Heater not working when car is idle.
 

I posted this here because guys without FI dont usually have the same issues that us FI guys have. Usually a thing like this happens because of an FI kit.

Ok. it got into the low 50's tonight. This is the first time i've had to use my heater in a LONG time. actually my entire ac hasnt been working right because of a torn white ribbon behind the AC controls. I got that working fine now but when my car is at a stand still the heater will blow cold air. When i start to go again it turns hot QUICK. any reason behind this ? thanks guys.

Could be air in the system or a thermostat. When my thermostat started to die my car was doing the same thing. I just pulled it completely from the car and run no thermostat now. The stock ones has failed on several other cars already...

shouldnt be air in the system, i havent taken off any coolant lines for air to get in. any way to check the thermostat ? it's no big deal really, just curious as to what it could be. dont use the heater much anyway, and if i do use it im usually not stopping much in the car.

Theres no real way to test the thermostat short of removing it from the car and boiling it in a pot to see if it opens. It won't just affect your heater. If it stops opening your car will overheat.

but the heater does work when the car is moving, is it possible to still be the theromastat with the heater working then ?

When the rpm's are low the coolant does not circulate through the heater core very well at all.....my Maxima did the same thing. Just bring up the rpm's when you are sitting at a light.

Same thing happened to me last weekend. Changed coolant out and after refill the heater would blow cold air when I was at a stoplight and hot when car was in motion. Just needed to bleed the air out of the coolant lines. Problem solved.

i'll check it out tomorrow, see if there is any air in the line. i will update you guys later. thanks

Try idling you car for several minutes. If you see your engine temp go up (esp. further than normal), you probably have a coolant flow problem. A coolant line or your heater core could be partially blocked, or your thermostat or water pump could be bad. Any of these things should be fixed quickly, especially on a FI car, because of the heat issues.

If your engine doesn't heat up at idle, then the problem is limited to your heater only. If you can live with it, just ignore it.

I had a water pump go bad on a Mercury Sable I used to have. The impellar blades got chewed up, and spread throughout the cooling system, clogging the radiator, thermostat, and heating core. Major pain in the ass.

Like MIAPLAYA said could be air, if not your thermostat is dying. Make sure you watch your guage cuz your engine will get to hot and throw codes then shut down. This is a problem with being FI. I've gone through 3 thermostats and Im on my 4th, i may do like Mia and not run one. It doesn't get to cold here and my car is always warm....

EXACTLY... After my second stock one died I decided that risking the $150 purchase of nismo one just wasn't worth it so I dumped it all together. Its not bad really. Car takes a few minutes to warm up in the morning. Only other affect was that my cruising water temps went down 15 degrees. No change under high load or track events. Not worth the hassle of pulling to thermostat housing every 2 months if you ask me...

I have the same problem; it only produces heat passed 3k.

We've bled the system like 4 times with the same result, I had a Nismo low temp. Thermostat installed about a year ago when I did my engine build.

Could the barely one year old Nismo thermostat be at fault?

I don’t drive my car in winter but want it fixed just the same.

I think I'll just buy a new Nismo one and see I it gets better.



Tasso-

can anyone tell me where this is located or have a pic of where it will be incase i need to take it off to test it ?

The thermostat is located on the drivers side of the motor. Look just below the timing chain cover you will see a skinny and large coolant hose connected to it. You can follow the path of the bypass hose starting on the passenger aand crossing across the front of the motor and going into the thermostat housing. For Turbonetics/Vortech guys its a PAIN to get to. Which is another reason I pulled mine. To answer your question about how long it has been...the Nismo t-stat is no differnt from stock other then a different spring. So yes it could go bad. My first stock t-stat died and two months later the replacement died.

Here is a pic with it circled. It is the larger hose that is pointed towards the drivers side headlight. I stole it from another thread.

Here you go...

It's the bottom hose from the driver's side.

Attachment 437306

Dont get the NISMO.

Here's what i did. I had my stock one on until 28k Miles when I went turbo.
Part of my build was the Nismo Thermo.
It lasted for about 10K miles and failed.
So I went with another. Then that failed very shortly after.
So I went with a stock one and that has lasted for a while however i got the damn cold heater thing. I wonder why they keep failing, its not rocket science its a damn spring that opens at a certain temp. geez.

Like I said....screw these things. If you don't live where its 20 below you don't need it anyways. And if you do you should have a block heater :D

Thanks for the heads up !

Okay, so getting another Nismo is out.

I guess I'll put the stock one back on.Is Nismo the only option other than stock ?

Yes it is....just ditch it...not worth the hassle.