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

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?!?!?

How do you know the engine is running cold?

by the temperature gauge being almost completely below the 1/4 line on the gauge. It is nowhere close to the '12' o-clock position

So therefore it could be the gauge or the sensor connected to that gauge that is faulty and NOT the thermo?

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.

that wouldn't really represent my heat being out would it?

Any ideas you guys? Winter's gonna be a ***** this year so I'd like to have heat!

anyone?

Do you have heat coming out of the vents? You could have a faulty temperature sensor located on your lower radiator hose.

Originally Posted by cgrizzly888

Do you have heat coming out of the vents? You could have a faulty temperature sensor located on your lower radiator hose.

There is no heat, about 3 weeks ago, for like 5 minutes heat came out, then nothing. Would that explain the engine temperature gauge consistently changing?

small possibilty of the cooling system not being bleed properly

where are you in Georgia?

Originally Posted by DarkJoker

small possibilty of the cooling system not being bleed properly

I will re-bleed tomorrow, because I got heat or about 5 seconds tonight then back to semi-cool flow.

I am west of atlanta by about 20 minutes..

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.

Are you getting no heat when idling or moving? Check your fan.... I don't know if you have the electric or mechanical clutch fan but they are known to fail.

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....?

what did your mechanic wiggle? sensor connections?

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?

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).

Originally Posted by TitaniumCranium

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).

Do you think that either of those would cause the erratic temperature behavior and the loss of cabin heating? There is no heat even when the car's temperature is at the '12' position.