No cab heat
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Postmaster
Joined: Jun 2010
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From: Oregon City, Oregon
No cab heat
I've got a 1990 F150 4X4 Lariat with the 5.0L that I've owned for about 12 years. It was purchased brand new by my late grandfather. The truck's only got 65K on it at present. For the past few years it never really gets warm from the heater. Eventually It'll warm up enough to be comfortable but never really as warm as it should or used to. I never really worried about it too much when I drove it. I would just wear an extra shirt. However, my daughter doesn't think that is such a grand idea. This past weekend I replaced the thermostat, heater core and drained and flushed the coolant and replaced with new 50/50 mix. Still no heat in the cab. Any help would be much appreciated.
Elder User
Joined: Dec 2011
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From: Kodiak, Alaska
There is a cable on the back of your heater controler, either this cable is not conected or the gate in the heat ducting is not opening you have to take that part of the dash off to get behind the glove box and check to see if it is stuck or not connected. Other than that maybe your fan is either totally clogged with **** or it is broken, the fan is about a $50 part at napa.
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Joined: Nov 2005
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From: Saukville WI
Is your warm cold selector opening and closing the damper fully behind the glovebox? Are your coolent hoses going to the heater core hot or burning hot? How does your temp guage act when the trucks warmed up? Just a few questions I have about your heat problem, these truck have GREAT heat so let us know.
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Postmaster
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From: Oregon City, Oregon
There is a cable on the back of your heater controler, either this cable is not conected or the gate in the heat ducting is not opening you have to take that part of the dash off to get behind the glove box and check to see if it is stuck or not connected. Other than that maybe your fan is either totally clogged with **** or it is broken, the fan is about a $50 part at napa.
Checking the heater control cable shouldn't be too much trouble since I took most of the dash apart over the weekend to change the heater core.
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Postmaster
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From: Oregon City, Oregon
Are your coolent hoses going to the heater core hot or burning hot? How does your temp guage act when the trucks warmed up? Just a few questions I have about your heat problem, these truck have GREAT heat so let us know.
The temperature guage in the cab is another issue. At present it's not registering anything. I replaced the sending unit/temperature sensor in the block. Still nothing on the guage. I've removed the instrument cluster. However, the guage is out of production. I located one about two hours from home. The dealer wanted $150 plus shipping for the battery guage and temperature guage (the local dealer quoted list price of $250 but they didn't have one). I'm going to locate one at a u-pull it wrecking yard in the coming weeks when time allows.
How do I determine if the cable behind the glove box is working... switching from warm to cold?
Thanks for the information... keep the ideas and experiences coming.
Elder User
Joined: Dec 2011
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From: Kodiak, Alaska
It should go from your control to the dampener in the ducting find where that cable connects to the ducting on the dampener control arm it should be prety apparent if it is broken if not move the control arm manually and see if that helps. schorching hot is bad it means your truck is probably running on the verge of overheating so verry warm i would say is fine. also if both hoses are warm it means that tou are getting ample fluid through your heater core so i would think your problem is coming from the dampener if i remember correctly you can reach up behind the glove box and feel it my 87-250 had a broken cable and that is how i turned the heat on for a long time (if it it aint FUBAR dont fix it!?). It wasnt that big of a deal to reach down and turn it on or off just dont do it on the freeway!!
Senior User
Joined: Nov 2005
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From: Saukville WI
Ran out to my 92 quick for ya boy its freezing out... this damper should move left and right and you should hear a thump from inside the heater box..
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From: mohave valley, arizona
in my case the core was clogged, disconnected lines to it and blew it out. been working great since. by the way the idea of blowing the core out was the hoses to and from it werent very hot after the engine had warmed up, therefore no flow.
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Postmaster
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From: Oregon City, Oregon
Thanks for all of the ideas... I have had some appliance issues the past few days that have taken up my evenings. I've carved out some time this weekend to try to finish up the heater issues and diagnose the battery/alternator issue that has come up as well. I'll keep you posted at to what I find.
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Postmaster
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From: Oregon City, Oregon
Well... I looked at the cable that connects to the damper, it appears to be functioning correctly. It opens and closes as I adjust the heat setting from hot to cold...
It feels like I'm back to square one...
It feels like I'm back to square one...
Elder User
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From: Kodiak, Alaska
You need to take off the glove box and find out if your heater core is working, run the truck till it warms up feel it with the back of your hand it should be pretty hot. If not you will have to do a full radiator flushand blow out the hoses going to your heater core and blow out the heater core with an air hose.
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Joined: Dec 2007
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From: Broken Arrow, OK
Have you checked your coolant level? That may sound obvious, but just this winter I faced a similar condition as yours. At the first forecast of sub-freezing weather here in Oklahoma, I checked all of my vehicles. My 95 F150 5.0 was OK in terms of antifreeze content but was low in general. I put the cap back on and headed to the local parts store. On the way, I noticed my heater was not hot. At the parts store I decided to go ahead and top the radiator off before I left. When I opened the hood I found the radiator cap half-on and coolant everywhere. Obviously I lost what coolant I had on the way to the parts store (about an hour run time) and my heater stopped working. It never overheated. Refilled the radiator and enjoyed a toasty ride home. Good luck!
