heater on 71 Fleetwood- how hot should it get and where should the heat come from?

[Brett]

Hello all,

How hot should the heater get on a 71 Fleetwood? Where should the air come from?

Right now with the CC set to MAX and full heat (all the way in the red) I get fairly warm air out of the center floor vent only. I dont know if this is Normal or not. If not, any ideas on making it hotter?

[Dave MacGregor #18998]

Not sure how warm you want your heat, but when the heat is on exclusively, it should go out of the vent near the floor unless you have the controls at Bilevel instead should you have that selection.  As the air in the cabin of the car gets closer to the temperature selected on the climate control, the heater fan should slow down and may even stop.  If it gets too hot, the flaps deep in the vents will start to mix some cooler air into the system to make sure the temperature doesnt get hotter, but to stay at whatever temp you selected.  The fan may even kick on again to force cooler air in if needed to do this.

The Automatic Climate Control in the 70s to me is amazing and works great, perhaps even better than some of the digital computerized systems in newere cars today when functioning properly!

How long did you run your car before the heat came out only warm?  If not for long, then it may only also get warm.  Try a small drive in town then see how warm it gets.

Dave

[denise 20352]

It should come out of the center of the floor, and should be hot enough to be uncomfortable to hold your hand in.

If it isnt warm enough, try cycling the temp control wheel from cold to hot.  If the air temperature doesnt change (regardless of where it is coming out), then the heat mixer flapper valve in the duct behind the glove box isnt operating.  The valve is connected to the progammer through a simple linkage.

If it is operating, there are a few other possibilities, including:

  Low coolant level
  Obstructed heater core
  Heat mixer valve out of adjustment (they slip, sometimes)
  Heater control valve sticking.
  Stuck engine thermostat, engine running too cold.

Feel your heater hoses at the firewall to see if both of them are nice and hot.  That will tell you that youre getting good circulation through the core, then you know which side of the firewall the problem is on.

-denise