I'm cold!!!

[///RBR]

Heater is not heating up as much as I think it should (make sense). Sometimes it takes forever to get any heat blowing from the vents (even with dial adjusted all the way to red). It's getting a bit chilly around here, so...

Any ideas what needs maintaining or looking up??? TIA

[Verruckt]

Check the coolant level, top off if needed, then bleed the system.

[SpeedLi///Mit]

Check the coolant level, top off if needed, then bleed the system.


+1.. might be time for a new thermostat also... But honestly my heater is not all that impressive either... neither was the one in a 740 I drove the other day.. its seems to me it just gets weak at ldle.. I found that using recirculation mode seems to help some.

[ParadigmGuy]

I think he is saying that the system is colder than it shoud be, and not hot. Is low coolant the problem?

[Verruckt]

yes it still could be just low coolant. I've seen this issue numerous times. He also states that it takes a while for the heat to start blowing. What he's describing to me sounds like low coolant, which managed to trap air in the system and heater core.

[///RBR]

I will try the coolant since there was an OBC error recently.

[Verruckt]

ahhhhhhhhhhhhh well see there ;)

[ParadigmGuy]

Uhh, how about if the AC just blows cold and colder. but never hot air? What's the problem then?

[Verruckt]

huh? the AC is supposed to blow cold, I don't understand your question lol

[ryosten]

I never get heat in the upper vents...only defroster vents and foot wells. How does this happen?

[ParadigmGuy]

If you have a digital Climate Control and turn it to 90*, it should be warm air, mine is cold.

[Verruckt]

That's probably because the digital climate control is known to be faulty. It's a huge issue with the Digital HVAC. I wouldn't rule out the heater core being bad on that either but I'd start with the easiest to fix first. I believe there's write ups all over the internet on the Digital HVAC fix.

As for the person who asked about not getting heat in the upper vents, do it atleast blow air out of the upper vents? If so and it's not hot then I'm guessing that there would be a blockage somewhere in the vents or something isn't opening properly. I'd have to look up the diagrams to figure that one out.

[95beema]

If you have a digital Climate Control and turn it to 90*, it should be warm air, mine is cold.

It would be if his heater core was full of coolant instead of air. Thats why he needs to top it off and bleed it. This is simple. The car has a dual climate control so yes you can turn the temp dial to 90 with the ac and it will get hot. Just bleed your system and it will be good to go.

[ParadigmGuy]

It would be if his heater core was full of coolant instead of air. Thats why he needs to top it off and bleed it. This is simple. The car has a dual climate control so yes you can turn the temp dial to 90 with the ac and it will get hot. Just bleed your system and it will be good to go.
I'll check it, thanks.

[M31313]

I never get heat in the upper vents...only defroster vents and foot wells. How does this happen?
exact same problem

[1994Steve325i]

It would be if his heater core was full of coolant instead of air. Thats why he needs to top it off and bleed it. This is simple. The car has a dual climate control so yes you can turn the temp dial to 90 with the ac and it will get hot. Just bleed your system and it will be good to go.


How do you bleed it?

[95beema]

How do you bleed it?

Turn on your engine. Open the coolant expansion tank. Fill it tell the full mark. Let the thermostat cycle and the coolant level will drop. Keep filling it till the full mark till it does not drop anymore. Open the bleeder screw on top of the radiatior and in the front of and a little to the side of the expansion tank and let the air bubble out until coolant comes out. Then it should be bled. But E36 are finiky. I had to bleed mine a few times when I completely emptied it to change the fluid. And if I am not mistaken for you people who have no hot air. With air in your system the temp gauge reads wrong. So you could be running really hot from not having sufficient coolant. So you need to make sure your bled. Not to scare anyone.

[Verruckt]

Errr almost like above but not quite, this is how it is bled properly.

First open the coolant resevoir with the car cold, and top it off (leave open for the bleeding), next open the bleeder screw. Go start the car with the heat all the way up and the fans on full blast. Next let the car run for around 2 minutes untill the t-stat opens, holding a rev of about 2k to 3k will make the car do this faster and it will also help the bleeding process. Make sure to keep adding coolant if the level drops, There may be spray of coolant from the bleeder hole / coolant resevoir so please be cautious. You're done bleeding the system when you see nothing but coolant come from the bleeder hole (there should be NO bubbles). At this point, close up the system, first screw the bleeder screw back in, then put the coolant cap back on snugly. Then drive your car around for 5 to 10 minutes with the heat on. Following this process should yield amazing results and you should have some hot ass heat afterwards.

[Nihilation]

Does your car get up to temp? If not it's probably the thermostat stuck open. My car will warm up if it sits but when I start driving the gauge will slowly go back down, all the way to blue and the heater won't blow as hot as it should.

[///RBR]

Wow, I've never seen my temp gauge move after it reaches middle.

As far as, coolant goes (I know there was a big thread about that), any quick suggestions. Can I go to walmart/target and get any gallon?

[mobil1]

If the car takes forever to blow heat, it could be a failed thermostat. If its stuck open, then it will circulate coolant upon startup, and probably take a bit longer to warm up.

Air trapped in the system is another issue. If your car blows hot while you're revving, and luke warm at idle, then theres probably air in the system. Try a rebleed if thats the case.

