Possible Heating Issue?

[KJ zGal]

Okay, so here's the deal.

Normally when I turn the heater onto full blast and as hot as it will go, my feet and/or hands will be roasting. Last night I noticed that the heater didn't feel as hot as it normally would have. It was still plenty warm, but it just didn't seem right. It was also roughly 0 degrees out, so I'm wondering if this would have had an effect on how effective the Jeep is heated, or how any of that stuff runs. Any suggestions?

 

[Jeepin05]

I think your assumption is correct. I am in Iowa, we are battling ~-25 degrees right now and my heater isnt working nearly as well as it has been before this "artic blast".

The motor is even struggling to turn over at times...

 

[snowsport]

Check your coolant levels. The heater in my KJ will cook me at -40.

 

[JeepJeepster]

Okay, so here's the deal.

Normally when I turn the heater onto full blast and as hot as it will go, my feet and/or hands will be roasting. Last night I noticed that the heater didn't feel as hot as it normally would have. It was still plenty warm, but it just didn't seem right. It was also roughly 0 degrees out, so I'm wondering if this would have had an effect on how effective the Jeep is heated, or how any of that stuff runs. Any suggestions?

What type of driving are you doing at the time? If youre just driving around in the city at low speeds and low rpms then it will take a long time for the kj to actually warm up. The gauge will say the jeep is warm but it is not. Mine will hover right around 175F when its really cold out(~10-20F) if Im just driving around in the city. Since the trip to my school is under 15min the engine never gets over 170F unless I let it idle along time once I park.

At 0F it will take a long time for the engine to get to 190-195F.

If youre driving on the hw it should warm up fairly quick depening on how fast youre going. At 70mph mine is warm in no time(~2300rpms)..

Check the coolant level in the expansion tank. It should be at the ~seam in the middle of the tank.

 

[Dave]

Check the coolant level as was said. But it is probably just the cold weather.

Dave

 

[yellocoyote]

(yeahthat)

I do a lot of city driving - when it's this cold, the interior never really adequately warms up. Out on the interstate, it doesn't take long at all... regardless of how cold it gets.

 

[sleeve]

Over the last couple years here's what I noticed:

If you leave your radiator fully exposed during the winter, it'll work very well. Meaning it pulls a bunch of heat out of the coolant! Because of this, the heated coolant passing through the heater core is less warm and that means that the air coming out of your vents [or defroster] is going to feel cooler than normal. It's still hot, but not as hot as it can be when the temperature is near the freezing mark.

To avoid this, it's best to block of a portion of the raditor with some cardboard or a similar rigid material to allow for some heat build up. Espeically when it is very cold outside!


Today it was "officially" -15F in Detroit. [Coldest I saw on the C/T was -10F]

 

[Atrus]

Helps to put it on "recirculate" as well, so it's drawing warm(er) air from inside the cabin rather than trying to heat up negative-degree air from outside. I'll do this until it's really warmed up well and then switch it over to pull from outside.

 

[JeepJeepster]

Helps to put it on "recirculate" as well, so it's drawing warm(er) air from inside the cabin rather than trying to heat up negative-degree air from outside. I'll do this until it's really warmed up well and then switch it over to pull from outside.

We cant do that with the 2002-2004 libertys, it will turn on the A/C.

I hardly use the defrost(A/C) unless I actually need it. Most people I see will run that all the time weather the windows are fogging or not.

Also, I do not believe the defrost runs the A/C near as much as if you put it on just A/C and try to use the heat.

 

[KJ zGal]

I've checked the coolant and it seems to be fine. I took a three hour road trip today and it seemed better, and it wasn't as cold today. We'll see what happens tomorrow, when it's supposed to be -20F =[ And to answer some earlier questions--I was doing highway driving when the issue came up last night. Five minutes or so of city and then the other thirty minutes were highway at like 65 mph. The temperature gauge was smack in the middle, which is where it usually is when the heater's burning my feet . But, as I said, it seems to have gone away. Let's just hope it stays that way xD