97 Honda Accord Heater not working

[BradB]

I have a 97 Honda Accord, and all the sudden the heater quit working. It has coolant, its not to the "MAX" level, but its not low, and the heater just doesnt work, it just blows out cold air. The thermastat wheel thing in the car where you turn the heat up or down isnt as stiff to turn as it used to be it seems like. Anyone have any idea what this could be? Thanks in advance.

Why do you need a heater? It's January:macho
It's F'en hot:p

[JessetheKid]

sounds like the heater core

[DieselBoy]

heater core......

[PolarisRider06]

you guys beat me to it...

same thing happened to me in my 79 F-150... heater core was shot....

[wykyd z400]

Heater core is possible, BUT, the fact that you said the climate control temp wheel rotates more free than it use to, makes me believe the cable came disconnected from the back of the gear mechanism behind the knob. Pull the cluster out from the dash, and see if everything is correct back there. I had a few CRX's do the same as I described. I ended up pushing/pulling the cable manually to verify the problem. In my experiences, when the core goes bad, you usually end up with antifreeze smell, leaking on the carpet, defroster would put a greasy film on the windshield, etc.
Another possiblity, is the thermostat, in the cooling system. If its defective, it sticks. If its sticking shut, the coolant will not produce heat, as it cant circulate.

[Craig02]

Is the engine heating up to normal temp? It could be your thermostat.

[Woodsrider]

First, check the operation of the thermostat. It could be sticking shut. Both the upper and lower radiator hoses should be too hot to hold (190*F) when the temp gauge reaches the point where it normally reads at operating temp. If, while driving, the temp drops off noticably, the thermostat is sticking or lazy.

But if in fact the climate control knob is more free than it used to be, I would suspect either the arm on the hot water valve broke, causing the valve not to open and close properly, or the cable came off at one end or the other. If dash work was recently done check that end. If you had enging work done check there.(Ive seen several of these valves fail)

I have also fixed many Hondas and Acuras that just needed to have the cooling system burped of an air pocket, because when someone replaced the radiator or the waterpump the didnt get all the air out of the system.

[250rAL]

If the thermostat were sticking SHUT, the motor would cook in short order. If it's sticking OPEN, it would run too cool.

[BradB]

The car heats up just fine,and doesnt get too hot.. Im going to look at it again today, where is the valve located at? thanks

[Woodsrider]

Originally posted by BradB
The car heats up just fine,and doesnt get too hot.. Im going to look at it again today, where is the valve located at? thanks
Against the fire wall in the engine compartment. Look for where the heater hoses go into the car. It will he right there, you cant miss it. check to see if it moves when the knob inside is turned.