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Old 09-16-2014, 09:09 AM   #1
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Dash Heater

We have a Berkshire 410QS. Headed out this am. Turned dash heater on and only cold air. Any suggestions as to a solution?


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Old 09-16-2014, 09:25 AM   #2
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Was the coach fully warmed up when you turned the heater on? I know it may sound silly, but was the temperature knob all the way toward the red and was the selector knob on heat and not A/C? Also, how long was the heater on? It takes a while for the warm water to get from the back of the coach to the front.
Just some ideas.
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Old 09-16-2014, 09:28 AM   #3
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Dash Heater

Coach had been running on the hi way for half hour or more. All knobs were in the correct position. Fan was only blowing cold air. 😕


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Old 09-16-2014, 09:31 AM   #4
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I would give the Freightliner hot line a call and see if they can give you some help. (1-800-FTL-HELP)
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Old 09-16-2014, 09:42 AM   #5
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Thanks will do.


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Old 09-16-2014, 09:46 AM   #6
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[QUOTE=marialee;702244]We have a Berkshire 410QS. Headed out this am. Turned dash heater on and only cold air. Any suggestions as to a solution?


Has it ever worked or have you had the coach worked on since the last time it worked? There are two tee valves at the back of the coach, painted yellow, that turn the coolant flow off to the front of the coach and the heater. Could these have been closed?
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Old 09-16-2014, 09:56 AM   #7
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Based on my experience the other morning ... timing may still be an issue. With ambient temps near freezing and the MH warming on high idle ... it took my unit about a half hour to get engine temp above 175 degree. It was not until that time that I would consider putting the engine under load and start driving ... it was also at this time that I started to get warm air from the front vents.

Next time this happens you may want to look at the engine temp guage on your lcd display.

These engine sometimes take longer to warm up than we may think.

If temp is in the 180 or above range and still no dash heat ... take it in and have it checked out

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Old 09-16-2014, 10:11 AM   #8
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Silver, yes we had yearly maintenance before we left Washington State in July. First time we had to turn on heat. It was a little chilly prob in 60's. Have been on the road now for 2 hours. Get luke warm air on bottom vents cool air on top vents. Will check out valve knobs.
Thanks. Can you direct me as to where knobs are located in back engine area?


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Old 09-16-2014, 07:11 PM   #9
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Open genset slide and look over around by the heater core duct area. Look for a vacuum line that maybe fell off the vacuum canister. Look for a cut or maybe a mouse chewed a hole in a vacuum line. The duct control on ours is vacuum control, you may have a malfunction in your duct selection. You have doors that open and shut to allow selected air to flow through your duct. The duct that allows air across your heater core may not be opening. just a thought...
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Old 09-16-2014, 08:11 PM   #10
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Location of Tee Shut Offs

Can you direct me as to where knobs are located in back engine area?

If you lay under the back of the coach running up each frame rail is a 1 inch water hose. About 1 or 2 feet from the back of the coach you should see the Tee valves. They were originally painted yellow but may now be dis-colored. Should be one on each side.

RodneyD had a good idea regarding the vacuum lines also.
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Old 09-16-2014, 10:04 PM   #11
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Thanks everyone. Will let you know in a day or so how it turns out.


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Old 09-16-2014, 10:34 PM   #12
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....Bah, just saw that Silver had mentioned the same thing after I wrote this..haha. Oh well I'll leave this up to reiterate his response.....

Not sure on yours (but likely) but on mine, an '08, there are the coolant lines that travel from the engine to the HVAC in the dash. On those lines near the engine and accessible from underneath the coach there are valves that allow the coolant to go to the HVAC, one for each in flow and return. It is possible these valves were never opened from the factory? They are used so that if the engine needs to be worked on and coolant drained you can close those valves and not have to drain out the entire system forward of the engine. If they were never opened you need to be wary of one thing. Were they opened when the engine was filled with coolant originally? If not then opening them may cause your coolant level to drop quickly as the lines fill and coolant flows into the HVAC circuit. Check to see if they are open or closed. They typically are yellow colored dial T type knobs. If you have had any work done, a tech may have closed them and forgot to open them again? The system may be full but the valves just simply need to be reopened.

On the same note for those that want some better dash cooling efficiency who travel in areas where you never need the heater, you can close these valves so that the a/c system isn't trying to overcome the hot coolant in the HVAC unit. Someone told be they gained quite a bit of extra cooling by doing that. I haven't tried it as where I am you can need heat one day and a/c the next!

Keep us posted
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Old 10-13-2014, 11:00 AM   #13
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Its working now guys!! I don't know why. Took off the cover in the dash and pushed on connections to heater knobs. We will see how long it lasts..
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