Al's Chop Shop

hate to clog the forum with so many threads... but the latest head scratcher is the heater and blower controls. it seems i can't get heat on anything other than the defrost and floor, and no matter what i set things to, the top vents always blow out cold air. this can't be normal.....

Al

HAVOC

One of your cables are probably broken or kinked. This is an older truck with cables and not servos, correct? Move the mode lever (floor, dash, defrost) and look under the dash to see if everything is moving properly.

red1983

iTrader: (1)

My '83 longbed does the same thing- those cool looking vents on the dashboard don't ever seem to get heated air... I notice air coming from them, but I assumed it was the fresh/ recirclated air just because it is always cold. So if it is a problem, mine has the same thing or maybe it was how it was designed? Not sure, but it would be a silly design. when the heat (not defrost) is on, my feet get really hot.

eighty5yota

thats the yota heater at work! mine blows flames almost.. the ac will freeze a beer too give it up for yota!

Sked

I swear all first gens are like this, so get used to it. I blocked off some ports from behind the vents that always blew cold air with cardboard. Now just the movable ball..? vents on each side blow cold air all the time

bruzryoda

yup, mine seems to not to blow much heatin the wintertime. so just bundle up...

Al's Chop Shop

well i know my cables are real stiff because it's sat so long, i'll start by taking them off and hitting them with white lithium grease to see if that frees anything up.

maybe i'll just have to take the whole blower unit apart and see what's inside. i just don't like my ankles burning and my knees freezing at the same time. summer should be fine because i can get all cold air, but those cold nights aren't fun with the hot/cold combo.

Al

83

Ha that's great! Mine does the same. Sweaty feet cold everything else. I really think those ball vents are only fresh air. Haven't noticed yet if I get warm air out of the defrost vents. Better figure it out before winter, though....

red1983

iTrader: (1)

Yep, I am convinced. Only Fresh air comes out of the rotating vents on the dash. Although, with heat rising it still gets pretty warm in my truck in the winter... Just HOT feet!

Al's Chop Shop

i can live with only cold air up top (i normally use the floor setting for heat) but how do i keep the top vents from blowing all the time?

Al

Sked

Cardboard or stuff socks in the vents!

Al's Chop Shop

clean or dirty?

Al

refried

The dash vents are attached to he defroster ducts, the hose going to them is about 1" id, so there's not much air going thru there most of it goes to the windshield. Also Make sure there's nothing in your heater box preventing the door from fully closing.

Island_Yota

My heater system has a problem aswell, I get constant fresh air from the vents when im moving, The faster I drive the faster the air comes through, I noticed the large hose that goes from the flapper behind the glove box to the blower motor is missing, would that be the problem most likely? I cant see how that would make a difference? Anyone have a detailed diagram of the heat system?

scottd

Those of you getting only cold / fresh air through the "ball" vents - does your truck have air conditioning or heat only? When I bought my 79, it had heat only (came from the factory that way). My "ball" vents always would blow fresh air no matter how the controls were set. I always thought that there was something wrong with the control cables or there was a flap that was stuck somewhere. I am in the process of adding factory air to my truck and I was surprised to find that the "ball" vents were connected directly to the fresh air intake behind the dash (not connected to the heater, so never getting any hot air). The way the ductwork was set up, these vents would always get fresh air at outside temperature. It appears that there was no way to close these off except for rotating the "ball" to block as much air as possible or stuffing something in the duct behind the "ball."

The factory AC system has additional ductwork that runs from the heater box directly to the "ball" vents. So with the new AC, all of the fresh air flow into the truck will come through the heater / AC box under the dash and can be controlled by the door behind the glove box. This means that the "ball" vents will now get hot and cold air instead of just fresh air at outside temperature.

If my truck is typical of all first-gens, it is normal to only get cold / fresh air through the "ball" vents if you have only heat from the factory. Sorry I don't have any pictures to illustrate this, but go take a look under your dash and hopefully it will make sense.

83

Makes sense to me. Thanks for the info.

Al's Chop Shop

thanks scott, i don't have a/c so that explains what's going on. pretty wierd they would make them that way though.

Al

Sked

Ok my ball vents and the center console vent? always just get fresh cold air, the faster i go the more comes in. My heater controls have the 'Cooler Vol' control and it has never had a switch there? Any clues guys?

I put cardboard behind the center console vent cause it blew out so mych cold air in the winter it was retarded.

Al's Chop Shop

mine doesn't have a switch on the 'cooler vol' either, i figured that was a/c control.

i think i'm going to leave mine for now, the weather is finally warming so i'll 'fix' it in the fall when i want just heat.

Al

Sked

Anybody have a switch on there 'cooler vol' ??