Help! Heat Always on
 

My heat is always staying on - even with the A/C. Temp gauge stays to the left of center. The nob isn't broken. Anyone have any idea why this is happening.

I did do work on the car today that consisted of the following:

Oil Change
Added The Fram Sure Drain
Swapped my summer for winter tires

I don't see any leaks.

Under the hood - the line for the A/C is cold when I turn the A/C on.

dag

Bump

Has the dealership looked at it?

No - it just came up yesterday afternoon. I'll bring it to them this week.

dag

you know the bottom button off the entire ac system? the one that has two cars showing different ways air enters the car. well i seem to have the same problem if the light is green over the right car my heat will stay off but if the light is red over the left car the heat shuts off, try pushing the button to have it on the red light.

I've tried everything with the controls - A/C on - A/C off. Recirc on, Recirc off. I checked the nob to make sure it wasn't broken and stuck on the heat position. I've checked the coolant level and it looks fine (but damn that is hard to check). Looked now for two days for leaks and I don't see any, along with the fact that I don't see any temp fluctuations on the temp gauge. I am assuming that rules out the radiator, water pump, heater core?, and engine leak. No unusual smells, no unusual noises. I am completely perplexed and totally concerned. I feel that it is something major or something really stupid. With the A/C on, the metal tube that runs along the back of the hood is cold and has condensation. I can also hear the condenser come on when I turn the A/C on. A/C or not, I would expect the air to be outside temp when I have the dial to cold.

Not even theory from anyone. This is so strange, I am going insane trying to think of what it can be.

dag

you try toggling the round middle button between the rear and front defroster, i didnt even know it was a button for a while.

Sounds to me like one of the blend-doors in the climate control air director box either got stuck or the actuator died. The way the climate control works is that the button that controls where the air goes, and the knob that controls what temp the air is, controls a box that has a series of door-like flaps in it that are connected by rods to servo motors. When you call up more heat via the temp knob, that signals the blend door that routes the air over the heater core (which always has hot water circulating through it, even when you're running the AC) to route air from the blower through the heater core. When you're not asking for heat, it closes that door off, leaving air to just flow over the air conditioner coil in the climate box. If you call for defrosted heat, it routes hot air from the heater over the air conditioner coil, which partly cools the air and removes humidity. I.E., both the heat and the AC work pretty much all the time - and this box of doors (a goofy contraption if there ever was one) is what is the "brain" of the outfit.

My guess is that the servo that controls the heat blend door went tits-up on you.

Thanks Stew

Took the car to get fixed today and they didn't finish. Preliminary diagnosis is electrical. They haven't figured it out yet.

Have to also say that I am disappointed with the service from this dealer. They don't give loaners to people who didn't buy their car from them. I mentioned that this was a warranty repair (fortunately by 1500 miles), and he told me to go to Enterprise and get myself a rental (at Mazda's expense). This is the first dealer where I have been forced to arrange for a car. And what kind of incentive is it for me to buy from them if their attitude is to only take care of you if you bought a car from them. That is b-shit.

dag

Which dealer did you go to for the repair, dag? Maple Shade?

Yep - the one in T-ville. I think this will be the last time I go to them. Don't feel like being treated like a second class citizen.

My dealer arranges to have Enterprise pick me up at the dealership and take me to their location to pick up a free rental car while mine is in for warranty service. In my mind, I find this perfectly acceptable.

The fact that the dealership has no "loaners" of their own doesn't bother me a bit. I never assumed I'd be driving around a brand new Miata every time I took the car in for service. I'd be surprised if a dealer did have a large fleet of cars he used for loaners. How could he justify the cost in both mileage and depreciation?

Your experience has been my experience, but it didn't happen at this dealership. They didn't arrange it, just gave me instructions on how to get the car from Enterprise.

Oh - and it is the heater switch. Part is not in stock, so they are putting the car back together and will call me when the part comes in. Kind of sucks since I have already lost the 8 for 2 days and now will lose it at least for 1 more day for them to fix it.

Actually it was kind of funny, as they sounded like they didn't want to put the car back together. I was like I need a car and the Mazda warranty only covers 2 days. Needless to say they still won't give up a loaner.