Wednesday, March 12, 2014

2002 Dodge Ram 1500 Heater Problems



I have a 2002 Ram 1500 q/c with the 4.7L engine. My defroster will work and produce heat on the lowest fan setting ONLY. If i turn to heater, it blows cold air. I think it is defroster door (actuator or whetever it is called)
What do you think? Also, if i am on the right track, could someone send me a link to a diagram or tell me where its located?
All help is appreciated.
...Michael

I have the same problem and am wondering if anyone was able to answer your question.
Thank you for any information.
cwheisler

no i have not had anyone respond with any help. $89 diagnostic fee will have to do the trick

Hmmm leave it for a day or 2, I don't remember seeing this post...and I'm on here A LOT!
lol...My wife says all the time...
I think we have a couple of Dodge guys on here...
It may have gotten bumped down on a busy day.

Have you tried (www.allpar.com] ?

I just went through all that. I replaced the blend door it is a huge project you have to remove the dash board. There is a repair kit available either way it is a 8 hr shop time project. Something a do it yourselfer cant do. Before you go that route try replacing your radiator cap. If your lucky chances are the cap is bad and your not getting enough pressure build up in your system. let em know if that does it.

I just went through all that. I replaced the blend door it is a huge project you have to remove the dash board. There is a repair kit available either way it is a 8 hr shop time project. Something a do it yourselfer cant do. Before you go that route try replacing your radiator cap. If your lucky chances are the cap is bad and your not getting enough pressure build up in your system. let em know if that does it.

OK guys I've got the same problem. On the lowest fan setting the heat will work but anything higher will just blow cool air. Anyone figure out the problem and fix it?

If you are getting heat only on the pass. side then I believe the blend door has failed. Dodge has a fix and the job is not easy as almost the whole dash needs to come out in order to get to the heater box and the door. I have read that a simple flush of the heater core will cure it, But that diidn't work for me. I think because dual climate control was an option the door is set up to control the two sides of the cab. When it fails only the pass. side gets heat. Good luck.

my issue is similar. 02 1500. 4.7ltr. I have adequate warm air on defrost only. ANy other setting i get luke warm sometimes but normally cold. Even if i blend defrost and floor heat, the defrost is warm but the floor is cold. any help at all please........

I have a 2000 dakota and experiencing the same problem I tried flushing the system with no changes...I was considering changing the heater core...Think this could be the problem? my temp gage goes up to normal operating temp but no heat coming out...It used to get to hot in the cab no I am freezing no matter how long it runs...all help is greatly appreciated..

Unfortunatly you do have to remove the dash to access any of the blend door or fresh air door actuators
here is a step by step proceedure this takes aprox 5 hrs in a shop so plan on a weekend at home good luck
FLOOR - DEFROST DOOR ACTUATOR
REMOVAL
WARNING: ON VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH AIRBAGS, DISABLE THE AIRBAG SYSTEM BEFORE ATTEMPTING ANY STEERING WHEEL, STEERING COLUMN, OR INSTRUMENT PANEL COMPONENT DIAGNOSIS OR SERVICE. DISCONNECT AND ISOLATE THE BATTERY NEGATIVE (GROUND) CABLE, THEN WAIT TWO MINUTES FOR THE AIRBAG SYSTEM CAPACITOR TO DISCHARGE BEFORE PERFORMING FURTHER DIAGNOSIS OR SERVICE. THIS IS THE ONLY SURE WAY TO DISABLE THE AIRBAG SYSTEM. FAILURE TO TAKE THE PROPER PRECAUTIONS COULD RESULT IN AN ACCIDENTAL AIRBAG DEPLOYMENT AND POSSIBLE PERSONAL INJURY.
Disconnect and isolate the battery negative cable.
Remove the instrument panel assembly from the vehicle.
Fig. 16 HVAC Housing - Dual Zone Shown (Typical - Single Zone)
Remove the electrical connector from the actuator.
Remove the mounting screws from the actuator.
Remove the actuator from the HVAC housing.
INSTALLATION
Install the floor-defrost door actuator to the HVAC assembly.
Install the mounting screws and tighten to 2.2 Nm (20 in. lbs.) .
Install the actuator electrical connector.
Install the instrument panel assembly into the vehicle.
Connect the battery negative cable.
tried to post diagram just pm me and I'll email it to you

Hey maniac thanks for that but before I do this do you think it could be the heater core...I have lots of air moving and I have no problem moving the air from floor to window I just dont have any heat...and the heater core its up behind the steering column yes...I liked it better when dodge put them on the passanger floor...
If you think it could be the heater core whats the procedure for getting at it...
I have no wetness on the floor and my prestone is not going down I just have no heat...New rad cap, new thermostat and as mentioned I flushed the system...
Its starting to get very cold driving to work any help is greatly appreciated...

