When I turn my fan on(It only works on speed 4), it starts by blowing out hot, then it gets warm, and then it turns to cool. If I'm driving and and have the temp set at its warmest setting, I feel heat. But, as soon as I turn the fan on, it does the cooling thing. What could be causing this?

 

did you ever have your coolant changed or change it yourself? You could have an air bubble in the heater core cause it to spit out cold air.

 

Read the stickies - there are instructions on fixing the "only works on 4" problem... its a blown resistor pack...

Not sure about the heat itself not working - does your car get to its operating temperature (based on the temp guage) ?

 

Check your coolant level, it may be low. Usually when the coolant is low this will happen because your heater works by circulating the coolant to a heater core (small radiator) inside the passenger compartment. A blower motor blows across this heater core and the heated air is what gets blown out of the vents. If the coolant is low, there won't be enough fluid to keep the whole system full and what ends up happening is that once the car gets hot enough, the thermostat will open and the engine ends up using the bulk of the fluid, leaving the heater core in the passenger compartment without a heat source (the fluid) and leaving you with a cool breeze as the blower motor now cools the empty core.

If this doesn't work, you might also check your thermostat which might be stuck.

 

96maxdaddy-yeah, I did a coolant exchange about 4 months ago. How would I get rid of an air bubble? Is it in the stickies?
njmodi-yeah , I know about the resistor, just have'nt gotten around to fixing. My car gets up to its normal operating temp.
Igobuk-I'm going to check the coolant level and is the procedure for checking the thermostat in the stickies?

Thanks to all three of you for your help.

 

If you do have air in the cooling system - you'll need to mix some anti-freeze and distilled water 50/50 ratio to top it off.

Getting rid of air in the cooling system:
When the car is cold - i.e. sitting overnight, take off the radiator cap and then start the engine (leave the cap off). Once the car starts warming up the thermostat will open up - if there is air in the cooling system, you will start seeing bubbles through the radiator cap opening. If you notice either air or turbulence (i.e. movement in the coolant) that means your thermostat has opened and that it is working ok. After letting the car run for 5 mins at operating temp, turn the car off... check the level of coolant in the radiator and overflow bottle - if necessary top them off to the correct level.

If your car is reaching and maintaining operating temperature (and not taking a long time to get to that temp, then your thermostat is most likely ok).

 

You could have a restriction in the coolant flow to your heater core. I believe there is a water control valve on one of the heater core hoses. It's on the fire wall and it's activated by a cable. Make sure that valve is opening all the way when your temp control is set all the way on hot.