It worked fine last summer, so something must have died on me over the winter time. Heat still works fine, but now when I put it to cold and do all the right settings for cold air it still blows warm air. Sucks because it's starting to get hot and I need AC. Searched and didn't see any relelvant threads, so anyone wanna help me out with what I should look over to find what's going on?


Thanks,
PJ

 

Mine did the exact same thing a couple months ago. If you give me till tomorrow, I can pull out my reciect(I wish I could spell) and tell you what I had done to it.

 

How's the freon in your ac lines? press one of the pins and see if freon pressures out. It could be that you had a slow leak which dumped all your freon or dumped enough so that your compressor won't switch on.

 

Check if the compressor is cycling, or at least engaging. If it is not, most likely you lost your charge, and the dual pressure (safety switch) is stopping the A/C from engaging.

You can just re-charge, but it's like a blown fuse: there is a reason it blew, and you need to find and fix the cause. This will take special tools to do.

If you determine you do have a full charge, then most likely you have a blocked high pressure line. Either the dryer has let go of some of its internals, or the thermostatic expansion valve is stuck or blocked.

Lost or low charge is your most likely cause.

John

 

Buy a Haynes manual. It gives you plenty of advice on how to deal with problems such as this. I was just reading up on my AC and I have determined that I need to recharge my system. A quick way to check if you need a recharge is to measure the temperature outside, then turn the AC on full blast with the doors open and measure the air temperature of the air coming out of the main vent on the center console. The temperature of the AC air should be 35-40 degrees cooler than the ambient temperature. If it isn't, something is wrong and a recharge may be in order.

 

lol...mine does that too. BUT, when its one settings 1, 2, 3 its fine it blows cold air no prob. BUT i switch it to 4, it just blows air. its uber wierd.

 

umm that's a bad way to check. if u do go that route...wear gloves and eye protection.

 

another way to check...there's a sight glass on the reciever drier. it's left to the battery but down farther.
you'll see a small round window in a alum can/cylinder

turn on ac..
if u see transparent liquid some bubbles when revved then you're at the correct charge.

if u see a lot of bubbles but liquid seems cloudy - low charge

you don't see anything - no charge

 

I just stick it with a key. may not be the best way, but still effective. it never spills out enough to touch my fingers muchless my eyes. Just a quick press of the pin to see whats up..it's not under thatt much pressure.

 

well u never know what people will do when u tell them something...just trying to cover YOUR ****.

 

The best way to troubleshoot this is to hook up a set of gauges and read the Hi/Low side pressure during operation. This will tell you exactly what's happening. www.aircondition.com is another good place to get information.

-AC

 

yeah..auto zone will let you use their stuff for free..so you can properly check it out real quick in their parking lot.

 

I don't understand what pins you are talking about, not familiar with the AC system at all to be honest. But all you agree to check for a charge so I'll do that tomorrow when it's not raining outside (damn I wish i had a garage). I think i'll look for the bubbles Danny was talking about in the little window, hopefully I can find it. If not I'll see if my dad knows how to check pressure in the lines like you guys said...thanks, I'll check back when i see whats up tomorrow.

PJ

 

Well I couldn't find the little window to the left of the battery, or the pins on the AC lines. Don't even know which ones the AC lines are. Also learned my dad knows even less about cars then I thought, lol. But can anyone clarify on where these things are so I can check? Maybe got a hood picture you can post with it circled or something. If I determine I do need a recharge, can I perform this myself? Only things I have done to my car myself is change the oil and put on a strut bar.


PJ

 

When I bought mine, the whole AC system had been replaced. THe previous owner spent $1500 to get it replaced. It blows nice and ciy cold now. From what I've been told, the stock AC isn't that good.

 

Thanks, but obviously the option of spending a massive amount of money to have the dealer fix my AC was not what I was looking for.

PJ

 

Massive repair bills are often the result of inept repairmen who can't properly diagnose the system. They just replace parts until the system works. Leaks can be easily found with a detector. Pressure behavior and vent temperatures tell the life story of your AC the way an EKG tells the story about the condition of your heart. A leak detector is not a typical diy tool. So, even an inept mechanic will be able to find your leaks by charging back a LITTLE freon. Depending where the leak is, determines the magnitude of your repair. If it's the evaporator, its big, any o-ring is simple. Condenser and compressor are medium. Compressors can be obtained rebuilt, so, though not cheap, they are reasonable. If the system has to be opened, have them replace the drier with a new oem unit.

If your compressor self destructed, your system needs to be flushed so the debris does not clog the expansion valve after you replaced teh broken parts. This is also pretty involved, but not beyond an able DIYer. Not recommended as a first repair on your max.

If your compressor is toast, or your evap is leaking, you can opt to do all the work yourself, and, once you are done, have the system professionally evacuated with a two hour hold (to check for leaks) and recharged. This way you are only out parts and your time for the big stuff.

If you dismantle the evaporator, do yourself a favor and replace the TXV while you are this far into the system. If I remember correctly they just 40 bucks or so. False economy to re-install the old one. And of course clean everything while you are at it.

Do not use acidic cleaners to clean the evaporator. It will stink like a sewer for weeks (Don't ask me how I know)

Good luck,
John

 

Actually you can detect a leak yourself. You can purchase certain additives to add to the system and you check to see if any leaks are occuring with the AC on. The easiest being a florescent additive which responds to a black light i believe. you can also buy dyes to look for color spilling. These are usually around $2-3..so you can check for leaks pretty cheap.

 

Fluorescent dyes only work if the leak is your compressor or any of the visible connections. If your leak is inside the evaporator, you'd have to wait until some drips out with the condensation. Also, if it is a very small leak, you'll have to be patient.

But it is definitely a poor man's solution. If you find an obvious leak this way, I would still have the system "sniffed" by a pro.