Steam coming out of vents. Heater issue?

TorQ Junkie

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I have a 2000 ACR that mysteriously lost heat ability when in the "air vent" position last year. The heater position worked fine so I did not mess with it. During a drive today, I had the selector on vent. When I turned the temp selector to heat, steam came out of only the windshield vents. It had a damp smell, but no antifreeze or mildew odor. It stopped when I turned the temp to cold. The steam on the windshield did not evaporate, even when I tried the defrost mode. I had to wipe it off with windex (makes me wonder what I just inhaled).
After the drive I smelled faint antifreeze smell but no leaks were noticeable in the engine bay.
Any idea where I need to start in fixing this? Lucky I do not live in Cali or the stuff in my lungs would cause cancer.:confused:
 

bluesrt

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oops,went back to my 1st grade paperwork,yup ur right i before e except after c.:):D:nono:
 

AZTVR

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I have a 2000 ACR that mysteriously lost heat ability when in the "air vent" position last year. The heater position worked fine so I did not mess with it. During a drive today, I had the selector on vent. When I turned the temp selector to heat, steam came out of only the windshield vents. It had a damp smell, but no antifreeze or mildew odor. It stopped when I turned the temp to cold. The steam on the windshield did not evaporate, even when I tried the defrost mode. I had to wipe it off with windex (makes me wonder what I just inhaled).
After the drive I smelled faint antifreeze smell but no leaks were noticeable in the engine bay.
Any idea where I need to start in fixing this? Lucky I do not live in Cali or the stuff in my lungs would cause cancer.:confused:

I'd suggest running it a for a while with the windows open, perhaps idling in the driveway while you stand nearby with a shotgun. (See recent "Stolen Viper" threads)

Perhaps what is there will evaporate and isn't an ongoing issue. Did you happen to have the heater hoses loose in the engine compartment at the valve near the cowl and spill coolant there? I believe that coolant can get in through some foam there between the two rigid tubes coming up from the heater core.
 
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TorQ Junkie

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it is heater coil under dash

Does this mean replacement or repair? Am I running a risk of coolant leaking in the interior?

I did not notice any leak at the hoses by the cowl. The Archer guys replaced one of the clamps there 2 years ago at Viper Days.
I wonder if rain got in there this summer at VOI? I don't usually drive it in the rain, but we did have a little drizzle in Detroit.
 

bluesrt

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heatercores are to much trouble to repair as its usually a timely repair,buy a new mopar one,most aftermarkets are cheaper but do not fit 100 percent like your original,to nice of a car to be cheap with,bite the bullet and get it over with,and if its the type were u have to pull apart some of the dash,u better make shure u have a careful tech do this so he doesnt break the holy hotel out of all ur plastic parts.
 

Tom F&L GoR

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I have a 2000 ACR that mysteriously lost heat ability when in the "air vent" position last year. The heater position worked fine so I did not mess with it. During a drive today, I had the selector on vent. When I turned the temp selector to heat, steam came out of only the windshield vents. It had a damp smell, but no antifreeze or mildew odor. It stopped when I turned the temp to cold. The steam on the windshield did not evaporate, even when I tried the defrost mode. I had to wipe it off with windex (makes me wonder what I just inhaled).
After the drive I smelled faint antifreeze smell but no leaks were noticeable in the engine bay.
Any idea where I need to start in fixing this? Lucky I do not live in Cali or the stuff in my lungs would cause cancer.:confused:

Let's gather more data because some of what you said in defining the problem is normal operation.

The air vent position should never blow hot, since the air box design doesn't provide for that. Heat only comes out on the floor and the defrost ducts.

During your drive today with the selector on vent, outside air should come through the dash. You cannot control the temperature in this mode. When you turned the temp to hot, anything rising from the defrost duct is only due to heat and not the blower, since it can't blow out of the dash vents and the defroster at the same time. Therefore my first guess is that this was moisture from washing, rain, etc that got hot from contact with the heater core and made steam. Then when you turned the temp to cold, you closed the air box door and it stopped.

