Very little heat & Exterior temp sensor questions

[Wilson01S]

Hey guys I have a two part question that I have searched extensively, and found a few results that are seeming to confuse me.

First my 01 S has very little heat coming from the vents when the heater is set to High. I have noticed lots of foam particles starting to make their way out of the vents. My guess is that I have something blocking the blend door in the heater core box. Is the only way to repair to remove the heater box from under the windshield cowl? Is there any access from inside the car?

Also on an unrelated note I noticed my car has a temperature sensor in the front grill which I would assume is for an exterior temp display (which I do not have).
I read that some cars need to have this activated, or add a stalk for the OBC?? Seems this was for 97-00 cars. Whats an 01 have to do to get some love for the outside temp?

Thanks!

[Luckyed]

I noticed the same foam particles in the dash vents on my 2001 base shortly after I bought it. It does not seem to affect the air conditioning and we don't need heaters here in Florida, so I pretty mush just cleaned out the vents and forgot about it.
(although I will be watching this post to see if there is a way I can get the outside temperature to show on the dash without a stalk upgrade)

[JFP in PA]

Originally Posted by Wilson01S

Hey guys I have a two part question that I have searched extensively, and found a few results that are seeming to confuse me.

First my 01 S has very little heat coming from the vents when the heater is set to High. I have noticed lots of foam particles starting to make their way out of the vents. My guess is that I have something blocking the blend door in the heater core box. Is the only way to repair to remove the heater box from under the windshield cowl? Is there any access from inside the car?

Also on an unrelated note I noticed my car has a temperature sensor in the front grill which I would assume is for an exterior temp display (which I do not have).
I read that some cars need to have this activated, or add a stalk for the OBC?? Seems this was for 97-00 cars. Whats an 01 have to do to get some love for the outside temp?

Thanks!

Your heat issue is related to the foam and the blend door. You can remove the heater box from under the passenger's side dash.

The outside temp probe is a reference unit required by the DME for mixture control. On a 2001 car, you need to activate the OBC and add either the stalk or a switching device before the outside temp will show.

[Coaster]

I have the foam bits too. My searching led me to this DIY which I plan on doing at some point in the future.

http://www4.rcf.bnl.gov/~nieuwhzs/986%20Heater%20Flap%20Repair.pdf