A cold winter day is no time to find out your car heater isn’t working. There are any number of reasons cold air or no air is coming through the vents. This blog post will give you a good idea of what might be causing the problem with your car heater. I’ll also talk about how you can maintain your heating and cooling system to minimize future problems.

Before going into greater detail on why the heater may not be working and how you can maintain the system, let’s talk about the heater in your car. Did you know it’s part of the cooling system? It’s really quite ingenious. Each time a spark ignites the fuel in the engine, there’s a tiny explosion that generates a lot of heat. The radiator, thermostat, belts, water pump and hoses are responsible for circulating water to the engine to keep it from overheating. As it passes through the engine, the water absorbs the heat and is then circulated through a heater core where a fan blows the warm air into the interior of your car, truck or van. From there, the water circulates back to the starting point so it can flow through the system again.

Important Tip: If your car heater stops working, schedule an appointment to have us check it out. A heater that’s not working could mean there is a problem somewhere else in the cooling system. If that’s the case and you don’t get it fixed, you could wind up with a major repair expense, or worse… an engine that needs to be replaced.

What’s causing my car heater to not work?

Here are a few of the more common reasons that’s causing the car heater to not work properly:

• The amount of coolant in the system is too low. When your vehicle’s engine has cooled down, open the radiator cap and check the level of coolant. If you find it’s too low, you will want to add the appropriate mixture of coolant and water to the radiator. You will also want to schedule an appointment to find out where the coolant is leaking. It could be a faulty radiator cap or it could mean there’s a leak somewhere in the system. Either way, you don’t want to drive around with a vehicle that is leaking coolant. This vital fluid is what keeps your car from overheating.
• The flow of water through the heater core is hindered by a pocket of air. As we saw earlier, warm water is circulated through the heater core. There are hoses on each end of the heater core, both of which should feel warm when the engine has been running and is at operating temperature. If air is blocking or lessening the flow of coolant through the heater core, the outlet hose won’t feel warm.
• The thermostat is sticking. The thermostat is designed to open and allow coolant to flow throughout the system when the engine reaches a certain temperature. A faulty thermostat will affect the proper flow of water and can cause issues with the heating system.
• The heater control value isn’t working. This valve opens to allow the water to flow into the heater core. If the heater control valve is the culprit, the air coming into your vehicle won’t feel warm. The heater core may also leak coolant.
• The heater core is clogged from debris in the cooling system. If debris has caused a clog in the heater core, it will need to be replaced.
• A faulty blower motor. You’ll know this is the problem if no air comes out of the vents when you turn on the heater.
• A kink in the heater hose is preventing the proper flow of water through the heater core.
• The water pump stopped working and needs to be replaced.

What things can I do to maintain the heater in my vehicle?

It’s simple. By properly maintaining your car’s cooling system, you are maintaining the heating system too. Periodically check the level and condition of the coolant. You should also have the coolant flushed and replaced on a regular schedule. Don’t forget to inspect the belts and hoses and have them replaced when they show signs of excessive wear. The easiest way to maintain the entire cooling and heating system is to bring your vehicle to our auto repair shop in Byram, New Jersey. With each service, we conduct a courtesy inspection of all the major engine systems. If our certified auto technicians find a problem, we will let you know about it so you can have it fixed before it becomes a major problem.

Click here to schedule an appointment for car heater repair at Geller’s Automotive.