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Search Auto Parts Search 1999 Pontiac Grand am GT V6 180000 miles Sign up here!   Email This Post Auto Repair Home>> Automotive Repair>> AC Auto Repair Help Forum demetry_07 New User Sep 10, 2008, 4:19 PM Post #1 of 4 (5029 views) 1999 Pontiac Grand am GT V6 180000 miles Sign In My grand am all of a sudden has no heat coming from the vents. The car is running at it's normal temp of 200. The AC works very well. The only piece of information I can give is when I turn the heat on after the AC has been on it smells like syrup. Any idea's where I can start to fix the problem? Thanks in advanced! Tom Greenleaf Ultimate Carjunky / Moderator Sep 10, 2008, 5:11 PM Post #2 of 4 (5023 views) Re: 1999 Pontiac Grand am GT V6 180000 miles Sign In Ok - trying to "smell" between the lines this is probably low on coolant. Need to check that the reservoir and the radiator is in fact properly filled. It may not have a separate cap on the radiator which makes it tricky to know - let me know on that. What I think has happened is the coolant has leaked at the heater core inside the same distribution box where A/C is and with heat request you smell the anti-freeze and the low level doesn't allow heat transfer. You may find some sticky moisture on carpet or looking up under glovebox which would be the coolant. Anti-freezes do have an odor to them. Any reason coolant is low can prohibit heat from working. This could be all wrong but does add up so far and the fix would be a heater core replacement if you find coolant leaking inside. Not a fun job in most cars so you want to be sure that this isn't something else altogether. Hit back with what you find, T demetry_07 New User Sep 10, 2008, 6:09 PM Post #3 of 4 (5017 views) Re: 1999 Pontiac Grand am GT V6 180000 miles Sign In It does not have a separate cap for the radiator so it does make it difficult. My reservoir tank is full though. I looked under the dash and I did not see any coolant. I have noticed the moisture on the floor but it is definitely not coolant. My fear is that it is the heather core. I have never replaced one all I know is that it is very hard to do. Tom Greenleaf Ultimate Carjunky / Moderator Sep 10, 2008, 7:04 PM Post #4 of 4 (5015 views) Re: 1999 Pontiac Grand am GT V6 180000 miles Sign In It's still likely that the coolant is low. The tank you can see can't automatically fill the cooling system if there's a leak disallowing pressure anywhere in the system which make it tricky to know it's full. Just when cold you can squeeze upper rad hose and it should push coolant to the recovery tank making noticable turbulence without air bubbles. Heater hoses can be felt to see if they are warm (watch out - they can be a bit hot to touch so be careful) You may notice neither are or one is pretty cold compared to upper hose which will be at thermostat temp and hot to touch when warmed up. It should warm up and hold pressure notably with a sqeeze vs the pressure noted when cold. Depending on type of coolant used the moisture inside on floor may not seem like coolant. It doesn't evaporate if you can wet a paper towel with it if coolant. Water would. It's the odor that has me going in this direction which could be misleading and part of finding the problem. There may be a valve in the inlet line to heater (heater control valve if equipped) that won't open or other control problems causing no heat. If hose temp falls off sharply right after one of those it could be the fault itself or being told to stay shut errantly. This gets trickier to diag when coolant is known full and engine is up to operating temps to pin down the trouble. It all should start with knowing the unseen part of cooling system is full which may take removing a high hose to see or it may have a bleeder plug and just coolant would be there. That cute trick of not using the pressure cap on the radiator causes headaches for what used to be a quick/easy check I can only guess that this is low coolant and where it's low if at all yet to be known. If no pressure builds up normally it opens a lot of possibilities. A mechanical pressure test pump should show the problem if in fact low coolant is the issue. If when known full we can move on to the other possiblilities which include a clogged heater core, dirty core with who knows what and perhaps if this uses a cabin air filter it could restrict airflow but you should notice the lack of flow. Just understand that the recovery tank can read full and not be in the engine itself. When all is well, air rises to top and is purged to that tank thu the little hose you'll see to it going in the bottom and when engine cools/contracts it will draw back only coolant over the cycles of warm and cold. If there's an air leak/water/coolant leak system will just draw back air from that leaving the tank full. The engine may be happy inside with some air at the top unseen right now. If air is passing thru heater core - even piping hot it won't blow hot air as it takes hot coolant to exchange heat not hot air to air. In that it seems engine is happy at the moment it probably isn't severly low if at all. It may blow some warm air at you if you request full temp, low fan to floor only and do starts and stops, turns it may show some heat with some sloshing hot/warm coolant getting thru. I know it's a pill but gotta know if there's air in there first, T   Email This Post   Automotive Repair     Auto Body Repair and Refinishing     Heating or AC Issues     Electrical and Wiring     Brake Systems     Car Stereo Repair Advice     General Discussions     Car Making Funny Noises     Engine Fault Codes     Engine Troubles     Exhaust Systems     Steering and Suspension     Transmission Troubles     Tricks of the Trade Automotive World     General Discussions     Antique Car Talk     Car Shows and Events     The Bargin Bin     Motor Vehicle Inspection     Car Care Tips     Traffic Tickets     Gasoline, Motor Oils, Concept Cars and Engines     Auto Insurance, Financing, Leases, Warranties Truck Repair     General Discussions     Truck Engine Repair     Truck Suspension Repair Motorcycle Repair     General Discussions     Motorcycle Engine Repair CarJunky     Open Posting     Board FAQ's     New Board Suggestions

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