If you have heat on the pass side and not the driver side then you have a door problem.If no heat at all on either side then you probably have a plugged heater core.Coolant always flows threw the core on these(no shut off valves)So that part is an easy diag.check you temps on the lines going in and out of the core there should be no\very little difference in temps.If on side is hotter than the other plugged core is the more likely target.I have had success with pulling one line off and back flushing the other side of the core with a water hose till the flow is steady and clean then hooking back up.I don't reccommend this for the faint of heart because you could over pressue the core and pop it if the thing is plugged up beyond hope.Dodge loves their diss. metals prompting all kinds of goo and rust in the cooling systems. I've done this for the cust that just can't afford the labor to replace the core.As to removal of the core its pretty much the same as the motor you still have to remove the HVAC case remove the linkage on your suspect motor to access the cores pipe and cover screws but you don't have to tear the suitcase apart.There is the additional hassle of evac and charge the ac system and removal of the fasteners holding the case to the firewall.Other than that not much different PLEASE make sure you disconnect and isolate the batt connection to discharge the airbag capacitor.

I jumped another vehicles battery and the control to switch what area the heat comes from doesn't work now, I've checked all fuses, the armrest lighter fuse blew relaced it and the plug works but lost the feature to switch air direction for heat, I can switch to hot/cold, a/c still works I just cannot use defrost or floor airflow. This problem happened 2 yrs ago, it's been to the local dodge dealership and they cannot figure it out, I've even went to a junk yard and tried switching out the dash controls and still nothing,. Hoping someone knows what this might be, main issue is getting defrost as the winter weather hits it's a pain not having defrost.
If anyone has suggestions I'm all ears,thanks.

One thing to do that may save a little time, is to feel heater hoses at firewall if you can, when engine warmed up to normal operating temperature.(careful might be too hot to touch, so test it first.) When you feel those hoses, they should feel relatively the same temperature + or - a few degrees. If one is hot, and other one is quite a bit cooler, then you have a problem with flow through heater core.

I agree with maniac mechanic. I had the same problem with my 02 ram half ton 4.7l. No drivers side heat. The back half of my heater core was plugged. Not a blend door problem. Try flushing it. Hope this helps.

2000 Dodge Ram 1500 4X4 5.9l
I have multiple symptoms.
Symptom 1 - A/C Compressor runs no matter what setting(vent, floor, defrost, AC) the switch is set to.
Symptom 2 - Luke warm heat when set to 100% hot.
Symptom 3 - The faster I turn the fan up the colder the air coming out gets.
Known facts - New Thermostat, both hoses for heater core are very hot, heater core has been flushed, radiator/reserve is full, Actuator can be heard working when switching from cold to hot to cold, no problems with switching from floor to vent to defrost.
Any ideas would be great because my mind is burned out on it.

Is the compressor on all the time or cycling on and off? Sounds like either a blend door problem or a HVAC control module problem.(Dash controls) If constant then I'd bet on the control mod if cycling still possible but thinking the blend door isn't switching all the way or has broken/loose linkage so the motor is working but the door isn't.

Hi my name is Jeremy. I have a 2002 dodge ram with you guessed it heater prob. i have read all the post and pretty much i believe it to be the blend door. however my ? is my truck does not have the dual climate control. so does mine have two doors inside or just one. i also wanna say dodge needs to fix my busted dash, along with all of yours i'm sure. thanks for any help. please send any info to

I've checked my heater hoses tore my dash almost all the way apart. i took the blend door motor off and checked the linkage i can hear the door working. it hits the top when moved and the bottom. i get warm air on the pas. side and cool on the drivers side. please any help. thank you.

Bet the OP in 08 never figured on it running this long.LOL You say you don't have dual climate control but no heat on one side?
Do you get the same result on def and vent or just heat. Sounds like a core problem if this happens all settings.The reason for this logic is its a longer distance to the driver side than passenger.Is the air flow the same? If not then you are probably looking at one of the two air doors your lucky in the single zone since there is only one blend door and 2 flow doors.If the air flow is the same just the temp is off a heater core is the most likely target.You can try the active flush I described in a previous post and see if that fixes your problem or if not you will be stuck with a core replacement. If you still have the suitcase out this will be fairly easy to do at this point rather than flush it and reinstall and find out there still isn't enough flow for heat.
Good Luck

Thanks for the info. I got up this morning, and was gonna try to flush the core. I was walking out the door, and decided to check for a reply. I wasn't sure if it was the problem, but I was gonna try anyway. Now that I read your post, it makes a lot more sense. Thanks a million for the info. I'll let you know if it works. Thanks again.

