No heat! 98 Lincoln Town Car

[Robinelyse15]

Hi there, I'm getting the EATC code 81 in my 1998 LIncoln Town Car which I know is a "recirc door short" or "recirc door failure". and the chart that found says "GO to DTC B2416". I'm not sure what that means as an action lol. My door blend actuator has been replaced and you can see the door move when you change temps (open for cold and closed for heat). You can feel the heater box getting warm, but It still just blows kinda warm just not the 90 degrees its supposed to be.
Now I do get a sweet smell in the cabin like antifreeze and a fine mist through the vents which I think I fixed with a little stop leak but I still have the smell in the cabin. Not sure if that's a separate issue or not.
I feel certain it is something easy because the gentleman that I bought it from left the invoices in the glove box where he had the actuator replaced and then another invoice where he had it "switched" to blow cold air and said I could have it "switched" to heat when it gets cold. Well that invoice for switching was only $27.00 so shouldn't be too hard right? So what am I missing because im stumped. Thanks in advance for any answers.

 

[fishntyme]

Sounds odd. If doors are working fine it could be heater core. These can get plugged up and if coolant isnt running through them then they don't work right.

I had a 95 Town Car that blew AC but no heat. It was an electronic part in the engine compartment on the firewall near the blower fan. I just can't remember what the part is called. So could be that too.

 

[Town]

The EATC codes are 4 digits not 2, so you may want to run the EATC self test again. Here is our self test from our Tech forum: Town Car EATC Self test just pick your model year from the posts.

You can check for a problem with hot coolant getting to the heater core by checking how hot the two hoses are at the bulkhead. one comes from the back of the intake manifold and the other goes down under the intake to the coolant pump. Both hoses should be very hot when engine at operating temperature. If the hose from intake to heater core is cold you have an air lock in the intake/head. If that hose is hot and the other is cold then there is a blockage in the heater core. Always check that coolant level is correct first.

Once you have a leak in the heater core the coolant will stay in the plenum and the spongy sealing surfaces so the coolant smell will continue even after the leak is "repaired". Sealing a leak is a temporary measure. Once you put new coolant in the leak will re-appear.

I don't know what is meant by "switched to blow cold air". The system is fully automatic so the EATC instructs the blend door actuator to set the correct balance of cold intake air or A/C air with the heat from the heater core to match the temperature setting. If you need a switch then there is a problem that was not fixed. The EATC self test may identify what is wrong.