Air Conditioner stopped working - Does not need charged/freon

micayla

My air conditioner stopped working a month ago. It does not need charged. I was halfway through a 15 hour drive when I noticed that the driver's side air had started blowing warm. About 45 minutes later, the passengers side started blowing warm as well. All of the vents blow air, the displays and buttons all work for increasing, descreasing fan, etc, the air just blows hot instead of cool.

Does anyone have any suggestions of what could be wrong? To just have it looked at and not serviced whatsoever will cost me $75, so I'd like to have a list of possible problems for the mechanic to check so that I don't get overcharged to fix something that actually isn't the problem.

Mr_Shiftright

Could be the AC compressor clutch. Can you tell if the compressor clutch is actually engaged with the AC on? If the front pulley is standing still then it's a no-go and you'll have to diagnose why the clutch will not engage. If it's not low on refrig then the clutch electrics could be bad. On some AC compressors you can replace the clutch and on others, only the entire compressor.

imidazol97

micayla said:

It does not need charged.

How do you know it does not need to be charged? Have you had a quality set of gauges
on it to measure high and low side pressures?

Are you sure the compressor clutch is being engaged?

micayla

I was told that because of the manner in which it stopped working, it wasn't typical of a system that just needed recharged. Is checking the clutch something that I can do myself (as someone who is not familiar with the intricate details of automotives) or is that something I would need to bring it into a shop to have checked?

imidazol97

With the engine not running, open the hood and look for a device like this that the serpentine belt goes around. Often it's low and on the front of the engine.




Then start the engine with your AC heater controls OFF, and the outside of the pulley will be turning but not the triangular inner part. Turn the AC on with fan on high and then look again to see if the triangular inner part is turning.

If inner triangle is NOT TURNING, most likely the system has lost its freon and the safety switch has turned off the compressor to protect the parts in the system.

Remember to not reach or touch because the moving belt is hazardous to be near.

My thinking is that the fact that one side of the ducts lost some cooling may indicate a low freon charge before the system had gotten so low it couldn't cool at all or the compressor was turned off.

gmcustsvc

micayla said:

I was told that because of the manner in which it stopped working, it wasn't typical of a system that just needed recharged. Is checking the clutch something that I can do myself (as someone who is not familiar with the intricate details of automotives) or is that something I would need to bring it into a shop to have checked?

Hey micayla,

We're very sorry to learn you're having air conditioning issues and we know it's especially important to have this working during the warm summer months. I understand you're contemplating making repairs yourself. Although we're unable to offer any technical advice, we're happy to work along with your dealership during the repair process if this is something you chose to do. Please keep us posted and feel free to PM us more details along with your VIN and contact information if you'd like to speak further.

Amber N.
GM Customer Care