My El Fairmont's climate control system only blows warm air when set to 32*C. I have replaced the car's thermostat, only to find a slight improvement. However, the air is nowhere near as hot as my old man's toyota camry 4cylinder! My suspicions now are that the heater core is blocked or the heater tap/hose are not working properly. However i do not know where the heater core/tap/hoses are, as they are not listed in the haynes manual ><. thanx

note: i have run the climate control diagnostics and no errors are reported. The blend door/solenoids sound like they are working during the diagnostics.

The heater core is located inside the car on the passenger side behind the firewall. The heater pipes for the heater core and the heater tap are located under the intake manifold just near the firewall. To gain access you will need to jack up the front end and get to the tap from underneath. You may have a blocked heater core or simply a jambed tap. Ensure the tap is operating ok, you should see the lever move when the heater is turned on and off. When was the last time the entire cooling system was flushed?

I have the same problem, and have checked the thermostat and water valve and all are OK.

The other thought is that there is an airlock in the heater core, but the Haynes manual only describes a hose configuration that comes straight out of the firewall to the inlet manifold. On my EL they come out and go straight down to near the transmission, do a U turn, and come up under the manifold. The water valve is located down near the U turn.

Any idea on how to bleed the air from the core?

don't know when the last time the cooling system was flushed, as that hasnt been done yet ever since i got the car at an auction. Thanx for the info on heater tap/heater core. mite check it out tomorrow

also, any ideas on how i mite unblock the heater core? heard of others doing it with a garden hose . Also, how would an 'airlock' form in the heater core and how would i get rid of it if there is one?

Check out the heater tap while your flushing out your heater core. You will find it under the intake manifold. Even from new they don't always fully open, I had to put a slight bend in the actuator arm to get the tap to its full open position.

Air in the heater core should be flushed out once the heater tap is open, any air should then end up in the header tank.

ran the car till it was warm, went under the car to check the heater tap. the tubes on both sides of the tap were very hot, so i would assume the tap is working. Tried to bend the little actuator thing on the side (it was very tough metal) but still the same problem (warm air, not hot air). Any ideas? maybe the heater core's blocked or i need a new one?

You will need to remove the tap to see if it is working correctly.

Once removed the tap should be fully open, as it only requires vacuum to close it. Look through the tap and see if the butterfly valve is fully open. If not the actuator arm can be bent a little. To do this you need to remove the actuator from the tap and bend the arm in a vice using pliers. Be careful as you need to bend it in the right direction or you will end up closing it instead.

While you have the tap out connect a garden hose to the hose going into the heater core and flush out core until clean water is flowing nicely out the other side.

I did both of these tasks to mine last year and the air temp inside my face level vents exceeds 52 degs

ok thanx.. will do tomorrow

OK, update on my personal struggle with this same problem.

Replaced the thermostat and water control valve.

After a run both hoses to the heater are hot (almost too hot to hold for any period) and the valve is in the open position.

However, I still get cool air at the vents with the climate control set on 32.5 degrees.

It feels almost like the A/C is running as the air is cool at a standstill and on re-circ.

Anyone have any further ideas please?

i would try and flush out the heater . undo the heater hoses. aud put the nose in one of the hoses and turn hose on flat out .let it run until water is clear . take care when taking off hose u dont stuff up anything

Thanks, that's the next logical step for me to try.

Hi guys Well just been thru the same dramas with an NA FAIRY Got told it might be the servo motor mounted on top of the heater box, OUT with the dash assy AGAIN loosened the HEATER/AC box enough to get it forward enough to the servo motor off the HOT/COLD flap control flap moved freely {DAMM NOT THAT JAMMED AS I HOPED FOR} tested the servo motor OK in discust borrowed the dash control unit out of a friends FAIRY that i new worked GUESS WHAT my one did with his too . PS this was the 2nd DASH unit I had put in from the wreckers original one wouldnt turn on the A/C. Backto the wreckers again AnOTHER UNIT still didnt work surly I couldnt have {3} F****D ones in a row, so out with my Friends one again YEP my system works fine with his in it, WRECKER AINT GOT ANY MORE so off to another WRECKER & get one NUMBER 4 it finally works YAHOO!!!!!
But I forgot one thing this is a ford with BUILT IN SH*T ELECTRONICS AFTER ALL !!!!!!!!
PS I am an AUTO ELEC with 40yrs of work greatly kept in buisness by the FMC and there poor electrical systems.

Ross, were you grabbing the control units from a EBII/ED Falcon? (non CFC ones) they arnt compatible with CFC EA/EB Falcons.

Also we are talking about nearly 20yo cars here, how many electronics can you name that still work from the 80s with the constant use like a motor car?