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Heater not working?

Tiny
JSHUFFMAN
  • MEMBER
  • 1999 DODGE CARAVAN
  • 3.3L
  • V6
  • FWD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 150,000 MILES
My sister-in-law has a Dodge Caravan. The heat only works on the driver"s side. It is luke warm at best. Passanger side is cold. It has the duel side heat and a/c. I am guessing it needs a new climate control head. Am I looking in the right direction and if that is'nt the problem were would you go next?
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Friday, December 13th, 2013 AT 7:03 AM

25 Replies

Tiny
JACOBANDNICKOLAS
  • MECHANIC
  • 109,885 POSTS
There is a blend door actuator on the drivers side that needs to be replaced here is a guide to help see what to do with instruction in the diagrams below to show you how on your car.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/replace-blend-door-motor

Check out the diagrams (Below). Please let us know what happens.
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Friday, December 13th, 2013 AT 7:51 AM
Tiny
JSHUFFMAN
  • MEMBER
  • 12 POSTS
Will do guys. Thanks again for the idea. By the way, I got the new actuator fix it this site is the best.
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Friday, December 13th, 2013 AT 7:59 AM
Tiny
RAYZOR
  • MEMBER
  • 8 POSTS
  • 1998 DODGE CARAVAN
  • 240,000 MILES
I have a 1998 Dodge Caravan. It was fine till I went to turn the heat on. There was no heat at all.

I ran the calibration test and got a code where the Rear Wiper LED flashed once, the intermittent LED flashed 4, 5 or 6 times. Of course the Rear Wiper LED flashes once before the other codes, 1-4, 1-5, 1-6

It seemed to me the code was saying there was a problem with the Evaporator probe (open or shorted).
I replaced the probe twice. Re-ran the calibration test again and got the same results.

I ran the cool down test and it failed. When it failed both the Rear Wiper and Intermittent LED's flashed at the same time.

Prior to all this everything worked, I live in Southern Florida, so don't need the heat often. I just randomly tried it. It used to work. Now none of it works. I need the AC!

The fan works fine, I can hear the blend doors moving during the calibration.

Is there a way to bypass the "codes" and get back to where I was before all this happened?

Ray
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Monday, November 2nd, 2020 AT 8:36 AM (Merged)
Tiny
ASEMASTER6371
  • MECHANIC
  • 52,797 POSTS
Was there any issues prior to the calibration?

Roy
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Monday, November 2nd, 2020 AT 8:36 AM (Merged)
Tiny
RAYZOR
  • MEMBER
  • 8 POSTS
There was no heat, I did not need heat. I just stumbled on the fact it was not working. Ray
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Monday, November 2nd, 2020 AT 8:36 AM (Merged)
Tiny
ASEMASTER6371
  • MECHANIC
  • 52,797 POSTS
Were all the lights blinking before you tried the calibration?

Roy
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Monday, November 2nd, 2020 AT 8:36 AM (Merged)
Tiny
RAYZOR
  • MEMBER
  • 8 POSTS
Nothing was flashing, I only ran the calibration to get the heat working. This has occurred twice in the 12 years I have owned this van. In the past the calibration fixed it. Today is different.

Ray
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Monday, November 2nd, 2020 AT 8:36 AM (Merged)
Tiny
RAYZOR
  • MEMBER
  • 8 POSTS
All the flashing that is happening now only started after the calibration.
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Monday, November 2nd, 2020 AT 8:36 AM (Merged)
Tiny
RAYZOR
  • MEMBER
  • 8 POSTS
Is there a way to kill the calibration codes and get back to where I only had "no heat". I don't really need the heat in Southern Florida.
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Monday, November 2nd, 2020 AT 8:36 AM (Merged)
Tiny
ASEMASTER6371
  • MECHANIC
  • 52,797 POSTS
The reason for all my questions is background as you now have a failure and I do not think calibration is going to solve it.

Did you do the basics for no heat? Coolant, thermostat, heater core circulation. If all that is good, then we move to the inside for checking the blend door movement. Calibration should take place after the problem is found, repaired and verified.

Basics, basics.

