Cabin Heater blows cold air

[Dylonious]

Hey all,

First let me say that my “e-heat” is turned on. It’s now just called “heat”, but I have toggled that many times, to no avail.

I picked up my new 2023 SR on Friday, and I was loving it until about halfway through my 100 mile journey home, when I realized how cold it had gotten. The truck had been in the garage at the dealership, and it was sunny. When I actually turned on the heat, all I was getting was cold air. I called the dealership and all they’ve been able to do is advise me to turn on the e-heat. But as I said above, that is definitely on.

As a test, I set up a preconditioning schedule, and the app alerts me that the cabin has reached temperature, but its 20 F. I suspect that the cabin temperature sensor might be faulty as a result.

More than likely, I’ll have to get it to a dealer, but everyone is saying they’re booked until spring.

The original dealer wants to drive it back and forth another 250 miles, but I’d prefer to avoid that for obvious reasons.

So I figured I’d post in here and see if anyone had any ideas. Thanks!

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[TaxmanHog]

Try letting the truck sit for about 30+ minutes after being last run, in particular when "Departure Timer" was last used.

Start the truck normally (no remote or departure timers) and tap the hard button for MAX DEFROST, after a few minutes is any heat generated?

Still no heat, run your vin on this Ford Recalls | Ford Owner Support to see if you have recall / CSP for the this issue:

https://www.f150lightningforum.com/...oolant-heater-replacement-23c32-23v688.17016/

You can also see Recalls & CSP's on Fordpass [Service] tab

 

[Dylonious]

Try letting the truck sit for about 30+ minutes after being last run, in particular when "Departure Timer" was last used.

Start the truck normally (no remote or departure timers) and tap the hard button for MAX DEFROST, after a few minutes is any heat generated?

Still no heat, run your vin on this Ford Recalls | Ford Owner Support to see if you have recall / CSP for the this issue:

https://www.f150lightningforum.com/...oolant-heater-replacement-23c32-23v688.17016/

You can also see Recalls & CSP's on Fordpass [Service] tab

thanks so much for your quick reply!

Unfortunately, no. Defrost doesn’t generate any heat either.

my VIN is not listed for that recall.

more ideas welcome!

 

[Watt2Go]

I just started having issues with my heat and have a visit to the dealer scheduled tomorrow. For the last week at least I've been getting cool/tepid air at best most times and a very cold ride when 20 out for 2 hours up to deer camp Friday. Today on the ride home from camp had little heat for the first hour, stopped and L3 charged for only 10 minutes for a quick boost to make sure I got home and bingo the heat started working. Not a great confidence builder!

 

[antimatterparticle]

Hey all,

First let me say that my “e-heat” is turned on. It’s now just called “heat”, but I have toggled that many times, to no avail.

I picked up my new 2023 SR on Friday, and I was loving it until about halfway through my 100 mile journey home, when I realized how cold it had gotten. The truck had been in the garage at the dealership, and it was sunny. When I actually turned on the heat, all I was getting was cold air. I called the dealership and all they’ve been able to do is advise me to turn on the e-heat. But as I said above, that is definitely on.

As a test, I set up a preconditioning schedule, and the app alerts me that the cabin has reached temperature, but its 20 F. I suspect that the cabin temperature sensor might be faulty as a result.

More than likely, I’ll have to get it to a dealer, but everyone is saying they’re booked until spring.

The original dealer wants to drive it back and forth another 250 miles, but I’d prefer to avoid that for obvious reasons.

So I figured I’d post in here and see if anyone had any ideas. Thanks!

check the coolant reservoir in the frunk.

 

[Dylonious]

check the coolant reservoir in the frunk.

coolant for the heat? I will give it a look for sure, but is it transferring heat that much?

edit: assuming I’m looking at the right coolant tank (in the frunk, right in front of the steering wheel) then I am right at the max line, and that isn’t my issue.

 

[Yellow Buddy]

I suspect that the cabin temperature sensor might be faulty as a result.

Try adjusting it manually. If you crank it to HI and adjust the flow it should take it off auto and bypass the sensors. It may not be a solution but it'll help narrow if it starts putting out heat.

Try to make it look like this if you have the 15" screen (Not sure which SR you have..):

 

[Dylonious]

Try adjusting it manually. If you crank it to HI and adjust the flow it should take it off auto and bypass the sensors. It may not be a solution but it'll help narrow if it starts putting out heat.

Try to make it look like this if you have the 15" screen (Not sure which SR you have..):

I had tried that as well. Still no luck.

Thanks for the suggestion!

I’ll add it to my profile, but it’s an xlt 12”

 

[Yellow Buddy]

I had tried that as well. Still no luck.

