Buick LeSabre Heating / Cooling

sturigs_larry

My 93 Buick LaSabre thinks the external temperature is 185 degrees. I am just guessing but I think that is the reason I don't get any heat unless I crank the climate control to the highest setting. The ext. temp numbers went up gradually over a one year period.

There was another post that made me think this might be a grounding problem. Has anyone seen this behavior? Does grounding sound like a possibility? Where would I start to look?

Thanks, Larry

imidazol97

You can try removing the temperature sensor in front of the radiator. It's attached to the center support for the hood latch. The connection may have corroded slowly over time. It also could be the temperature sensor itself.

I have a 98 service manual but I'll look in the 98 service manual for resistance for that sensor. You might pick up a sensor from a junkyard if that's the problem. I'm betting on the connection.

Since you don't complain that the auto control unit isn't doing other things properly I'd suspect the ground is okay for the power to the unit. I believe it grounds through a buss that's next to the driver's seat right at he bottom of the A pillar. it's under the plastic cover rolled over the door frame. I had problems there and the power doors locks wouldn't work and the AC went into a default with the compressor turned on and in defrost for a manual AC unit.

sturigs_larry

I found the sensor and I tried unplugging it and plugging it back in. No change. I'll try leaving it unplugged.

The rest of the climate control stuff seems to work (switches to defrost, panel, etc) except that A/C doesn't blow cold air. I don't know if the system is out of refrigerant or if the compressor never kicks on. Since I live in Michigan I decided I can live without A/C. Unfortunately now the heat doesn't work right!

imidazol97

The temperature sensor should be about 1000 ohms at 70 F and about 3000 at 30 F. You need to take off your hush panel under the passenger side and look at the link move the arm for the temperature control back and forth. The link is from the bottom of the programmer box that controls all these changes. There's a white nylon arm that snaps onto a threaded rod that goes into the heater box and pulls on he vane to change the air flow over the heater and modulate the temperature.

I assume both hoses to your heater core are hot meaning it's not clogged up.

joshlin1932

It seems that my heater control valve is malfunctioning. The control cable may be disconnected, but I cannot find how to get into it. Can you please help me?

Thanks,
John

sturigs_larry

Thank you for all the help. I replaced the temperature sensor and everything started working. $24.50 and I am back in business. Thanks again.

beast76

I recently aquired a 97 buick lesabre limited and it had the passinger side climate contol removed. When I replaced the part it would not light up or do anything. The stange part is that the blower motor for the main a/c stopped working. ANY help would be greatly appreciated. :confuse:

drmrmn

Hi, I just purchased this car used and discovered the drivers side climate control works fine but the two dash vents on passenger side blow hot air when AC is on. Any ideas?
Thanks, Alan

imidazol97

Are you able to work on your own car? Such as under the passenger side?

I'll bet if you take off the hush panel above the passenger's toes and take off the glovebox and watch the two levers move while you change the controls, you will find the lower one that changes the temperature for both works and moves.

If you watch the smaller white, upper arm when you adjust the passenger side, you'll see no movement or erratic movement. You might try moving it to see if the door inside of the heater box is sticking. But most likely the little electric motor in the actuator that moves the white arm is broken or disconnected...

gdt001

I have a 1998 LeSabre and the A/C stopped working. I replaced the compresser just last year. As near as I can tell, the compressor is not ingaging when it is turned on. I checked the fuse at the drivers side and it is OK. I watched the area at the pully and nothing happens when the A/C is turned on and then off.

imidazol97

You probably have lost the freon. The pressure of freon has to be high enough to trigger the switch that's on the tubes under the hood. Remove the electrical connector and short the two leads to make the computer think the freon pressure is high enough. Do this only for a second to see if the compressor turns on. If it does, then you know you have a loss of freon pressure.

