The heater in my 1995 SSEi works sporadically. The temperature on the climate control module has also been flashing after starting the car or turning on the AC. It stops flashing after a while. The air conditioner works fine. Any help or suggestions would be very welcome. TIA

A flashing display indicates a fault in the climate system. Unfortunately a dealer scan tool is required to read the error code(*) in 94+ model years. However, if you can describe in more detail what the system is doing... or not doing... then we can probably help.

I'm going to put on my Swami turbin and say that when you select a warmer setting the air still comes out cool? This is caused by a faulty air mix actuator and is a problem we encounter on this forum frequently as the seasons change. Please verify that I'm on the right track.

Once you verify that it seems like an air mix door actuator. We have links for instructions on how to change them. out.

Or further help diagnose the problem.

Need more details on what you're experiencing. What happens when you set the temp to max? Does the air come out cold or lukewarm? How about at the min temp?

The more details the better. Those gearheads are good, but they're not clairvoyant. Well, maybe they are...

I believe it is the actuator door, because if it was a bad core I probably wouldn't ever get heat. A more detailed description follows:

1) It seams the CC module flashes always on startup.
2) The AC cooling works perfectly, if I drop it down to 65 it'* quite cold.
3) When I increase, even up to the max (90 I think), almost always no heat, not cold air at best.
4) On lucky occasions the heat will come out, but it'* rare.
5) When I have had heat I try not to lower the temp setting as it may continue working for a while between drives.
6) But it eventually starts blowing regular temperature air.

Thanks for all the help!

With the heater controls off and the heater blower fan off, bring the engine up to operating temperature. Shut off the engine and feel the two hoses that go to and from the heater core. Spread two fingers and contact the hose with the more sensitive, thin skin between. You will find the heater hoses on the rear passenger side of the engine compartment. With a good heater core and no coolant flow problems (like low coolant level or a big air bubble trapped in your engine) both hoses should feel hot. When the fan is on high and the heater is blowing a bucketload of hot air, you might find the return hose from the heater core noticeably cooler than the feed hose. But it should still be pretty warm. If just one hose is hot when the heater blower fan has not been running, the problem is likely insufficient coolant flow through the heater core rather than air flow through the ducts. This could be a plugged core or that the core is not getting enough coolant from the engine. If both hoses are nice and hot, start to look at the flaps and ducts and the vacuum and electrical circuits that control them.

BTW, low coolant level or trapped air often creates a sometimes hot core depending on engine speed, angle off level, and other factors.

I would not recommend doing this with the engine running. The metal fan on the alternator and the alternator belt and pulley can quickly cause a problem a lot more serious than lousy heat.

I think I would pull the glove box out and observe the motion of the air mix door. Open the document in the link below and wade through to picture 18 (last page of document). This is a picture of the hole in the dash brace behind the glove box through which you can see the white arm of the airmix door. Run the temp from min to max and watch the action through the hole. The arm should move from extreme left to extreme right smoothly - no jitters, pauses, jumping. If the motion is not smooth, or if the movement is not complete, your air mix actuator is toast.

http://www.trialsnuts.com/ecc.pdf