heater only blowing hot on the floor setting

[cherrybombinJX]

hi . lately (within the last 3-5 months) the heater in my 1986 samurai jx has stoped working on any other setting then the floor setting . it will blow air in the upper vents when set in that position . but only blow's cold air . at one point a small bolt accidenteally fell in one of the top vents awhile back . though the heater never really putout much heat on the top heat setting (since i bought the vehicle 4 years ago the needle on the temp gauge hardly ever go's above the cold position even in the summer) . but did putout more heat then it does now . i don't think its a clog in the system or an issue with coolent flow . being that im getting some heat out of the floor setting . just wondering if anyone has had this happen before or if anyone has any idea's . thanks

[Joe Z]

I had the same concern about a month or so ago when i first bought the zuk and someone else brought up that question in a post and it was answered that hot air only comes out the bottom or the defrosters..... look at your switches on the dash and it shows blue(cold) for the dash outlets and red(hot)for the floor outlets..... maybe a few months ago being it was summer you where getting warmer air out of there but i can only get cold air out of the dash vents.
Joe

[chisora]

Hmmm did you try getting an air conditioning service?

[Billjohn]

Joe is right.
Suzuki, in their infinite wisdom, decided that the dash panel vents would only blow cool air (air conditioned or not) and hot air would only get routed to the lower vents (legs) or the defroster. The defroster vents also include the side vents on the ends of the dash that point directly at the side windows.

If the slide bar on the dash control doesn't shift the setting very well (from defrost to legs) then the control bar on the passenger side of the unit may be bent. Look under the dash next to the passengers left knee and you will see the bar that comes down to control the flap.

Hope this helped a little. And Welcome!

[cherrybombinJX]

ok . thanks for the info guys . it's not really an issue for me . being that my zuki spends most of its time parked in the winter (other then for a few snow romp's every now and then) . anyway thanks again for the info

[ross93]

Originally Posted by cherrybombinJX

hi .(since i bought the vehicle 4 years ago the needle on the temp gauge hardly ever go's above the cold position even in the summer) .

its not good to never have your engine up to operating temp. id start the thermostat