And alternative is to use a pressure meter on a charging kit to see how much pressure is on the low side.

gdt001

Thank you imidazo197. I got an email that had the first part of your answer. I tried to short out the electrical connector first but nothing happened. It is located at an awkward place down where the compressor is and the wiring is not long enough to get it in a comfortable position to be sure I was shorting out the right leads. I went to the CarSpace web site and seen the second part of your message. I remembered that last year when the air went out, I bought a kit with two cylinders and a gage. According to the gage, I got a 0 reading. The indicator did not move at all. Tomorrow I'll buy two cylinders of freon and see if it charges. If it does, there has to be a big leak in the system. I'll get the freon that has the dye in it to see if I can find the leak. Thanks so much for your suggestion.

imidazol97

Putting in one should build up some pressure to see if it works. I'd take to the guy who put the compressor on. If you didn't have a leak before, that's most likely place to look for leaks -- where the compressor lines were broke loose or the compressor itself. Then start checking elsewhere. And it has to be vacuumed to install freon correctly so he'll have the right equipment.

gdt001

Thanks again for your prompt answer, I'll do what you said. Do you know a lot about other cars also??I also have a 97 Lincoln Town Car and I need to remove the door panels to get to the door lock actuator on my side and the window motor on the passenger side. I have not been able to figure out how to remove the door panels. Any suggestions. Thanks again.

imidazol97

Have had experience with GMs more.

Search for words lincoln town in the "Search Forums" box on the right side of this page1.

Here is the group for Lincoln Town Car Maintenance and Repair
link title

riteaid

I have a 92 Buick lesabre and sometimes it won't start We have change the plugs and wires .we also have a new battery. It seems to only do it when it's hot. But no engine lights come on. It also has enough fluids. We think it might be the thermostat. What do you think? Also where is the thermostat?? have any pics?

dewc3

I have a 1997 buick lasabre that when i start the car and turn on the air conditioning, the temperature light blinks and for 30 seconds hot air will blow out of the vents. After that time I get the cold air coming out and after a min the temp light stops blinking and i have all the cold air i can stand, now my questions is why is the temp light blinking with the hot air and after a min everything is normal. I was told it was some kind of sensor behind the glove box that controls airflow or something but after talking to the dealer, they said No, that in order to find out why its doing that they have to do dianostics on it to find the problem and to fix it...Anyhelp i can get here is appreciative cause what they want to charge would eat my pocket up :mad:

imidazol97

A first guess would be it's a warning that your freon is low in pressure. The flashing indicator numbers can be a warning about several things as the programmer box does its selfcheck.

What does it do on cooler days when there's no AC on. On some an electric actuator motor that moves the temperature vane can slip. It may cause a clicking sound at first.

Is yours the dual AC with a passenger control also?

dewc3

I have filled the freon to the max adn its checks out ok and yes I have the dual AC with passenger control which that is set on cool or as cold as u can go on that.
On normal days when its cooler outside the temp light still blinks like on hot days even when the air is not on...

imidazol97

If you are interesting in troubleshooting it yourself, you can take off the thin plastic quiet panel above the passenger's foot. I thas about 4-5 screws and taps. Than you can lie ont he floor and look up and see two rods that move when you move the temperature settings. The lower one is the passenger adjustment. The one about 10 inches high and on top of the heater box is the total temp which adjusts the driver and passenger other than the delta temp requested by the passenger.

If you watch these while changing temps on the main dial and passenger dial, you'll see them both move.

I'll bet at startup of the car after sitting, you'll see one of them not move properly all the way that the programmer box is trying to move it. The top one has a little black box with a motor and plastic gears in it and the gears crack allowing the control to slip. The lower one has an actuator motor like the top but it's inside the programmer box itself.

cjleavitt

Hello and thank you to all who help & advise.
I have a 98 Lesabre "Limited" model with the auto climate control system.

Last summer I noticed the MID position would not send air.
I made it through the Winter as I don't use the MId for heat, anyway, but I really need the Mid position to cool off with A/C.

