Warm engine, cold heater

John Henderson wrote:
> DemoDisk wrote:
>
>> This should be an easy one.
>>
>> My 1993 Sentra XE has fewer than 50,000 original miles.
>> Lately the temp indicator in the dash either registers very
>> low or doesn't budge at all.
>>
>> With the engine warm and the heater full on, the vent air is
>> only slightly warm. Does that mean the engine thermostat
>> isn't opening? Or stuck open?
>>
>> Central Gulf coast area. (i.e. mild temps)
>
> These are typical symptoms of the thermostat being stuck open.
> Run the engine with the car stationary, and the engine should
> reach operating temperature. If the thermostat has failed
> open, the engine (and heater) temperature will drop too low
> again within a couple of minutes of moving off at normal
> speeds.
>
> I expect your fuel consumption is higher than normal too.
>
> John
You listed the exact symptoms my '92 SE-R exhibited. A new thermostat
cured all that.
 >> Stay informed about: Warm engine, cold heater 

"John Henderson" <jhenRemoveThis RemoveThis @talk21.com> wrote in message
news:50sqnaF1hdbhrU1@mid.individual.net...
> DemoDisk wrote:
>
> > This should be an easy one.
> >
> > My 1993 Sentra XE has fewer than 50,000 original miles.
> > Lately the temp indicator in the dash either registers very
> > low or doesn't budge at all.
> >
> > With the engine warm and the heater full on, the vent air is
> > only slightly warm. Does that mean the engine thermostat
> > isn't opening? Or stuck open?
> >
> > Central Gulf coast area. (i.e. mild temps)
>
> These are typical symptoms of the thermostat being stuck open.
> Run the engine with the car stationary, and the engine should
> reach operating temperature. If the thermostat has failed
> open, the engine (and heater) temperature will drop too low
> again within a couple of minutes of moving off at normal
> speeds.
>
> I expect your fuel consumption is higher than normal too.
>
> John


Thanks, John, very much for posting.

Yeah, I gave the car a warm-up run today and the temperature behaved
just the way you said it would.

Concerning the fuel mileage, well...it's been bad for so long I didn't
even notice. Let's see how it does after a new thermostat.

JPM
 >> Stay informed about: Warm engine, cold heater