Heatercores go bad, and they are a PITA to replace. I've been pushing mine off for a while now. You can usually tell the heatercore is leaking if you can smell coolant blowing through the vents at random times, but usually when you first turn the system on. Its also bad to put it off because the coolant leaks inside the car :(

Changed your cabin filter lately? It could be plugged with leaves and other crap.

Hmm, blockages?

[mobil1]

Wow, I've never seen my temp gauge move after it reaches middle.

As far as, coolant goes (I know there was a big thread about that), any quick suggestions. Can I go to walmart/target and get any gallon?


Usually its a good idea to use the same coolant you used before. Most will recommend BMW's blue coolant, however others have use Prestone just fine.

If you're unsure, you can always just add distilled water. That wont hurt anything.

[///RBR]

Nice...

Since I have no idea what was used before... can I bleed it with dH2O or just go with Prestone? :dunno

[Verruckt]

Go with a 50/50 mix of dh20 and prestone

[mobil1]

Go with a 50/50 mix of dh20 and prestone

Thats what I use. Works great, and its what my dealer even recommended. They said if the car was a 2000+, then BMW coolant should be used for sure. Otherwise prestone and dH20 will work just fine.

You shouldnt loose too much coolant during a bleed (unless you're new to it and you do it wrong a few times), and thats why I said you could get away with just straight distilled water. If you start loosing a lot of coolant, then you'll probably want to add some more.

[///RBR]

Thanks guys...

Looks like bleeding weekend is in order... :thumbup:

[mobil1]

Thanks guys...

Looks like bleeding weekend is in order... :thumbup:


Hey, is your heat luke warm at idle but hot when driving or revving the motor (when operating temp is reached)? If yes, then you probably need to bleed. If not, then its probably not that.

[///RBR]

Hey, is your heat luke warm at idle but hot when driving or revving the motor (when operating temp is reached)?

Yeah, sometimes I feel a cool air coming out (or close to luke warm). The main thing is inconsistency and not blowing enough hot air.

Earlier started the car and I could feel some heat right away with the fan in 3 bars setting, but last week I had the fan on almost full with dial knob bias to red all the way and I could still feel cool air coming out.

Things to do: Top off coolant (50/50), bleed, drive around, bleed some more.

[ryosten]

In my the case the air blowing in the foot wells and defroster is very warm...like it should be. When I push the button to switch between the vents it does actually move the flapper. You can hear it and no air comes out of the top vents. I just don't get why I can't get warm air from the top vents when it's fine everywhere else. Is there something I can check on when I change my microfilter?

[Verruckt]

I'd say change your microfilter.

[NY550i]

Errr almost like above but not quite, this is how it is bled properly.

First open the coolant resevoir with the car cold, and top it off (leave open for the bleeding), next open the bleeder screw. Go start the car with the heat all the way up and the fans on full blast. Next let the car run for around 2 minutes untill the t-stat opens, holding a rev of about 2k to 3k will make the car do this faster and it will also help the bleeding process. Make sure to keep adding coolant if the level drops, There may be spray of coolant from the bleeder hole / coolant resevoir so please be cautious. You're done bleeding the system when you see nothing but coolant come from the bleeder hole (there should be NO bubbles). At this point, close up the system, first screw the bleeder screw back in, then put the coolant cap back on snugly. Then drive your car around for 5 to 10 minutes with the heat on. Following this process should yield amazing results and you should have some hot ass heat afterwards.

Do these instructions work for an E39 also?

I got the same problem with my heater as you E36 guys on my E39.
I get no warm or hot air during idle....only when the car is in my motion i get hot air from my vents.

I just had my upper radaitor hose/bypass hose replaced because it popped and ever since then my heater been acting up.

[///RBR]

Check coolant level if you haven't done so, and then bleed.

Update: after filling coolant level (used diH2O) up to the line and bleeding the system, I have been getting more warm air! :alright A lot more cozier now inside the cockpit :D

Thanks guys!

[m3ntalmn]

Do these instructions work for an E39 also?

I got the same problem with my heater as you E36 guys on my E39.
I get no warm or hot air during idle....only when the car is in my motion i get hot air from my vents.

I just had my upper radaitor hose/bypass hose replaced because it popped and ever since then my heater been acting up.

process will be the same for you. make sure to turn your heat on however i suggest keeping the fan on the lowest setting as it will greatly speed up warm up time and fan setting has no bearing on coolant flow. the heat must be turned on in order to allow both water valves to open and coolant flow to the heater core. also make sure to thouroughly examine your expansion tank as they are notorious for exploding. have seen many in the shop this time of year for expansion tanks.

[BSH]

In my the case the air blowing in the foot wells and defroster is very warm...like it should be. When I push the button to switch between the vents it does actually move the flapper. You can hear it and no air comes out of the top vents. I just don't get why I can't get warm air from the top vents when it's fine everywhere else. Is there something I can check on when I change my microfilter?I believe there's a reason for this problem but I can't remember what it is. Try searching the archives and you should find a number of threads relevant to your problem.

[BSH]

Heater is not heating up as much as I think it should (make sense). Sometimes it takes forever to get any heat blowing from the vents (even with dial adjusted all the way to red). It's getting a bit chilly around here, so...

Any ideas what needs maintaining or looking up??? TIABefore bleeding, did your stock water temp gauge reach the mid-line within a few minutes after start up? Did your needle drift towards the blue when you turned the heat on?