The Floor only, Floor and Windshield work ok. The Floor & Mid only send out through the Floor. The Mid seems blocked or stuck?? I've seen the 4 colored vacuum lines - Green, Orange, Blue & White and the actuators "seem" to be working. In the Mid position, the air does flow through the door channels but nothing come out through the front vents.

I've removed the lower panels from the driver and passenger side to have a "look-see" - but I don't want to start disconnecting and opening-up more than I need to.

Your help would be MOST appreciated.
Thank you.

Chuck Leavitt - cjleavitt@verizon.net

imidazol97

Go above the driver's accelerator and see if the blue line gets vacuum when the unit is set for AC and the motor is running to provide vacuum. If you do get vacuum there the motor that moves the vane might be leaking through its diaphragm or the rotating parts might be jammed inside the heater.

I actually took another color tube off over there and applied it to the AC vanes instead of the blue to be sure they moved.

I believe the blue line is the right one. I can't check right now. It goes to a vane which has an axis of rotation parallel to the dashboard an horizontal. It blocks the movement of air going upward to the defrosters and forces it out.

See more Car Pictures at CarSpace.com

See more Car Pictures at CarSpace.com

The cover for the programmer box unsnaps on one side and can be removed without removing the programmer. The plastic connector slips out of the corner of the box. You CAN cut one one inside and outside and just connect it (both blue in this case) and apply vacuum directly without going through the connector where the black nipples inside closeup with age and heat. Connect using a piece of aquarium tubing or gas line (1/8 inch internal diameter worked for me free from NAPA junk box since I needed only 5 inches... I used about 1 inch long piece.).

tlaman

When I set climate control to have A/C on, the air that comes out of the vents is not cold. It is slightly warm. Under the hood, the compressor and lines are very cold. I thnk the problem is with the vent control. When this first happened, I could adjust the passenger heat/cold delta control to cooler and the air out of the passenger vent gets slightly cooler than the driver side. Now, I can't tell if there is a difference. Any ideas on what might be wrong and ow to troubleshoot/fix problem?

imidazol97

The 2002 unit is operated by electric actuators. I believe the passenger actuator is on the right side and the whole unit actuator is on the driver's side. I have picked this up from reading.

I suggest searching further on the net. Also spend some quality time with the hush panels off under the dash and watch the actuators move when you operate the AC control unit to determine which one and where does what... At least you can do this with the key ON and don't have to have the motor running like the 92-99 system which used engine vacuum to operate motors to move vanes and had two actuators for the blend doors (driver and passenger).

keaco

The automatic climate system is blowing out hot air on the drivers side and cold air on the passenger side during air conditioning when first started. After a half hour or so the system appears to operate normal. Any ideas what the problem could be?

imidazol97

First check freon level. Lots of folk have found that a low level keeps the part of the evaporator cold that the air that ends up on the passenger side goes through while the part supplying air to the driver is warmer than it should be. '

Second is that there is an actuator that affects the blend door from what posters have said. It is the one on the driver's side. You may have to take off the hush panels under the dash to see. You should be able to move things by adjusting the settings while the key is in the ON position.

towney

2000 Le Sabre with just the passenger side AC blowing cold air. It seems when the AC is first turned on the the drivers side starts to blow cold but turns to warm air. I have read here about thew acuators but for the life of me i can't seem to find what I am looking for. Any suggestions on a fix
FYI this has seperate warm or colder control on the passenger side located on door panel. Freon level is normal.

keaco

Thanks for the heads up on the low freon charge. I did not even consider that as the problem, I recharged the system and it works like a champ. Thanks again!

keaco

I was experiencing the same issue. Cold on passenger side and hot on the drivers side with the dual climate control system. Thanks to the suggestion of one the on-liners, my problem has been resolved. The AC compressor was not short cycling like they normally do on a low charge, but was running continuously. I had used only the low pressure gauge on my manifold set and it appeared to be normal between 40 to 45 psig, but then after a second look I hooked up both guages and found the freon charge was low and almost flat. I weighed in the correct amount of freon and that has taken care of the problem. I hope this helps you solve your problem!

imidazol97

Thanks for coming back and letting other users know what worked on your car. It will help others.

peanut12

I have a 2003 Buick LeSabre with an air conditioner problem that the dealer has not been able to repair.

