Sprinter Heater Settings

[FIS53]

On the earlier Sprinters and probably on the newer ones we have a prob with it keeping temp in the cold weather in slow traffic and idling. I've found by setting the heater temp control to the top of the blue(cold) or in the middle of the white (basically half way) I could keep heat coming out of the vents and it did not pull all the heat out of the engine. If I turn the heater setting up to the red zone it pumps out nice heat but also sucks it out of the engine in low rpm. So the above worked for me and once rolling and rpm over 1500 I could increase heat setting to get more warmth if required.

Not sure this works in other buggies as it don't seem to in the gm. Have to have the heat set higher to maintain heat.
Rob

 

[Turtle]

On the dial there where the AC button is up there at the 12:00 o'clock position, and the REST button is in the 6:00 o'clock position... you know what the one in the 9:00 o'clock position is for, right? Actually, it's one long horizontal button. It's the Heater Booster button. When ON, and the coolant temperature reaches 185 degrees F or higher, the Heater Booster shuts off, but when the coolant temp reaches 167 or below, it turns back on. It's literally an Espar heater for the engine to keep it warm enough in the winter while still putting out enough for the cabin.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

On the dial there where the AC button is up there at the 12:00 o'clock position, and the REST button is in the 6:00 o'clock position... you know what the one in the 9:00 o'clock position is for, right? Actually, it's one long horizontal button. It's the Heater Booster button. When ON, and the coolant temperature reaches 185 degrees F or higher, the Heater Booster shuts off, but when the coolant temp reaches 167 or below, it turns back on. It's literally an Espar heater for the engine to keep it warm enough in the winter while still putting out enough for the cabin.

Well I'll be...the things you learn.....

 

[TJ959]

Ok, now you're going down the road and the engine is at the normal operating temperature. You have the heater set to vent and the knob is all the way to cool. Even a speck above the bottom stop and you have a little heat coming out of the vents. When you stop at a light the heat will blast your face off. Does yours do that ???

 

[Jack_Berry]

sounds like the mb heating system from the 80's. i had an autmatic system on my 300td that even in the coldest weather would be nice and warm and fade to cool air to recycle then blast away with the heat. really strange. i always manully upped the heat as it got very cold in the car even with a coat and sweater on.

 

[Turtle]

Ok, now you're going down the road and the engine is at the normal operating temperature. You have the heater set to vent and the knob is all the way to cool. Even a speck above the bottom stop and you have a little heat coming out of the vents. When you stop at a light the heat will blast your face off. Does yours do that ???

Yes, and it just recently started doing that. Another related thing that happens is when the AC is on (been out in AZ, CA and NV the last few weeks) it will blow bone-chillin' cold out of the upper dash vents, but sometimes it's hotter'n blue blazes coming out of the front dash vents (particularly when you've been driving at speed and then slow down, like getting off the expressway and coming to a stop at the end of the ramp), and sometimes the front vents will cycle from cool to hot and back down.

I just haven't figured out what is causing it. It's either the ATC (Automatic Temperature Control - that big hairy set of knobs and dials right below the radio that are all one electronic unit), the temperature sensor (hidden behind that little vertical grate between the airflow dial and the AC/REST/HeaterBooster dial), or it's that dosing pump that spits hot water into the mix (based on what the ATC and the Temp Sensor tells it to do) to heat up or cool down the air coming into the cabin.

The temp sensor is pretty cheap, but the dosing pump and the ATC are way to expensive to just go out and replace just to see if that's the problem. But the Chrysler DRB Tool can pretty much tell the technician what's the problem, so I may have to take this one to a dealer.

 

[FIS53]

I have the espar unit but some of the guys don't so was trying to help them poor souls. Also right now I'm getting weather changes from 40 deg to 25 deg. So rather than play with the heater settings I'm leaving it in one spot and letting the auto temp control out put what it wants while driving and the lower temp setting helps in slow hour traffic.
Rob

 

[CharlesD]

I don't know about older ones, but I have a 2007 and it has the temperature settings on the nob. I have pretty much not moved mine off 72 for about the last year and it seems to do fine. I have noticed that the vents on the top of the dash do blow cooler though. I wonder what's up with that.

 

[FIS53]

The vents on the top of the dash are not hooked up to the heater duct but rather just behind the air conditioning coil so they either push in ambient outside air or cooled air from the a/c. So those two you leave closed for the cold weather and open for warmer or if a warm state.
Rob