Thanks for the suggestion!

I’ll add it to my profile, but it’s an xlt 12”

If you e run through e-heat settings and manual settings chances are you have a larger problem. But if you’re waiting until spring, id probably check the fuses as well if you haven’t already. Doubtful it’s that but might be worth a try:

Id probably run through the following:
Under hood:
Fuse #8 - AC Control/Electric Fan Relay
Fuse #13 - Blower Motor
Fuse #38 - Climate Control

Kick Panel:
Fuse #12 - Climate Control

 

[Dylonious]

If you e run through e-heat settings and manual settings chances are you have a larger problem. But if you’re waiting until spring, id probably check the fuses as well if you haven’t already. Doubtful it’s that but might be worth a try:

Id probably run through the following:
Under hood:
Fuse #8 - AC Control/Electric Fan Relay
Fuse #13 - Blower Motor
Fuse #38 - Climate Control

Kick Panel:
Fuse #12 - Climate Control

I had checked just about every fuse, including these. But I just did again. And I probably will again tomorrow. No dice.

Thanks though!

 

[JRT]

I have XLT, press center HVAC button, click the heat button, set temp to hot, should kick in, does take a bit to warm up.

 

[Dylonious]

I have XLT, press center HVAC button, click the heat button, set temp to hot, should kick in, does take a bit to warm up.

Thanks. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe that’s the heat setting I mentioned in my original post. It used to be called e-heat, but now it’s just heat. I turn it on, off, on, and it’s always frigid air.

 

[FastMover]

I had tha problem intermittently when I got my truck in Feb. Not really a big heat person and still only have 1100 miles on it. More recently I seemed to had it happen again. But still intermittently. One cold day no heat. Next day was much warmer and the heat was unbearable.
Just have to add that for Fords "Flagship F150" or any vehicle, that's an unacceptable answer from dealers!! Absolutely a safety Hazzard. I would talk to both service and dealer managers and remind them if that as I informed I was calling Frod and letting them know that there is a liability here. Not as if they are waiting for parts. I believe I read were there was a loaner or 2 given out when the rear lights failed and there were no parts available.

 

[Dylonious]

I had tha problem intermittently when I got my truck in Feb. Not really a big heat person and still only have 1100 miles on it. More recently I seemed to had it happen again. But still intermittently. One cold day no heat. Next day was much warmer and the heat was unbearable.
Just have to add that for Fords "Flagship F150" or any vehicle, that's an unacceptable answer from dealers!! Absolutely a safety Hazzard. I would talk to both service and dealer managers and remind them if that as I informed I was calling Frod and letting them know that there is a liability here. Not as if they are waiting for parts. I believe I read were there was a loaner or 2 given out when the rear lights failed and there were no parts available.

Yeah, thanks. It’s been in the 20s and 30s here in Oregon too. So not great timing. It’s all a bit frustrating for my first experience with Ford. (Always been a Toyota family)

But I will say, the dealer that sold it to me has been trying to offer help, but they’re 3+ hours away. The dealer that’s booked up is a different group. And this has all happened since just after 5 on a Friday. We’ll see what can be done to start the week.

 

[cal]

This is crazy and just should not be this much trouble to fix. Any competent tech should be able to verify that the fluid is heating up, check for leaks in the cabin and motor bay, etc. This is one time when I'd be thankful it's not a heat pump system. Much more complex. That's why Ford didn't do it right away.

Back in the day I fixed a 91 NSX heating problem after an owners group meeting at the dealership. Just like you, a member could not get heat. Acura used a solenoid to open and close a hot water valve from the engine bay into the cabin. We went to my car and he watched the valve open as I turned on the heat. Was pretty easy to see his solenoid wasn't working and I just manually open the valve to get him some hot water flowing until he could get a service appointment.

I really don't know exactly how our system works but I assume it still runs hot water from the motor bay into a small radiator inside the cabin. Then a fan pushes air across it to warm up the cabin. The more the valve is open the more heat you get. Shutting off the valve stops all heat. I believe they prioritize heating up the battery before the cabin and that adds complexity. If for some reason it thinks the battery is too cold I wonder if it would never start running hot into the cabin. Again something a competent tech should be able to quickly isolate and test.

God I miss having a shop manual! So easy to just look stuff like this up and see how it works. I think there are some folks on the forum that do have access to a manual. Hopefully someone has time to take a look. I'm not trying to say you should fix it yourself, just get you some heat now. And at least understanding how it works.

This type of scenario is one of the reasons I've pushed starting a local Lightning owners group. This forum is great but having someone else local you can run things by is a pretty big deal to me.

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