The air conditioner blower rarely comes on when the car is started but after several minutes, sometimes nearly an hour it will began to work.

On other times when it is not working I can make a sharp turn either clockwise or counter clockwise and the blower will begin to work.

When the blower is not working and I drive over a rough stretch of road it will begin to work.

When the blower is working and I stop the car, the blower will slow down almost to the point of stopping.

When driving and the blower is working, it surges, i.e. varies rpm for no apparent reason.

Once the blower begins to work, it will continue to work until I turn the car off.

Any ideas on how I can get the air conditioner repaired?

imidazol97

Has the blower motor been replaced? Otherwise it sounds like a contact in a connector somewhere along the line. That would require tracing and checking them all.

I recall someone who had an erratic blower motor on the same type car after 2000+
and he tookthe motor apart and found a contact was not quite long enough inside the motor. He rebuilt the contact and it worked happily ever after. He felt the motor itself was poorly engineered and that led to the contact wearing too much too early.

He hiimself is an engineer.

That story is why I asked if you had replaced the blower motor. It's inside the car and removed from under the passenger side of the dash. If I recall it has 5 or so screws holding it in place and comes out with a tight fit but is doable.

peanut12

No, the blower motor has not been replaced.

I'm disappointed that the Buick technicians have not been able to repair the problem.

Is there some place I can check to see if other owners have the same problem?

billnmd2006

1994 Buick LeSabre Custom AC/Heater Fan will not work.Manual control system. We took out the inside control the fan will not work. Mechanic had an old one from junk yard the fan worked but no other buttons worked on that unit, I bought a new fan control switch we put that in and it still did not work! All the lights light up on the control except the fan control. What can the problem be???

billnmd2006

taa36

I changed my battery then my heater quit working on my 98 buick lesaber, the heater display flashes and no heat comes out, fan still works but dose not blow through vents. Can anyone help??? thanks

imidazol97

Is the air coming out the defroster vents?

That would indicate there's a vacuum problem. When there's no vacuum the default is defrost for safety to be able to clear the windshield.

You can check the vacuum line (black plastic, 1/4 in) that goes to the vacuum tank in front of the right front wheel behind the headlights. You have to be on the gound looking up to find it. With the motor on or just turned off pulling off the connector should give a whoosh as air rushes in. It should hold vacuum for 30 seconds after motor is off (or more).

You should be able to switch buttons on the controls inside with the motor running and hear the vanes inside the box move; same if motor just turned off so it's easier to hear the movement noises.

The flashing is most likely because you didn't turn off the heater controls with the switch ON before you disconnected the battery. The unit does a check for positions of the vanes and it probably cracked the actuator gears as it went full off and then full on.

BUT first find the vacuum. The source is next to the big hose that goes to the brake booster on the firewall; the big hose connects to the intake manifold on the backside and if I recall the little tube connects beside it. Follow that black plastic vacuum tube to the Y connector next to the AC dryer. You may have to take off the cover over the relay center that has a couple of clips holding it; it covers the area you want to look at. The vacuum line runs through bundles with the electrical wires so you can't see it all.

The Y sends the line to the vacuum storage up front and the other side goes to the inside of the car. Most likely your problem is in the front of the car, not inside.

imidazol97

I'd need to check a factory service manual but there is a relay on the firewall for the high speed only power to the blower fan. There is a relay for the interior, lower three speeds--I believe, don't hold me to that.

You really need to see a factory service manual.

