And inside my 1992 Firebird. I've been trying to get my hands on a Haynes or Chilton book for my car, but can seem to do that. So on that note, does anyone know some possible causes for my heater not working, and hopefully some solutions? I have no idea why it isn't working, so if you ask my questions, I can provide answers.

 

check autozone or any parts place for the book. and what is not working? the fan, heat?

 

Where you from that you think its cold outside? If you think its cold now, wait a month or two. Getting colder in Illinois! Had our first snow, YUK!!! Yeah, better get that heat fixed. Provide more info and your sure to get some fast answers. I haven't had heat in my work car (a '95 Ford Turdus) for over three years now. You learn to dress for the ride to work...hehehe

 

I live in PA, so it's getting there. Well, I just got a Haynes repair book for my car but it doesn't have any troubleshooting for the heater, so does anyone have any tests to see what might be wrong with my heater?

 

you have to be more specific, as in what is wrong? no heat, no fan? then we can help. and yes it's getting cold, im next door in Ohio.

 

if your fan is working I would start by checking the fuse then unplug the fan and take a test light and test for power at the fan
----------
if your fan isnt working

 

Check for coolant leaks, I had a leak in my truck (97 dodge) and the water pump was going out, So fixed the leak and new water pump, heater works like no other now, it has never worked before.

 

My fan is working, but no heat comes out of the vents. Tomorrow I'll be adding coolant and I'll be checking the fuse to the heater.

 

Your Heater core could be clogged up as well. My Jeeps Heater core was clogged and would only put out cool air until I unclogged it.

 

Does your engine get up to operating temp? When my thermostat was stuck open, it wouldnt warm up unless you let it sit in one spot forever. New 180 t-stat, now I have great heat!

 

OK, I have some news here. I put in coolant and ran everything, even took the car out and it's still just putting out cold air. When I put my heater on vent I can feel the air come out. When I put the defroster on I feel the air come out, so this tells me that the heater fan is working. I also checked the fuses just to make sure it's all working fine. So as far as I can tell it's the heater core. Am I right in making this assumption?

 

well yes and no. most likely it is, but also the thermostat could be a prob too. if the engine is warm thought then i might be. go to a radiator shop and have then do a good clean on it and have then "reverse" flush it to get the crap out of it.

pretty sure that's your problem and solution

 

Could also be the slector flapper that chooses between warm and cold air is stuck on cold.

So , all vent positions work otherwise? Do all blower speeds work?

 

You could do what I did when my heater core got clogged on my Jeep, I unhooked the inlet and outlet hoses on the heater core and used an air compressor on the inlet and it blew out all kinds of green and brown gunk, it makes a mess and its not the best way of doing it, but it works!

 

Hey I had the same problem. I just fixed mine yesterday. My cold-hot flapper was stuck, it is under the passenger side of the dash, just took the cover off(3 screws) and you can see the cables, then sprayed with wd-40 and took pliers and twisted it back and forth, finally it freed up and waalaa HEAT.. Try this and see if it works... PS The ford taurus is probably a relay, My uncle had the same problem....

 

Well, I looked under the passenger side panel and found this "flapper" joint. I moved the Cold-Hot switch and the joint responded by moving from side to side, which I suppose it's supposed to do? One more think before it's absolutely my heater-core that I'd like to check is this valve between my firewall and the passenger side fender. I don't know the name of this valve but it apparently causes or prevents water from going through the heater core. What's this valve called and how can I check to see if mine works?

 

Its called a diverter valve,

Im not sure how to test... I just ripped mine out.

 

testing that is easy. warm the car up and turn on the heat. see if the hose going to and the one coming from the core get hot. be careful, it gets hot fast!

 

sounds like as others said, its clogged, but i'd check it like ryan91rs said, just dont burn yourself lol, i had that problem in my 81 silverado, i was miserable up in washington without heat, so i got into my truck and just pulled it out from under the pass. side dash, tried to blow it out like jason did but it had no effect, so i just picked a new one up from checker and tossed it in in the parking lot