Thank You Thank You Thank You. When I flushed it orange crud come out in chunks along with just dirty orange water. I flushed my entire system, and replaced the orange antifreeze with green. The heater is working great now. Maniac Mechanic thank you for the info. If only dodge will replace my busted dash now. lol

Just to let you all know there is a recall which could affect your heat. Mine had been replaced before I bought the truck but it was a shoddy recall repair. Many thanks to Triangle Dodge in Aiken, South Carolina for doing the right thing and repairing the recall again. I have had NO heat for 3 years. Now my defroster will not defrost my windshield. We had to flush the heater core, replace the radiator cap and antifreeze and spend a lot of cold mornings at 5 a.m. to go to work before Daimler buckled and helped me out. Thanks to this website, I am now looking at the blend door actuator as the culprit for the defrost being inoperable. Lots of luck to all. I love my 1500 but it was cold.

No problem Dom glad to help see a few of those every season even this year when we have had almost spring like weather since mid to late Jan even had the top down on my Camero last week during the day.LOL Sure a change from last year when we had 80 plus inches of snow on the ground at this time.

Can someone please tell me go about flushing my heater core in 02 ram quad cab?? thanks muchly

Didn't notice the new post sorry,my post in this thread from 1/5/10 describes that for ya if you haven't seen it yet.

hi everyone my name is rob , i own a 2002 dodge ram 1500 q/c and lately i have noticed an antifreeze odor from start up till it reaches full operating temp then it disipates what could this be. heater core? or something else? please help

Sounds like the core to me.Minor leak that may even slow up with expansion from the hot coolant running through.Those don't have shut off valves and always have coolant flow in them.

thanks maniac mechanic i appreciate your help

Hi,
I have a 2006 Dodge Ram 1500 without dual climate control. I am having a little bit of a different problem. All my heat works fantastic, blows really hot air, just not when I change it to my feet. Then all the hot air comes out of the dash defrost vents. It seems to me that the problem is very localized, since no air (or very very little air) comes out of the feet vents on both drivers and passenger side. Any suggestions?
Thanks alot!
Bill

Bill, welcome to the forums! As you can see this thread spans a 2 year interval and was hijacked at least 3 times. To keep down confusion, just start a new thread rather than tagging on to another one.
SO, to your problem. Are you running a gasser or Cummins? Diesels have a vacuum pump in front of the power steering pump on a common shaft that provides vacuum to the heater doors. Diesels are positive atmosphere since they are turbo, hence the vacuum pump.
Fairly sure the gas engines work off their own vacuum, so I'd be looking at broken or disconnected hoses next to the firewall and under the dash (feet up, head down, backwards). With the engine running, listen for a hiss, indicating a hose may be loose or broken.
Barring that, since it moves from face to defrost (I assume), you may have an uncooperative door that may need a little lubrication at the pivot points. Or you could have a rat's nest lodged against the door keeping it from opening. Just have to get dirty and look at all the possibilities.

how can i tell if its the HVAC control or the door

Welcome! sounds like we all may have cracked dashes. What the?? Do we need bigger hAMMERS! lol!!! 2000 dodge ram 2000, 1500 ... Problem, Only blows hot air for about 15 seconds, then gets cold. Turn off 5 mins turn back on same thing. i have changed thermostat, flushed, still no difference. i can hear compressor kick on and off, not sure if that makes a difference. could it be the blend door? Help! Please. It's getting cold in tulsa, okla

Chesterdodge, welcome to the forums! If you are hearing the compressor kick in and out, then you have it locked in defrost mode, as the compressor won't cycle in regular heat mode. Sounds like a heat control valve or select valve.....is the heat coming out the heat vents at the floor or from the dash with it in heat mode??
And it must be a Ram 2500 as there is no nomenclature for a 2000

the heat comes out the front vents,then cools again. Checked the hoses temps feel about the same, the heat only lasts a short period of time. Thanks for your help!!!

I would check the 1/8 hoses for looseness or cracks. Sounds like your selector is not sending the heat signal to the doors. Heat should be coming out the floor, not the dash. As I asked the other poster is yours a gasser or Cummins?

I would like to say hello.. and introduce myself as another owner of a 2002 dodge 1500 4.7 with a heat problem. This place is fantastic and I'm learning tons of info about my truck. So here's my prob. Blast of heat. . . then cold air. lowest setting = very little warmth to none. Thermosat good, = temps in lines going in and out of core. AC is good. Someone had mentioned a possible replacement of a vacuum line behind the control panel??? I haven't read anything about this yet. I was still going to give the core a flush - but I would like to find out if there is chance this could be the prob. Oh - and yes.... My dash is cracked too..... in 4 places. Looks like a jigsaw puzzle. Not sure what would cause more personal damage. . .the actual accident or flying dash pieces.

Hi
I have notice that my heater doesn't work since yesterday, when I turn the fan speed to high I only get cold air, this is in the diver and passenger side. I also noticed that the windshield gets fogy from the inside and now smell so bad inside the car. What could be wrong ?
Thanks






Tags: 2002, dodge, 1500, heater, problems, heater core, blend door, climate control, dual climate, dual climate control