The steam on the glass may not evaporate for a few reasons - the AC compressor isn't working, so the air is not "dry." Also that the remaining water around the heater core is still evaporating and you are blowing even more wet air on the glass.

Smelling antifreeze after the drive - inside or outside the car? If the heater core is leaking, you really should smell it inside whether the blower is on or not.

The "gasket" around the heater core ******* on top of the passenger footbox is a very pourous foam and in my case, dried and crumbled. It allowed water to seep through into the passenger side floor. I repaired this by using windshield silicone - a very runny version of silicone glue. It will run and saturate the old gasket and make it water tight again. If the connections at the water temp control valve leak, or the valve itself, it will allow antifreeze to drip right on this gasket.

All in all, I agree with Jim above and suggest that you first check the coolant level and make sure the heater core is actually full. Look at the gasket, poke it with a pencil and convince yourself it is water tight. Then run around with the heat setting on "hot" so water circulates through it. Turn the blower on "heat" and bake your feet. Drive like this (remember, driving Vipers is fun) and see if the heater core area doesn't dry out and the problem goes away or if you keep smelling the glycol.
 

whitebluevipe

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Let's gather more data because some of what you said in defining the problem is normal operation.

The air vent position should never blow hot, since the air box design doesn't provide for that. Heat only comes out on the floor and the defrost ducts.

During your drive today with the selector on vent, outside air should come through the dash. You cannot control the temperature in this mode. When you turned the temp to hot, anything rising from the defrost duct is only due to heat and not the blower, since it can't blow out of the dash vents and the defroster at the same time. Therefore my first guess is that this was moisture from washing, rain, etc that got hot from contact with the heater core and made steam. Then when you turned the temp to cold, you closed the air box door and it stopped.

The steam on the glass may not evaporate for a few reasons - the AC compressor isn't working, so the air is not "dry." Also that the remaining water around the heater core is still evaporating and you are blowing even more wet air on the glass.

Smelling antifreeze after the drive - inside or outside the car? If the heater core is leaking, you really should smell it inside whether the blower is on or not.

The "gasket" around the heater core ******* on top of the passenger footbox is a very pourous foam and in my case, dried and crumbled. It allowed water to seep through into the passenger side floor. I repaired this by using windshield silicone - a very runny version of silicone glue. It will run and saturate the old gasket and make it water tight again. If the connections at the water temp control valve leak, or the valve itself, it will allow antifreeze to drip right on this gasket.

All in all, I agree with Jim above and suggest that you first check the coolant level and make sure the heater core is actually full. Look at the gasket, poke it with a pencil and convince yourself it is water tight. Then run around with the heat setting on "hot" so water circulates through it. Turn the blower on "heat" and bake your feet. Drive like this (remember, driving Vipers is fun) and see if the heater core area doesn't dry out and the problem goes away or if you keep smelling the glycol.
i always like that you analyze stuff instead of just jumping to conclusions like a lot on here do:2tu:
 
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TorQ Junkie

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Thanks for the insight folks! (Especially on turkey day). I drove the car around today with full heat on in different modes. Only a slight amount of visible steam came up, and then all was good. I'll be checking the foam seal around the piping next.Have a good weekend!
 

Tom F&L GoR

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Clarification - I asked to drive with the heat blowing on your feet so you could tell if the heater core was working properly. However, with the temp setting in the red/hot zone, coolant is flowing through the heater core no matter what the fan setting, even if the fan is off. In a long-term picture, you might want to leave this temperature setting slightly off the full cold setting (unless you want the cold A/C, of course) so that a little bit of coolant is always flowing through it. This ensures circulation of the anti-corrosion protection additives into the heater core, avoids collection of air bubbles, and keeps the outside of the heater core dry in case any water does leak in.
 
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