insufficient heat?, or normal? '97 Accord
 

(I own a '93 5spd for 45,000 miles now and) just 3 weeks into a '97 Accord AT.
Purchased from mechanic shop who had just put a replacement engine in it.
(1st AT car for us and like it, shifts nicely, good mpg; BTW)

But the '97 heater doesn't put out as much hot air as the '93, not by a long shot. So ran test.
* The '93 puts out 136F air from the dash vents when it's 50F outside;
* the '97 dash vents deliver 104F air in 60F outside temps.
* Comparison, also tried a '97 Nissan Altima, in neighborhood, and it's dash vents put out 138F air, just like the older Accord.


So is my new '97 Accord's heater is as hot as the norm for that year Accord?




SUGGESTIONS to improve heater output? Thanks.


'97 Accord heater air temp from dash vents
Attachment 18809
[The mechanic seller had replaced the heater dial at my insistence (didn't do anything); when I commented on the dial position not at
full hot he looked under the dash and said it was at full, it was just an ~position indicator being off, but it was working fully.]

'93 Accord heater air temps from dash vents
Attachment 18810



Now here's the temp gauge at normal operating temp for this particular '97 car. Weak heater. The needle is angled DOWN; is this hot enough?
Attachment 18811


Here's the temp gauge for the '93 car at its usual operating temperature. Wonderful heater. Needle is angled UP.
Attachment 18812

Your temp gauge for the 97 looks just like the one on my 94 (same indication) and my 94 heater works wonderfully.

Looking in my Hayne's manual, it looks like the heater valve is under the hood. It could be that the cable isn't adjusted properly to allow the valve to open fully.

I had that problem with my wife's 85 Prelude Si.

Even though your temp guage reads normalish (I drove a 94 accord for 200k mi), how old is your thermostat? If it's stuck open a bit, given how precise those temp guages typically are, you still could be running cool, causing the heat issue.

You can easily check that the heater coolant valve is opening. Slide the cable off the valve. No need to take the cable clamp off if you're careful, just slide the cable up off the rod. Then operate the valve by hand open and close a number of times. Sometimes just doing that will allow the valve to open fully. Then check that the cable lines up with the rod when the dash knob is on full heat and the valve is fully open. If not, adjust the cable so that it is.

Check your dash knob for temp adjustment. Just grasp firmly and pull outward. It should come off w/ some resistance.

Knob will occasionally fail and prevent the stem from turning properly. New dash knobs are readily available on ebay and as OEM part.

good luck

My dash knob broke. The shaft split so I repaired it with cotton thread and epoxy glue.

Put the parts together and dab a bit of expoy on the shaft. Wrap of thread around the shaft. Apply more epoxy. Wrap more thread. More expoxy. Until you have three layers of thread.

The thread holds it together and the expoxy strengthens it. After it cures, sand if necessary to make it fit.

About 50 cents in materials and 15 minutes of your time, not counting the cure time for the epoxy.

I repaired mine similarly w/ ripstop nylon and liquid steel epoxy. However, not all folks in this world are as frugal as you and I.

good luck

I prefer to think of myself as clever and resourceful. :)

i have a 97 accord and its got this exact same problem.

i was trying to fix it this morning, i try to adjust the air mix control, i believe the problem is the cable from the heater valve to the heater control arm is not long enough. so that's why you can not set the temp to max. i can turn it to max but it will bounce back to the position in your pictured. the valve i believe is at the max flow position. i was manually able to turn the heater knob to full/max heat position and the heat is there. it did put alot of tension on the heater valve arm puller the coolant tubes a bit. when it's at at position picture the blend door is not fully open so thats why the air is not hot, if the cable to the heater valve is like 3/4" longer i think it will turn to full. so did you had this resolved yet?

Damn, must be cold where you live if 1046F won't keep you warm.

Some things to check:
1) can you manually push/pull the heater core valve on the engine side of firewall near the thermostat? If it won't move fully forward and back, the valve may be the problem. The valve should move easily.

2) Check the wire from heater control under the dash to heater control valve for bends/kinks. I had one on a Toyota bend/kink and would not move the valve until I rebent straight.

3) The connection of the control mechanism to the wire requires adjustment to get full travel. I did this once but don't remember the exact procedure. I recollect simply forcing the wire to full open or closed position (don't remember which) and fixing the retaining clip to hold the wire to the controls.

good luck