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2nd New Thermostat, STILL NO HEAT!?!?!

35K views 57 replies 19 participants last post by  pudermcgavin 
#1 ·
I got a new thermostat, thinking that was what the problem was, as that was what the code said, so I replaced it. I still had no heat...... and my engine was still running cold. I got a new thermostat (under parts warranty on the other) and now it seems that the engine is running cooler than it did and I still have no heat!!!! WHAT IS GOING ON?!?!?
:banghead:
 
#5 ·
In any other car.. (not exactly certain on the E46's) all these oil lights, temp gauges are known as "IDIOT lights / gauges" and DO NOT reflect what the engine is really doing.
ie.. in your Camry by the time you notice your oil pressure warning light on while driving.. you wouldn't be driving a n y m o r e. These things are made for the idiot mass's out there.
 
#14 ·
Air in the system generally tends to make things run hot, not cold. If you are having issues with the cabin temp, that could be related to the internal temperature sensor, not the engine temp. I had the "cool running" problem with the engine not wanting to come up to temp and a new thermostat solved it for me. Yours sounds like it may be a few different things. Good luck with the diagnosis.
 
#16 ·
alright, so weird up on weird. I took it to my mechanic friend and he simply opened the hood and wiggled a few things and my heat worked for the next 45 minutes until I parked it for the evening. I woke up and allowed my car to heat up and then turned the heat on....... cold air...... I don't know what's going on....?
 
#18 ·
I don't know, he just popped open the hood because I took it to him saying it hadn't had heat for a while, but sure enough, he opens it up and just touches something and there's heat. I looked pretty dang stupid. But I am still having problems with the heat and my temperature RARELY moves past \ if looking like _\|/_ it very much tends to stay around the '\' What could this be....? I tend to smell burning coolant sometimes too, but I just thought it was the excess that leaked during bleeding and the thermostat change..... Anything from you guys?
 
#19 ·
There are two places I would look. My guess is that this is a poor electrical connection to either the heating element connected to the thermostat that opens and closes the thermostat - based on input from sensors - or it is the the temperature sensor itself located on the lower left radiator hose (mentioned once before).
 
#23 ·
connection at heater valves which decide if you get heat or not? i'd warm up the car, turn on the heat and touch a heater hose after the heater valves and see if coolant is flowing through it
 
#26 ·
True.

He mentioned that the mechanic just wiggled some stuff and it then worked so electrical connection sounds like it would be more likely.

Still I would not discount the air bleed. It could be a combination of things too.

I just have to ask... You have checked the coolant level - right?
 
#33 ·
Did you re-secure the plug cable to the radiator hose with a cable tie? Make sure that the plug is fully inserted in the thermostat housing and that the female contacts in the plug of the electrical connection are clean. You could even apply a contact enhancer like Caig ProGold or Stabilant 22 if you have it.

If that fails, do a continuity test on the wires in the plug. One may have fatiqued from being disconnected.
 
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