Heat blows cold air when stopped

[NJExplorerFan]

I'm gonna check the coolant level and see.

 

[jhanan]

BTW, when I changed the blower - it was full of acorns LOL - how the heck did they get in there?? LOL

 

[jhanan]

Seems like low coolant is the biggest problem. The next item will be the thermostat which was replaced before - which needed to be replaced only 3 or 4 years after the vehicle was built.

 

[NJExplorerFan]

So you have heat when you're driving, but at idle it begins to blow cold air? Most of the time this is a sign of low coolant.

Never reported back but you were spot on it being low coolant. I had to add about 1 1/3 bottle and then suddenly the heat starting staying hot, stop or go.

While I fixed it and am happy to have heat again, I wonder what would cause the coolant to get low like this? If it's low, does it also make the summer a/c blow hot air? I experienced that this summer too, I guess it was starting to go low then?

Where is my coolant going? What's causing this? Motor just hit 127K miles. Had the radiator disconnected at a body shop 2 years ago.... maybe they never filled it up 100%?

 

[5whiskey]

Never reported back but you were spot on it being low coolant. I had to add about 1 1/3 bottle and then suddenly the heat starting staying hot, stop or go.

While I fixed it and am happy to have heat again, I wonder what would cause the coolant to get low like this? If it's low, does it also make the summer a/c blow hot air? I experienced that this summer too, I guess it was starting to go low then?

Where is my coolant going? What's causing this? Motor just hit 127K miles. Had the radiator disconnected at a body shop 2 years ago.... maybe they never filled it up 100%?

Coolant level has everything to do with heat, nothing to do with A/C. That would be a freon or A/C system problem. As to how the coolant got low... well it either leaked out, boiled over, or there is a cracked or warped head and some of the coolant is reaching a cylinder and being vaporized. Best bet is to monitor your coolant level. If you're losing a gallon a day (or even a week) then you should be able to find an obvious leak somewhere. Check the hoses, thermostat housing (known to fail with certain years/models in our exploders), and radiator. I would just monitor it and see if you still lose coolant, and if you do see how quickly you lose it.