in the front? It seemed about the same. But i'm not positive. let me know if it's important, and i'll gladly go check.

 

I meant left vs right

 

Haha, yeah that's what I meant, in the front, the left versus the right. It seemed about the same. If the driver wasn't blowing as hard, it wouldn't be very much difference to really notice.

 

That rules out a blockage.

 

Did I mention the car smelled like maple syrup for a while? I found this on another forum...

"Youre in arizona.....that is all I know! can you hear it change when you move the slide on your logicon? Kenny may have some insight on this, but I think its a flap that diverts air into the heatercore, so maybe your flapper is broken and or not hooked up?"


"thats pretty much it. does it smell kinda like maple syrup? if so heater core is most likely bad. the moter that controls the air temp is on the driver side of the heat box."

 

Just been trying to determine what the problem symptoms are, the line in is going in hot, but the line out, is coming out very lukewarm. I think there might be gunk in line somewhere. Not sure if I can flush it out myself properly.

Colored in the lines from the schematic
Enlarged


Big view


1
Blower unit

2
Air filter

3
A/C unit

4
Airflow mode main link

5
Rear heat duct

6
A/C compressor

7
Condenser

8
Heater hose

9
Refrigerant line

 

So, I've deduced that there could be four things going on...

The thermostat is stuck partially open, which is keeping the engine temp regular, but not throwing out enough heat. (cheap fix)

There might be air in the coolant/heat lines. (free)

The heater core is most likely clogged. ($90 for a flush/back flush)

The heater core is bad. ($400+work)

 

1) If the thermostat is stuck open your heater core would get hot coolant when you car warmed up and provide hot air to both sides of the cabin. You would probably also notice that it will take longer for your car to heat up.

2) Air in the coolant would find the highest point in the car and collect there...this is where your radiator fill is, not in your heater core. When your thermostat opened the air would rush into the overflow and not stay in your heater core.

3) If the heater core is "clogged" you would not get any heat anywhere in the car. You would just have cold air from the blower constantly.

4) If the heater core were bad you would have no heat at all and would really really notice it.

 

This is most likely the cause. When I get a chance to take it into this radiator place, I'm gonna have them back flush the heater core and the coolant lines. This should hopefully fix the problem.

I think that the heater core isn't, "Clogged" per se, but rather, bottlenecked. Since I am getting a little bit of cold/warm air, but it's warmish when it hits the passenger side, and cold when it makes it to the driver's side.

 

I would put the clogged heater core much further down the list than the electronics running the valve that opens and closes the coolant ingress into the core.

Modern cars....with sealed cooling systems and long life coolant just don't plug up very often anymore....

 

even if it magically clogged up...the air would be cold in the car as no warm air would make it to the blower.

 

I got her stuck in some snow last night, had to turn off the DSC to get out. But while I was stuck, the heat kicked on finally, and pretty warm too. Until I got out and moving. Then it went cold... What the F.

 

That makes it sound like your AC is on.

 

It wasn't... The only reason I'd kick on the AC in this weather, is to defrost my windows, and that's a slow process as well...

 

unless it is stuck on. Have the metra dash kit by chance?

 

broken control **** you turn the **** but nothing happens because the **** is only spinning the control a little or not at all

 

read

https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...at+broken+****

which also has AC amplifier info and actuator info

and

https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...at+broken+****

when mine broke it did not falloff like above- i just couldn't adjust the heat.

 

I appreciate it bro, but I already did your DIY tooth and nail, it was only doing 0 or 16, but after i re-soldered the 3 pins, it works great now. Good DIY btw
Wait a minute here, gonna check this other one out.

 

Naw, stock deck, stock dash.

 

I'd like to update, I pulled the heater hoses off, and flushed some nasty funk out of the lines with my hose. Low pressure of course. The car gets MUCH warmer now than it ever did. BUT... the side vents are still a wee bit cold.

If I shut the side vents, they make the dash vents a little cooler. Are they supposed to be cold?

PS: Funk was yellow, black, clear, and maybe a little green as well. It came out quick

 

Found my own thread while searching for a DIY to replace the heater core, because that's what's bad on my 8.

 

I've had the same problem for years with my 8 (driver's side vents blow cold), but never really looked into why. Curious to see if you can find a solution.