Auto Air Conditioning & Heater Repair/2004 CHEVY TRUCK HEATER

Advertisement

Expert: - 3/1/2011


Question
I HAVE A 2004 CHEVY EX CAB WITH 81K MILES and my heater just stop working like it used to it works and gets hot but takes about an hour of driving before it heats up .. any help would be RAD thxx !!!!!!

Answer
The first thing to check is whether your radiator has enough water.
With the engine running and hot, hold each pipe under the bonnet that carries the water round.

Please ensure that you are not wearing loose clothing and do this only if you are happy to do it.
Touch the hose at the top of the radiator and now the bottom one. Are they more or less the same temperature.
Do the same with the hoses in and out of the engine thermostat.This should be near the front of your engine at the top.
The hoses should not be too hot too touch but hot enough that you would want to take your hands off after a minute or so.
Now towards the back of the engine two rubber or possibly rubber and aluminum hoses go through the bulkhead/scuttle towards the car interior.

With the heater on full heat one should be really hot and the other hot but a bit cooler.

If all this is as it should be, you should have heat. My feeling is that the engine thermostat is not opening fully and therefore not allowing enough hot water in to the matrix quickly enough.
If it delivers heat eventually this tells us that all your heater flaps are open.
We are a uk company with no specialised knowledge of your vehicle. Try the basics anyway and see how you get on

Regards

Auto Air Conditioning & Heater Repair

All Answers

Answers by Expert:

Ask Experts

Volunteer

Paul Evans/ www.chillywillys.org

Expertise

Any question related to the function or malfunction of vehicle air conditioning excluding model specific problems with the heater controls. We are a UK based company and are unlikely to be familiar with the exact make and model of American vehicles. We will always at least try to guide the owner towards what the problem is likely to be in this instance We may struggle with none specific electrical issues related to the a/c without seeing it but it is likely we could narrow the problem down

Experience

Director www.chillywillys.org specialising predominantly in UK vehicles, fleet, rare and collectables. Although all a/c works on the same principal US vehicles have different controls and electrics. 12 years experience automotive and aircraft air conditioning. This is our sole source of revenue, we see lots of a/c issues that we are able to diagnose accurately mainly down to experience. UK have garages caught on to a potential revenue stream within the last few years but sometimes struggle with the problems as they don't see the issues that often........to be fair they could get their own back and ask me to change a timing belt ! Certain vehicles have known issues, we can help with that and also anything that is obvious to us but not necessarily to the bamboozled owner....... a/c is relatively new here and owners are catching on to maintenance but are sometimes still misguided by inexperienced individuals a bit timid to say' I don't really know

Organizations
Federation of Small Businesses IMI

Publications
Daily Telegraph/ Motoring/Honest John Cool Profits Smartimes

Education/Credentials
IMI MACS F Gas Assessor & Trainer City & Guilds D32/34 Assessor City & Guilds Automotive A/C Level 3 B Tech Automotive A/C

Awards and Honors
Certificates for all listed in educational Proof of ID with the IMI

Past/Present Clients
List on application. We have an agreement with our major customers not to disclose without consent

©2012 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.