If you have a library that's part of a fairly good one, call to see if they have AllData on their library computers. Our county-wide system does, but it's not accessible from home computers like most of the databases and info services. I have to go to the local branch and use their terminal. I can save pages and pictures onto my USB memory stick. I can print out things there if I want.

You can buy factory service manuals used that are authentic Helm GM manuals on Ebay, but you need to do some comparisons from year to year and seller to determine what's the real appearance of the Helm manual for that year.

They are available new form helminc.com for about $125.

You need to find out where power for the buttons is supplied through what fuses and relays.

Warriorlady

Hi,

This past summer I had to replace the manual AC/Heater Control Unit C-60 with rear window defogger switch. I found a used one on ebay. I finally had AC but now I find that the defrost isn't that strong or hot and the defogger switch doesn't work.
My heat works fine.

I know that the control panel only controls the fan, but did the mechanic do something with the temperature or is it just an old car wearing down?

I am having a hard time finding info and was told that I can replace just the defogger switch and that it plugs into the new controls. Is this correct and do you have a part number or photo? Or do I have to replace the whole thing again?

Since the parts are no longer available, no one seems to be able to find part numbers on computers. Hope you can help me.

Thanks.

Michael8087

I have been having heating problems all winter with the heater. It will blow hot air when it wonts to then right back to cold and back and forth.My heater fan is fine. I have flushed to heater core, put new thermostat in changed the coolant nothing helps. My ignition switch was acting up the car wouldn't start some times ma by take 50 trys and then start. I instiled new crank sensor not the problem. So I had a new key made $21.45 so that fixed the cranking problem.

I cant figure out the heating problem. I have worked on my on cars all my life 35 years now days thy are getting complicated.

imidazol97

How many miles on the car?
Which HVAC system does it have?
Has the water pump been replaced?
Which type of coolant has been in it?
When it's running and the fan is on HIGH, and you touch both heater hoses next tot he firewall, are they nearly the same temperature or is one noticeably cooler?

Michael8087

How many miles on the car? Yes
Which HVAC system does it have? I dont know
Has the water pump been replaced? Not by me, the car dont get hot
Which type of coolant has been in it? Regular antifreeze
When it's running and the fan is on HIGH, and you touch both heater hoses next tot he firewall, are they nearly the same temperature or is one noticeably cooler? Yes. I have flushed the heater core nothing came out but clean water. I replaced the thermostat put in new antifreeze. The heather will blow hot air for a little while then right back to cold and keep doing this. Sometimes it will stay warm for a good while then right back to cold air. Thanks for any information. Michael

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Michael8087

I for got 177,000 miles

imidazol97

How many miles on the car? 177,000

Which HVAC system does it have?
Does it have a digital readout with numbers? IF so, the actuator motor that moves the temperature vanes inside may be broken and moving the vanes that direct how much air goes over the heater core wrong.

Has the water pump been replaced?
The water pump may have not be working well due to corrosion of the vanes.

Which type of coolant has been in it?
If it had DexCool in it and it had not been changed every 2-3 years or someone added the old type green antifreeze, the DexCool may have been deteriorated and it forms a sludge that can block things.

When it's running and the fan is on HIGH, and you touch both heater hoses next tot he firewall, are they nearly the same temperature or is one noticeably cooler?
This is a symptom of a clogged heater core or poor circulation.

One thing is that you might have an air pocket in the heater core.
After draining antifreeze, when car is at full temperature after being driven 10 minutes or so, run the motor at 2500 rpm for 10 seconds, idle, then repeat up to 5 times. This will move the air out of the heater core.

Check to be sure coolant in the radiator is at full level up to the cap.

sprinterpa

My heater suddenly only blows warm air. Sliding the temperature control to cold does nothing. Where do I start troubleshooting this? Thanks for your help.

imidazol97

Is it automatic temp control with the digital temperature readout or is it manual temperature control where you slide a lever?

