HEATER DOESN'T BLOW HOT. DOES IT HAVE A FUSE THAT NEEDS CHECKED?

525

Asked by Annette Oct 29, 2014 at 10:04 PM about the 1997 Ford Expedition 4 Dr XLT 4WD SUV

Question type: General

35 Answers

143,735

It wont be a fuse doing this,it will be what is called a blend door actuator motor,that control,s heat to cool,it is located under the dash on top of the blower box.

108 people found this helpful.
143,735

It can be got to though the glove box,but is a hard job,and tite space.

50 people found this helpful.
525

IS THAT THE ONLY THING I SHOULD CHECK IS THE DOOR ACTUATOR? EVERYTHING ELSE SEEMS TO BE WORKING WELL. BOTH HEATER HOSES ARE HOT BUT I DONT THINK HOT ENOUGH

32 people found this helpful.
855

I would first check the Antifreeze level to see that it is full and not low on coolant. This will cause poor flow to the heater coil which transfers the heat with a fan! Look for the white plastic container under the hood and see that it is full to the mark on the side usually Hot level and Cold Levels. It should say engine coolant on the cap or have a symbol you can check the manual for the location. I fill this from the radiator myself but if you do it that way you need to remove the radiator cap and when or if the motor is hot be careful use a towel and gloves and turn the cap half way first to release any pressure in the system. Or you could wait until the motor and radiator cools down. Note you should top off the antifreeze with 50/50 antifreeze your manual will have a recommended brand to use. So fill the radiator with the car running and make sure the vehicle is level and not on a steep hill unless it is pointing up hill. Questions: Do you hear the fan? Is there any heat at all in the truck? I have also had thermostats stick closed on other cars and trucks but usually the car will over heat when that happens. If those are all OK then I would check T_S_T's suggestion.

37 people found this helpful.
855

There is also a fuse for the heaters fan. So if you don't hear the fan running check the fuse too.

18 people found this helpful.
525

YES I HEAR THE FAN WORKING, THERMOSTAT CHECKED AND CHANGED, ANTIFREEZE IS ALL GOOD.

20 people found this helpful.
143,735

Annette,if heater hose,s are warm,there is heat to the heater core,it is not flipping over,check what i said,and you will 99.9%,fix your issue.

44 people found this helpful.
143,735

I know this,had to fix mine last year win it got cold,mine is a 1999 same as your,s.

18 people found this helpful.
855

I think T_S_T suggestion is what I would check next I always start with the cheaper fixes first sounds reasonable right? Only other thing I can think of beside the T_S_T's suggestion would be that the fresh air intact is blocked by the door or other items, and there is also a reticulation feature also controlled by the blend door actuator. You said you hear the fan but does it feel like it is blowing the way it did when you first bought the truck? If not the blend door could be the answer....

22 people found this helpful.
15,715

It is possible that on a 15 year old car the heater core may be plugged and not allowing enough water to heat it properly.

24 people found this helpful.
660

Why is my heat not getting hot in my 2000 ford expedition

66 people found this helpful.
940

Mine does blow cold air but the heater doesn't work anybody know how to make it work?

94 people found this helpful.
480

Mine gets a little warm but not enough to keep warm in cold weather

48 people found this helpful.
660

Hi i actually have the same problem on my 2003 ford expedition EB I change the actuator but problem is still there, i have just a warm temperature but not hot how it suppose to ut get a bit hot when i acelerate but when its in park it comes to a warm or even just fan i dont know what else to do but whe i was chaning the actuator i got a allen wranch and stick it where actuator goes and turn it and heat came out so im a bit confuse and dont know what to do can any one give me an idea what to do next thanks.

66 people found this helpful.
180

Where is outside fresh air door located for the hyacinth system on 1997 expiation?

17 people found this helpful.
300

hi i have changed that actuator but the passenger blows warm air and driver side blows cold air im not sure what else to do

25 people found this helpful.
15,715

Are you talking blowing hot out of floor vents or dash vents? The same actuator controls the flapper so it would not have any way to split the system. It may be a plugged heater core.

6 people found this helpful.
590

How do you get this actuator out, pull straight out it twist it out or what. Evertyping else is fine. I have to check out this motor but to get it out. 0

19 people found this helpful.
470

Over the last week I feel like I read every forum on expeditions and watched a ton of you tube videos. They helped me get mine back to 100 % after a spark plug blew then was over heating and did not have heat for over two years.. After changing the water pump that showed no systems of being bad I found the impellers were worn away. after changing the heat started to work again also. Hope this helps someone

31 people found this helpful.
120

I have a 99 expy with 152700 miles. Heat has been a problem since I bought. The heater core had been leaking and previous owner put stop leak in it then unloaded on me. I had it replaced and new door installed. Heat comes and goes and rear doesn't work at all. Has a new motor craft tstat. It's driving me crazy. Could it be water pump? They flushed system real good to get stop leak out. Any HELP?

12 people found this helpful.
470

I am by no means a mechanic but if you look at the blades on my water pump they were worn away so no fluid was being pushed through heater core and if your water pump is original it would be a year older than mine. If you watch the you tube video and borrow the fan puller tool from local auto store it is a 30 minute job and fairly cheap part.Its worth a shot. Just my 2 cents

16 people found this helpful.
130

Change the thermostat and the actuator in my 2003 Ford Expedition and it's still blowing Ice Air what else could there be hoping it's not the heat core somebody please respond

13 people found this helpful.
30

We repeatedly had the 10 seconds of warm then 10 seconds of cool air in our 2001 Ford Excursion, also. I was driving and luckily my husband noted the temperature gauge in the car was rising towards hot. (I had my eyes on I-5 traffic). We pulled into a gas station and found the radiator was extremely low on coolant. We added 2 large bottles of coolant and the white plastic container still wasn’t full! And then we instantly had heat. So glad we got that problem solved before we had a major catastrophe.

3 people found this helpful.
190

This helped bring back heat to our 1999 Expedition 5.4 I did what's recommended in this video. It may work for some, but not for everyone. It's free and worth a shot..... 4x4!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gk4xb9aOgE

18 people found this helpful.
110

I cut a hole be hide the glovebox,into the heat box,and prided the door open.i got heat.just that fast.it works.

11 people found this helpful.
50

My heat and air was working and all of a sudden it quiet working what could it be I have a 1997 expedition

5 people found this helpful.
20

My 2015 Expedition's problem was low coolant as noted previously, thanks to all for the advice, saved me $$ :-) and time.

2 people found this helpful.
50

I have a 2001 ford expedition new radiator (tow package).new hoses ..new thermostat ..new coolant...Only warm air blowing when heater on..i turn it off for 5 minutes then back on and thats what i gt only 5 minutes of hot air then warm again ..i have to be repeating cycle t get some hot air...any ideas what it could be?

5 people found this helpful.
10

I had the same problem - Heater only blowing cold air - 2004 Ford Expedition 5.4L Eddie Bauer. I checked the coolant level and found it low. I ended up putting 1 3/4 gal. of antifreeze into my coolant fill container! Once the coolant was full, I again tried the heater. It was blowing warm air. Problem solved! Thanks for the solution!

1 people found this helpful.

Hello, I have a 2003 Ford Expedition 5.4 EB. My truck blows only cold air. My coolant doesn’t get hot either. I changed, the radiator, flushed the heater core, added new coolant and still no heat. Why isn’t my coolant getting hot? Both heater hoses are cold?

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