PTC heater - feel the heat?

No. All V6s get it.

 

It is in the OM. That is where I learned about it.

 

Manual climate controls. Mine has the relays installed. Even if the heater is there, I've never felt warm air until the engine temp needle moves. And I usually leave it on fan low, max heat, floor/defrost.

 

Help a fella out...what page? I spent a half hour last night throwing my library-fu skills at the manual and never found anything.

 

works in my truck,I start getting warm air before the needle on the temp gauge starts to move.This v6 seems to be cold blooded it takes a while for engine to get up to operating temp when its below freezing out.Maybe that's the reason toyota put the electrical element there?

 

Warm air 30-60 seconds of running in my new truck, it is a nice feature.

 

I'll dig it up the next time I get on the computer.

 

The instructions are simple, 3 steps.

1. Fan On (I set it to “low” until the ptc is producing heat)

2. Temp Dial set to MAX

3. AC Off including defroster settings

I use the PTC heater regularly on my 2017 SR 4 cyl. I can’t find any reference in my OM, probably learned about it here on TW.

 

Any luck? I'm still a bit baffled by how everyone seems to have the "instructions" for how to manually make the PTC system work, but no one can find those instructions in the owner's manual. Perhaps the system is automatic but manually setting HVAC settings gives people the impression that it's manually activated only?

 

They're from the service manual.

 

I see steps for replacing the PTC heater and for checking the PTC relays, but I don't see any user steps for activating the PTC heater.
http://www.ttguide.net/ptc_heater_assembly-1719.html

I'm beginning to think the origin of the instructions is apocryphal and that the system is automatic, but folks can "force" it to provide some heated air--perhaps a bit earlier than the automatic HVAC controls would normally allow--by setting controls manually. in my 2017 Off Road, I leave the HVAC switches set to automatic and the temp set to about 75°. On cold winter days (teens) the automatic HVAC controls will turn the fan on to low in about 3 to 4 minutes and start providing a little bit of heat. That must be the PTC heater because 4 minutes certainly isn't enough time to bring the engine antifreeze and heater core up to temp.

 

It looks like I was wrong. Nothing in the OM and the SM is a bit weaksauce like you saw.

Here's a description on the Sequoia side:
https://www.toyotaguru.us/sequoia-2001-repair/positive-temperature-coefficient-heater.html

I've seen similar Taco info posted but am struggling to find it.

 

No...it's in the service manual.
That link you posted is some kind of abbreviated online version of it.
I've been posting the conditions necessary to enable the PTC heater, from it, for a while now. Pobably the first.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/electric-heater-element.523097/#post-16622392

Here's a link to the complete 2016 fsm. Search, "quick heater" and/or "PTC heater".
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mxxtpbUP_3mJSCP8SuvKHp9_ldml-YST/view?usp=drivesdk

 

Thank you. That did it. Also nice to have the service manual in pdf format.

How odd that a very important feature requires specific settings but isn't described in the owner's manual. The curious side of me still wonders if these steps are merely troubleshooting steps for quickly checking operation of the PTC versus instructions for how to activate the system. In other words, these steps might be a way for techs to quickly get the system turned on versus being manual steps that have to be met in order to turn the PTC on. I'll do some testing come wintertime to see if "Auto" or a temp other than MAX HOT activates the PTC.

 

Just a fyi, if you didn't already notice...
There are three levels to the PTC heater; four if you count "off". This, to me, would infer at least ambient temp is used as a parameter for activation of the different levels.
If you wanted to get real nerdy, monitor the levels(available & actual heat) to see if it does correspond to ambient temp.

 

@Bob K
There's also an index hidden in the bookmarks...