Either way you're looking under the dash for an actuator arm that moves a vane inside the heater box. Take off the hush panel under the passenger side. I suggest taking off the glovebox door with about 5 more screws on the hinge. You'll be able to see this

link title

and you're looking for white arm on top of the box, I believe, if it's manual. If it's automatic it has that arm for the driver and the lower arm for the passenger. the lower arm comes out just to the right of the bottom screw marked by two red lines in picture.

Look for both of these arms to move if you turn key ON and change the temperature settings and wait a few seconds>

BTW if auto, does the passenger temp change when pressing buttons on the passenger temp control?

rangerdave19

Some info for those experiencing this problem: (Limited with Auto A/C controls)

Check the vacuum tank connector and tubing behind the front bumper area on the passenger side. While working on my Mom's car trying to fix this problem, I removed the connector from the vacuum tank and it snapped off the tubing instantly. The tubing had become brittle and I believe was leaking vacuum, causing the actuators to not move in their full motion. I reamed out the old tubing stuck in the connector with successively larger drill bits (cordless drill on low speed), then inserted the existing tubing back into the connector. I pushed it back onto the vacuum tank fitting, started the car and the dash vents (MID setting) were again blowing air.

The vacuum tank is clearly visible in front of the passenger tire and behind the bumper. It's about a 4" diameter black tank with black tubing connected to the front of it. I stuck my head under the car about a foot without the need to jack it up. Be careful pulling off the connector to inspect it. The vacuum tank appears to be made of pvc and the fitting on it may be brittle also.

I did this after pulling the programmer from behind the glove box and testing the solenoids and tubing. All appeared to be functioning normally. I then observed the vacuum actuators behind the dash (looking up from underneath the dash) as my wife pushed various buttons on the A/C control unit. The actuator arms moved, but only maybe 1/4" or so. After the vacuum connector was fixed, the actuator arms moved a good 1"-2". Short actuator arm movement would be a good indication of a vacuum leak.

Hope this info helps somebody. It took all of 2 minutes to check the connector and 5 minutes to fix it after it snapped off. A lot easier than taking off the glove box and programmer unit!

Good Luck -
RangerDave19

sprinterpa

It is manual temperature control, not auto.

So far, I've found the actuator and it's linkage and watched it while I moved the temperature control and nothing happens.

So now I need to know how to test the temp. control and how to check the actuator.

Thanks for your help!

imidazol97

Is this what your actuator looks like?



this part is used in these cars in manual AC units.

BUICK LESABRE 1999
BUICK LESABRE CUSTOM (1992 - 1998)
BUICK LESABRE LIMITED (1992 - 1998)
BUICK PARK AVENUE (1991 - 1996)
BUICK PARK AVENUE ULTRA (1991 - 1996)
OLDSMOBILE 88 1999
OLDSMOBILE 88 ROYALE (1994 - 1998)
OLDSMOBILE 88 ROYALE LS (1994 - 1998)
OLDSMOBILE 88 ROYALE LSS 1995
OLDSMOBILE 98 REGENCY (1992 - 1994)
OLDSMOBILE 98 REGENCY ELITE (1992 - 1996)
OLDSMOBILE 98 REGENCY TOURING (1992 - 1993)
OLDSMOBILE LSS (1996 - 1999)
OLDSMOBILE REGENCY (1997 - 1998)

sprinterpa

I haven't pulled it out yet so I'm not sure if it is like that. The top certainly looks correct. Mine has a linkage that connects to another white lever. I pushed and pulled on this gently while moving the temperature control slider but it would not move. I also tried tapping on it with a screwdriver but still now movement.

I'll try to pull it off tonight if I get a chance.

Thanks for your help!

sprinterpa

I fixed the problem! It was the temperature control module . . . the part on the dash with the buttons and the slider. I noticed that I could move the actuator when the key was turned off, but when you turned the key on, the actuator would move back into the same "half heat/half cool" position. A trip to my local salvage yard and $25 later, my problem was fixed!

Thanks to all who posted and helped me with this!