maxguy

Hello everyone,

I just bought a Maxima last week, and have found your site and read through all the FAQs and found them to be extremely informative. Plus I am an engineering nerd, and am hungry for knowledge about how anything works. I think I have a small problem with my automatic climate control. My car is a 2001 GLE.

Driving my car on a trip for about 3 hours, I noticed that the temperature of the air coming out of the vents (heated air as it was about 30 degrees outside) would go from hot to cold and back again every few minutes or so.

I found some troubleshooting information on the internet and started the climate control in troubleshooting mode by holding down the off button for five seconds. Steps 2 and 3 checked out fine (showing the actuators and sensors appear to be working fine), and step 5 shows the temperature read by three separate sensors. They read 38 --- 73 --- 131 respectively. I believe the first is the outside temperature and the second is the interior and the third I believe is the temperature of the coolant. This third value stayed frozen at this value of 131 no matter what the actual temperature of the car was... even after sitting overnight.

This may explain that the fluctuation of the temperature in the car by the climate control. The car thinks the temperature of the coolant is one level so it lets a certain amount of coolant flow through the heating coil. When this turns out to be too hot/cold it overcompensates and puts out cold air to correct and lower the temperature. The cycle then continues.

Does anyone know where this sensor is and whether replacing it might fix this problem? Am I looking at the right area? The temperature will go extremely cold or extremely hot when I set the temp on max cold or max hot so that isn't part of the problem.

I appreciate any and all help. Forums like this are what makes the internet great.

maxguy.

maxguy

I think I have identified the sensor reading as the intake sensor that is attached to the evaporator. Anyonw have any idea why it would constantly read 131 degrees? Or any idea how I can get to the sensor to check it out? I assume it is behind the glovebox.

Thanks