Mopar All Weather Comfort System Heater Model No. 502

Larry

As you edit the 1951 to 1954 Production Years of The De Soto Division
and its double first cousin The Windsor's, you will see the 125 1/2"
Wheel Based cars had a very little change in non trim related parts.

If you have a Factory Shop Manual for The S-17, look starting on page
567 at Heater's. It will show The Flapped Positioning - Water rout age
and some related items. It does not show the model number.

Rodger & Gabby
Colo Spgs

First, forget that I am in AZ. The 53 Desoto I have came from CT. The heater appears to have a lot of capacity and the blower motor indicates some capability. In fact there are two blower I am sorry I do not know the exact capacities or the capacity needed. It is of a size that should easily warm the car up if there is a reasonable installation. I sent one to Norway - I believe he really likes it.
Some parts could be tough to find but for the most part they are replaceable or can be rebuilt. You probably need the controls or I do not know what you can do with it.

Ahhh YES,

The old "need the controls to make it work" scenario....I see what you mean.

My Firedome 6V fan just does not put out the speed to keep me warm at highway speeds or thereabouts.

Thanks for the input, I thought this was a plug it in and it works by itself, but as I said, I am just reacting here, not thinking. Having a control panel would be so very necessary!!!

Larry

Larry

I have a friend with several years and several models of De Soto's & Chrysler's
to gaze at. So, today I looked at about a half dozen cars.

The number 502 I did not see. With a 52 Sportsman I saw one #503. This
same unit was also on a Windsor.

If you send your email to me --- I'll be glad to send you the photo's.

Rodger & Gabby
COS

Hi Paul,

I have to say..............

I have never seen a control like that, with a "VENT" lever on the right side. Does the '53 not have a cowl vent, and separate lever under the dash that opens it?

.......Something new to ponder.

Mark Waite
Wisconsin..........still in the dead of Winter.

In response to Larry, I was thinking my 53 had a model 502 heater. It is actually a Model 600. Does your system have two blowers? I am not sure what the air flow path is but could figure it out if you do not know. It alwaaveys helps to know how something works. You do not have any controls or the 502 being sold does not? Is the 502 supposed to be for a 52?

For Mark - the cowl vent lever is to the right of the cluster of controls. I never thought about checking to see what the vent lever in the controls opens up.

Hello all,

I see some interesting things here.

To be clear, I am not at my home now and am going off my memory but I did see this item for sale and since I had issues with the amount of heat coming out/ being delivered I felt that something has to be done.

Yes, this unit was removed from the firewall of a '52 Desoto, no info on the model of the car.

Yes, I do have some controls to operate the unit mounted on my firewall but I am not sure of the model number and have no photos to reference. So I do think my existing controls would work this but my research does not show a Model 502 specifically for my 1952 S17 Firedome....

I will be home by July to resolve this issue but as I said, I am getting some parts together for my return..

Larry, I do not know the condition of your 52. I have a feeling you could be missing the duct and blower inside the car. Or the control valve at the firewall is malfunctioning.

Larry, do you know if your car has this duct and blower or similar in your car? It is under the dash on the passenger side.

Paul,

If I remember correctly, that is a defroster blower. I have that same set-up on my '52. The heater blower is located out next to the radiator. I thought it was rather odd (compared to other cars) to have two separate blowers.

Mark

I installed a 503 unit in my 50 Club Coupe and there are two motors. As mentioned earlier on goes under the dash as shown in the photo above and is used for defrosting/defogging the front window. The second and larger blower is way up front just in front of the radiator but behing the grill as already mentioned. You will need a housing or long square tube to get the air from the 502 unit to the cars firewall and into the car. Under the dash is a ventilation system that is black you can see this in the photo above. If my memory is correct you need a hose to go from the defrost blower to the outlet for the defrosters under the windshield.

Hope this helps. If I can find my accessories books I will try to get figment details if present.

Not sure how this will work but here is a link to an image that will show several similar systems.

http://www.imperialclub.com/Yr/1952/52A ... 09-big.jpg
Regards,

Darin

Darin has it correct. Please keep in mind - my car is a 53. Larry's question was for a 52 but the 52 and 53 are very much the same. The black duct with the blower is a heater duct. It appears that the blower may take some of the air and divert it to defroster use. I would have to get my head up under the dashboard a lot further to tell exactly what is going on. But it seems the blower in the engine compartment (not near the radiator) is for the heater and the one inside is for the defroster. I hope this helps Larry.

Ok, what I am looking at now is an airflow situation. It seems that when the air was coming from in front of the radiator it may have been totally fresh outside air. On the 53, the Model 600 unit is mounted on the firewall and takes air from the interior and heats it more and more where as taking it from the outside there is no "preheating" due to recirculation. This could be why it was changed in 53 - because Larry and his predecessors were freezing their butts off. This could have been one of those learning experiences in the earlier days.