????

Reply to
Devils Advocate
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What model year, how many miles, how long and how many miles since the coolant was changed and what kind of coolant was used?

When you say that the heater did not work, do you mean that the heater blower was working but it was blowing cold air or was the heater blower not working and warm air only drifting out of the vents?

Reply to
Ray O

It's broken...

Reply to
Hachiroku

I thought I made myself quite clear.

I said the heater would not work on any levels, meaning low, med, med high and high.....the blower would nto cut in. After 1/2 hr started, get in slam door, and bingo heater working on all levels.

rav4 1998 (mileage means nothing on this issue)

weird to say the least

Reply to
Devils Advocate

Well, you said the heater didn't work. This means there is no warm air coming from the airbox.

What you meant to say is the BLOWER isn't working. Big difference. If the heater weren't working it means there's something wrong with the car's cooling system: a bubble in the system, a clogged hose, too little anti-freeze, etc.

The blower not working is quite a different scenario. This is more of an electrical problem with the control in the dash or the blower behind the glove box.

Since you said slamming the door made it work, I'd be looking for a loose connection somewhere. Odd it was the DS door, since the blower is located on the PS of the vehicle.

Reply to
Hachiroku

You mentioned the "heater" but it sounds like you have a problem with the blower. I asked those questions because the information was not quite clear to me, and the information I requested will help me or a competent technician diagnose the cause of the problem, or at least point you to some things to check.

The "heater" works by allowing hot engine coolant to flow through the heater core, and the temperature setting on the dashboard regulates how much coolant flows through the heater core. A problem with the heater would relate to coolant flow through the heater control valve and heater core.

The blower is the fan under the passenger and moves air past the heater core.

The damper system regulates where the air moving past the heater core comes from and at where the air comes into the passenger compartment. Some people describe the air outlets as "high," meaning the dashboard vents, "medium," meaning a mix from the dashboard and floor vents, and "low," meaning the floor vents.

Rather than have you check stuff that does not relate to the cause of the problem, I asked for a clarification. I've listened to literally thousands of people describe problems with their cars and have learned that people have different ways of describing those problems. Most of those people don't like checking or paying someone to check something that had nothing to do with what they were trying to describe, so asking additional questions for clarification helps avoid this.

I generally try not to ask irrelevant questions, although I'll admit that some may seem so sometimes.

Mileage is almost always a relevant question when talking about a problem with a vehicle because it provides clues as to how much use the vehicle and the components in the vehicle have had. In this case, mileage could mean something on this issue if it is related to the heater, blower motor, and blower resistor pack. The coolant questions are not as relevant if you are talking about the blower or dampers, but if you are talking about the heater, then they can mean something on this issue.

Also, are there any aftermarket electrical accessories installed, like an audio system, remote starter, security system, etc.? Whoever installed the accessory may have double-tapped one or more terminals in the junction block and loosened a relay, or a wire splice may have worked itself loose, and slamming the door may have jiggled the loose connection.

Reply to
Ray O

Everything is original on this rig. Logic tells me either a) a loose connection somewhere b) something was froze as keeping it going for 1/2 hr resolve the issue.

Reply to
Devils Advocate

Hopefully the issue is permanently resolved!

Reply to
Ray O

Sold the vehicle yesterday.

Reply to
Devils Advocate

I'd say that's fairly permanent!

Reply to
Hachiroku

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