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Weak heater L300
Posted: Tue Feb 20, 2018 5:02 pm
by ontheebrink
I was recently up in the mountains stuck in traffic in snow and I noticed the heater wasn't putting out much heat as the motor got cold from barely working. Basically I was idling down hill for 15 miles at 25mph.
I haven't had it long so I'm wondering if this is normal or is it a problem I should look into. It was blowing warm air but nothing hot enough to warm the cab.
Weak heater L300
Posted: Tue Feb 20, 2018 7:07 pm
by north54
Might be due for a coolant flush or new thermostat. Did you have the rear heater working as well? Only the bottom rear blower will put out warm air BTW. I notice in sub zero temps here if I don't have the rear heater working as well as the front it takes a long time to heat up the cab.
Good luck.
Weak heater L300
Posted: Wed Feb 21, 2018 9:20 pm
by msimps
Fairly normal in my minimal experience. I often run both rear heater and front to get a more comfortable temp
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Weak heater L300
Posted: Sun Feb 25, 2018 8:38 pm
by Shaun Van Ramen
My L300 runs dead cold in winter when going down hills, especially at highway speeds. I never changed the thermostat, but I have been running 2 different rad blockers. 1 down low by the skid pan to block the direct flow of air (especially since the cabs on these tings are so drafty - at least mine is), which I put on every winter. It seems to help a bit in the cold. This year a went the D.I.Y. route and just placed a piece of cardboard between the rads. That definitely keeps it warmer (as well as more heat in the engine) on our winter highways (in BC).
Weak heater L300
Posted: Wed Feb 28, 2018 8:43 am
by msimps
Travelled up and down the coquihalla this weekend and had to run both heaters at full temp and fan just to keep the cabin barely comfortable. Every cold gust of -20 wind (Friday was cold) could be physically felt
Naturally downhill was the coldest! Definitely a pan/windblock would’ve helped some.
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Weak heater L300
Posted: Wed Feb 28, 2018 1:32 pm
by Trinker
You should try a rad blocker, but your thermostat could also be partially stuck open, how long does it take for your engine to warm up? I usually idle mine for about five minutes, and then it takes another five minutes of driving to reach full normal temperature. My rear heater hasn't worked since I bought the van three years ago, but even in the interior of BC winter without a rad blocker, I've never been cold while driving.