no heat in xj

dirtyXJgirl

Member
Joined
Dec 4, 2010
Location
Greensboro
having problems with my heat in my 97 XJ,
&& to top it off...my guage cluster only has a fuel guage and a speedometer, so i don't know the operating temperature. it will blow air just not anything warm...
any ideas on how to fix it? or what the problem may be?

i am a girl and new to jeeps so i don't want to start pulling stuff off and end up breaking something :/
 
May be time for a new heater core...or maybe you get lucky and just flush yours real good.

another culprit could be the thermostat..that one is easy to fix.

does it have plenty of water/coolant in the radiator?

also..maybe the heat lever below and behind the dash could be out of position?
 
yes, i do.
that was the only thing i knew to check...anyway to check the heater core before replacing? since i can't see my running temp it makes things 10x more complicated.
 
check for water in pass floorboard. Does your windows fog up when they shouldnt? Do you smell antifreeze inside the jeep?
 
Those are usual signs of a bad core. Does all of your heater switches work properly..meaning, does the vents work when switched to vent position...floor in floor position...defrost ect...?
 
I'll have to ask my guy that fixed mine.(97 xj) Seems like he said the heat/cool control lever was not hooked up or not working properly. Seemed easy to fix, just cant remember all the details.

There is a lever somewhere in pass side..behind the heater control, near a vent for the floor..if that helps..lol seems like mine was not moving, when I turned the heat temp knob. It was staying on the cold side.

I'll ask tomorrow...but good luck anyways.
 
it does. kinda tells me what i need to know if it is my heater core...and i have been looking up youtube videos to clean the hoses and stuff. i will figure it out. just may take me a few more hours/days than anyone else. haha...
 
just make sure that when you turn the hot/cold setting...that something is actually moving. Thats what was wrong w/ mine. I was spinning the control, but the arm wasnt switching from cold to heat. Good luck.
 
Warm up the Jeep, find the 2 smaller hoses going towards and through the firewall and feel and see if both of them or only 1 of them is getting warm/hot. If only 1 is, probably clogged heatercore.
 
You also have your control valve in the engine bay that the heater hoses run into before going into the firewall. The valve is vacum controlled. Make sure it is opening and closing as well.
 
dirtyXJgirl said:
it does. kinda tells me what i need to know if it is my heater core...and i have been looking up youtube videos to clean the hoses and stuff. i will figure it out. just may take me a few more hours/days than anyone else. haha...
Click to expand...

Im glad we got the heat fixed. Let me know if there is anything else you want me to help you with.
 
devlsh1 said:
Warm up the Jeep, find the 2 smaller hoses going towards and through the firewall and feel and see if both of them or only 1 of them is getting warm/hot. If only 1 is, probably clogged heatercore.
Click to expand...


What if both are lukewarm and the temp gauge says 215* and you can hold the upper hose too? [has new sender too]
 
lol. I have the opposite. mine wont turn back to cool. im sure mine is in the control
 
Black00XJ said:
Tear the entire dash apart to see how it works. And inside as a bonus, you'll find the core.
Click to expand...

to me or cardude? there isnt a piece of an XJ I have not had apart. I'm just puzzled why the temp gauge reads 215+ and I can hold the upper radiator (not heater core) hose.. and the temp not go over 215.. unless its summer, pulling a steep grade
 
It don't matter either way, Taylor (dirtyXJ) and us went to the JY last week and she said her heat was working. But she wants a new guage cluster, one with a tach, so we'll check it then if it goes out again.
 
well, it works halfway. my xj has to warm up for like 30 min then i get luke warm. looking to replace the thermostat here soon. i figure thats the next route that i need to take.

& about the dash, i think i am going to keep it and maybe get the A pillar gauges. i don't want to lose the miles that i have listed...
 
dirtyXJgirl said:
well, it works halfway. my xj has to warm up for like 30 min then i get luke warm. looking to replace the thermostat here soon. i figure thats the next route that i need to take.
& about the dash, i think i am going to keep it and maybe get the A pillar gauges. i don't want to lose the miles that i have listed...
Click to expand...

that sounds like a plugged core, unless you can grab the large hose thats at the top of the motor and hang on to it.. mine reads 210 but I get no 210 degree water through the upper rad hose.. maybe 120, because its cooler than my hot tap water..

well don't hold me to it, but you can take another cluster and swap the odo, I believe.. as long as you go 84-90,91-95,96-01 swap (and need to change the sensors/senders. unless AZ or ADVA list the same part for gauge or light)
 
a_kelley said:
that sounds like a plugged core, unless you can grab the large hose thats at the top of the motor and hang on to it.. mine reads 210 but I get no 210 degree water through the upper rad hose.. maybe 120, because its cooler than my hot tap water..

well don't hold me to it, but you can take another cluster and swap the odo, I believe.. as long as you go 84-90,91-95,96-01 swap (and need to change the sensors/senders. unless AZ or ADVA list the same part for gauge or light)
Click to expand...

i can't hold the hose. it gets really hot. so i don't know. figure i want to replace the heater core LAST! it's a lot of work :(

and switching the dash is complicated too. i don't know. i just would like to know the temp and my dash now doesn't show the temp or anything. i really want to know the rpm's
 
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