Chrysler Repair: 1995 Chrysler Cirrus heater problem, domestic water supply, chrysler cirrus

Question
Hi Roland,
I recently purchased a 1995 Chrysler Cirrus LX for my daughter's first car. Everything checked out okay when I purchased it but now the heater does not appear to be working. The fan blows air through the ducts just fine but it never seems to warm up and blows cold air only, even when the temp needle is in the mid range. With our snow season starting, I'm hoping you could help me diagnose this problem. Thanks in advance for your help!

Answer
Hi Pete,
The cooling system seems to be operating normally. The two possibilities are then whether the flow of coolant thru the heater core might be impeded, and whether the temperature door is being moved properly by the temperature setting cable from the control panel to door lever. The flow can best be assessed by feeling the two heater hoses behind the engine that carry coolant to and from the core located under the dash in the cabin as part of the heater/ac distribution unit. Once the car is warmed up go behind the engine at firewall you should find the incoming and outgoing rubber heater hoses. Feel the temp of each hose. If they are of similar temp then the flow thru the core is o.k. If not, then you may want to backflush the core thru those hoses using a domestic water supply hose to attempt to clear and debris from the core.
If the hoses are both equally warm then the chances are good that the cable has come unclamped or the lever arm for the temp door is broken, or the door is jammed (though if that were the case the cable should have difficulty moving and you would notice that in the feel of the temp control). If that is what you suspect, let me know, and I can send you a few pages from the shop manual that show how to remove the control panel and then how to work on the cable, lever, temp door to resolve the problem.
The way air temp is controlled is to offer the incoming air two pathways, over the heater core or the ac evaporator core and by the mix of tha amounts you set the temp that you want. So the temp door has to work or you could just be by-passing the heater core.
Let me know a postal mailing address to send the sheets to if that appears to be a possibility.
Roland