Roy
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Monday, November 2nd, 2020 AT 8:36 AM (Merged)
Tiny
CARADIODOC
  • MECHANIC
  • 33,916 POSTS
Hi guys. If you mean "no heat" as in it blows cold air, feel the heater hoses. They should be too hot to hold onto for very long. If they are not, suspect a plugged heater core. They can usually be cleared by running water from a garden hose through them.

If you mean "no heat" as in the system turns off, replace the computer. It is the entire bezel around the radio.

If the heater hoses are hot, the temperature blend door actuator could be broken or disconnected. There is a position sensor on it that would not change so that would fail the Actuator Calibration test.

The Cool Down test can be extremely frustrating to get it to pass even when everything is working correctly. My record is 20 attempts before it worked.
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Monday, November 2nd, 2020 AT 8:36 AM (Merged)
Tiny
RAYZOR
  • MEMBER
  • 8 POSTS
I did check the coolant levels, they were fine. Nothing unusual at all, except for no heat.

I ran both the calibration and cool down. Both failed even after I replaced the evaporator probe.

I tried to kill the codes by disconnecting the battery for about 20 minutes. I now know the codes are stored somewhere.

Can I erase the codes?
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Monday, November 2nd, 2020 AT 8:36 AM (Merged)
Tiny
CARADIODOC
  • MECHANIC
  • 33,916 POSTS
Do not disconnect the battery. THAT is why the HVAC Computer has to be recalibrated. It loses its memory.
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Monday, November 2nd, 2020 AT 8:36 AM (Merged)
Tiny
RAYZOR
  • MEMBER
  • 8 POSTS
Ok, Is there a way to erase the codes to get back to where I was before all this started?
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Monday, November 2nd, 2020 AT 8:36 AM (Merged)
Tiny
CARADIODOC
  • MECHANIC
  • 33,916 POSTS
The codes go away automatically when the tests have passed. You can do that too by disconnecting the battery but then you gotta start all over. The Actuator test always passes on the first try if everything is working correctly so to avoid having to do it over again, I don't like disconnecting the battery. It's the Cool Down test that gives all the trouble. Don't assume there's a problem simply because the test doesn't pass. I can't speak directly about the codes you're getting but I DO know getting that one to pass is very frustrating on '97 and '98 models. Don't overlook the value in doing that test right after driving a few minutes at highway speed.
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Monday, November 2nd, 2020 AT 8:36 AM (Merged)
Tiny
RAYZOR
  • MEMBER
  • 8 POSTS
Thanks, I saw that on the site you referred me to. I will be back at it tomorrow. Thank you for your help. Ray
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Monday, November 2nd, 2020 AT 8:36 AM (Merged)
Tiny
CARKID86
  • MEMBER
  • 1 POST
  • 1998 DODGE CARAVAN
1998 Dodge Caravan 6 cyl Front Wheel Drive Automatic

i have a dodge caravan and one of my belts is missingt from my engine. I believe it is the heater belt because my heat doesnt work is there such a thing as a heater belt? And if there is if I drive without it what will happen to my car?
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Monday, November 2nd, 2020 AT 8:36 AM (Merged)
Tiny
JACOBANDNICKOLAS
  • MECHANIC
  • 109,885 POSTS
Hi:
There is no heater belt. My guess is the AC belt is missing. The other belts would cause problems for you. The AC belt will not hurt anything except the AC and the defroster may be a little slower to defrost. As far as no heat, is the engine running at a normal operating temp? Also, is the blower motor working?

This guide can help us fix it

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/car-heater-not-working

Let me know.

Joe
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Monday, November 2nd, 2020 AT 8:36 AM (Merged)
Tiny
ONYEKG
  • MEMBER
  • 1 POST
  • 1998 DODGE CARAVAN
Heater problem
1998 Dodge Caravan Automatic 200000 miles

My car heater doesn't work. It blows cold air. The car engine tempt shows it's at normal tempt. I dont know wat the problem is. When I add a coolant that is not 50/50 do I have to add water to it.
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Monday, November 2nd, 2020 AT 8:38 AM (Merged)
Tiny
RASMATAZ
  • MECHANIC
  • 75,992 POSTS
Get the heater going 1st, replace the thermostat and see what happens then get back

Coolant -what's your daily temperature?
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Monday, November 2nd, 2020 AT 8:38 AM (Merged)

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