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I have a 2000 I30. Today I turned on the A/C (Auto button), I brought the temperature control down to 68 degrees, I could hear the compressor go on, the fan worked fine, but all I could get was hot air. The air stayed hot for at least 15 minutes, so I finally turned the A/C off.
My guess is there is a Freon problem and assume there is a leak. Before I bring the car into the mechanic, is there anything I can do?
And
This is becoming more confusing!
The car is parked outside and the current ambient temperature is 54 degrees. I started the car and pressed Auto. The compressor sounded like it came on.
I turned the temperature control all the way up to 85 degrees. As the engine warmed up the fan came on and the heat from the floor. The more the engine warmed up, the higher the fan.
10 minutes later I backed off the temperature control until the fan went from 4 symbols down to 1. That point was 77 degrees. So that seems to indicate the heat is working fine.
I then brought down the temperature control all the way down to 65 degrees. The air now changed from coming from the floor to the 4 dashboard vents. Within a minute or two, the air started to feel very cold, like A/C and not ambient air.
10 minutes later I brought the temperature control up to 68 degrees and at the point the air started to come from the floor, indicating to me that it was calling for heat. So that seems to indicate the A/C is working fine.
Based on the above, I no longer seem to have a problem with the A/C but again the ambient temperature is currently 54 degrees. That being said, when I brought the temperature control all the way down the other day the ambient temperature was in the 60's and hot air was coming from the dashboard vents.
So something seems very different this morning from the other day.
Fast forward. I have not had a problem with the A/C since May 10th. But now, I'm back to the same problem as above. I tried what worked last time (bringing the temperature up and then down), but that has not worked this time. One difference is I'm not hearing the compressor come on now, whereas I did back in May. In addition, when the heater and A/C is off, if the re-circulation button is not on, hot air comes through the floor vents.
Could it be the air mix door motor, or the compressor? How can I figure this out? If it is the air mix door sticking, does that mean that the air mix motor needs to be replaced?
Dude, if you have climate control, then run the diagnostic, and give us the codes. I had an I30 with a bad air mix motor which was stuck in the cold position (a/c all the time, even when I wanted heat). The diagnostic confirmed it (forget what the code was, 25, 26, or 31 I think (check the factory service manual)), and I went in and changed the air mix motor (total PITA, located under dash on passenger side). Air mix motor failure is pretty common, and the symptoms are a/c or heat is stuck on. It's common for the blower to blow hard in a futile attempt to obtain the settings that you enter, but it literally can't because the door is stuck. The motor is like 60-70 bucks from dealer. I got mine at Nissan Parts Deal. In addition, I would also get a good thermometer and some A/C manifold gauges so that you can test if there is a problem with the A/C / compressor. You need to be able to see high and low side simultaneously so that you can diagnose properly. Do these tests, and get back to us with the results...
You notice a change in the Air Flow from Dash to Floor....If this is the case, there are air door mix.
Did you run a Code Test...what did you come up with?
No, I have not run a code test. I will go to Advance Auto to do that.
A few more bits of information:
1. I am not certain I am hearing the compressor when I press the Auto button. What I do know is that the auxiliary fan starts when I press the Auto button and the auxiliary fan stops when I press Off.
2. The auxiliary fan turns off when I press the Econ button.
3. I can see the belt (I guess that goes to the compressor) and the two pulleys turning.
You notice a change in the Air Flow from Dash to Floor....If this is the case, there are air door mix.
Did you run a Code Test...what did you come up with?
So there is a door that changes which vents air comes out of but there is another door which lets the cold air in. I believe OP is referring to this actuator which would allow for vents to change but would not allow cold air in.
Buddy of mine at work has heat with no AC. He almost paid $800+ for a compressor before I went out and told him that the compressor turns on. Air mix (or blend) door actuator is often an issue. Kind of a PITA to replace if you ask me.
The first thing I would recommend is to run the built in self diagnostic on the a/c controls. I think that may have been what FlaMark was asking. This in something you do yourself, you don't take the car anywhere for this. It is best to do this outside in the daytime, otherwise you will probably get an error 25, sunload sensor.
You will need to know the temperature outside the car and the temperature inside the car for when the temperature sensor readings are displayed. Test 3 takes a while to run, so don't panic and think the test died.
Another thing you can do is to look and see if the air mix door is working. Get down in the passenger side footwell and remove the plastic cover that is on the end of the ECU. Turn the ignition to the ON position (you don't have to start the car) and change the temperature setting on the heater controls. Watch the arm that operates the air mix door. It should move when you change the temperature setting.
If there is no movement, you will have to figure out if the motor is bad or the heater control panel is bad.
Some where you said that you could not hear the a/c compressor click on. Sorry, that is hardly an all-inclusive test. You need to look at the compressor to see if it is running.
Last edited by DennisMik; 09-19-2016 at 02:03 PM.
Reason: posted wrong photo
Unfortunately I need to go out of town tomorrow for 10 days, but I will follow your instructions when I return.
In preparation, I was checking the internet for the air mix door (part number 271812y900) and it is discontinued. If that turns out to be the problem, I have no idea where I will find one. I had both Nissan and Infiniti do a nationwide search and I called a least 10 other online places. No one has the part.
The air mix door motor (part number 277422y960) while also discontinued, I was able to locate.
Being I know absolutely nothing about cars, I have two questions:
1. While looking at the compressor, how do I determine if it is running?
2. The mechanic who has working on the car has been very good diagnosing problems for the past 16 years. Is it difficult for a good mechanic to determine if the heater control panel is bad?
I have not heard of the air mix door itself going bad, it is usually the motor. The control panel usually doesn't go bad.
Contact this place, the phone number is in the top right corner. They usually put a notice on the page when the part is out of stock, but they don't have a notice (yet).
To see if the compressor is running, you look at the pulley where the fan belt goes around it. Look at the center of the pulley, not the edge. The edge is always turning when the engine is running, but the center only turns when the compressor is running.
Your mechanic should have the procedure for testing the control panel if that is needed. It should be on the service manual DVD that he should have subscribed to, just like he should have the instructions for the self diagnostic..
09-18-2016, 05:28 PM
