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If the gauge is truly showing the coolant temp and it's running in the red zone, that new engine won't last. It's pretty much common practice to replace, recore (if possible), or at least check the radiator on an older car when replacing the engine. It's just good practice to do so, since compared to the cost of the engine it's cheap insurance.
Also, if you have the heater on while the A/C is still on, does the A/C Compressor still run, thus having the Evaporator core running alongside the heater core?
An explanation to these questions will help out a lot in doing some work on my car at home.
To warm the air the cooled air is passed through the heater core. A vane in the system makes more of the air go through the heater core or less when less heat is needed.
The air is then directed to the vent, floor, or windshield depending on the control settings.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Want to know since my Civic automatically activates the A/C when windshield defrost setting is set, even if it's winter and I'm using Max Heat setting.
My cars seem to turn off below 45 and 40 outside temperature.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Look under the glovebox area on the right hand passenger side. You might be able to see past the glovebox or take it off. Or take off the hush panel under the dash-three little taps to unscrew.
You should see a rod and white nylon snap in connector coming from a paperback size box angled at the right end of the heater box. The rod may be unsnapped or out of adjustment. The motor controlling it inside the paperback size box may be broken. That box is called the controller.
I believe the lower rod controls the relative temp of the passenger side. At the top of the box is a little electric motor that has a rod to another vane that controls the heat mix temp for both sides.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I don't think a system holds 5 lbs of freon. I believe mine only holds 1.75 lbs. But if adding the freon worked, that's great.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
t
theres a tag under the hood that states that this a/c will run with either r-12 or r134(?).
on the large cyclinder is a screw on cap where r12 can be hooked up and on the larger line is set for r134.
so what gives?
have never heard of this before.
theres a tag under the hood that states that this a/c will run with either r-12 or r134(?).
on the large cyclinder is a screw on cap where r12 can be hooked up and on the larger line under the cap you can use either r12(screw) or r134 (clip/snap).
so what gives?
have never heard of this before.
second time around 2
I have a recurring problem with my '02 mazda 626. I bought it new from the dealer. First summer was rather cool here in Seattle, so I don't remember complaining about the AC. Second summer it was blowing air the same temp as just the fan with AC button off. Took it to the dealer. They said it was out of refrigerant. They were very surprised, considering that the car was new and said they typically see this after an accident. My car has never been in one that I know of. They refilled the system and changed a small hose, which they thought was touching another part under the hood, possibly rubbing enough to cause a leak. They also assured me that they replaced it in such a way that it will not be a problem again. Next summer (last), same problem. Blows air, just not cold. Back at the dealership they refused to examine it for free claiming that it is a different problem. I gave up on them ( probably shouldn't have) and went to a friend. He checked the system for leaks and found none, however the refrigerant level was low and he topped up. Worked like a charm after that, until this spring. Our first warm day and no AC. It is about 60 outside. The car sat in the sun in the lot for hours and I turned the AC on to cool it off for the kids. No luck.Drove home on I-5 for about 20 min -- no cold. I know now what it's like when Ac is full. It gets cold fast. Has anyone had a invisible leak like this before? No one seems to find the way the refrigerant goes. My car has under 30K miles on it and was bought new. The maintanance cost so far has greatly exceeded all my expectations. I can't be replenishing the Ac system every year!!!! If you have any advice on what to look for , please let me know.
thanks
I found that the switch itself (the one that screws to the accumulator housing) was bad! The good thing is that a schrader valve keeps the system pressure and you can just replace the switch with no loss of coolant. I bought a good shop manual well woth the $20....
When I switch the a/c or heat on I don't hear the compressor switch on. There's also a bad knocking sound that I think is coming from the compressor. I was told that may be a loose bearing in the compressor. Any ideas? Thanks in advance.
Its a wonderful vehicle except the AC issue.
Thanks
Chris
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I have a 1993 Mitsubishi Diamante,i Have a problem with my heat when it cold outside say about 30 degrees, my heat will not come on, not the blower or nothing. When the car warms up about 15 minutes the heat will come on. I have taken it to different places even the dealer they could not fix the problem. It seems like no ones knows how to fix the problem. I've had the heater control replaced. I don't know what else to do. Help! I Really love my car.
According to the owner's manual, "When in AUTO, the air conditioning compressor will come on automatically, as necessary". I don't recall seeing anything lit up on the control panel display when the AUTO system was working correctly. However, when the problem started, "A/C Off" would indicate on the control display. I usually could reset it by turning off the climate control and restarting it by pressing AUTO. Not any longer!
The A/C seems to work fine when the car is first started; after a few minutes, the cold air ceases, and it starts to smell "musty". It may then kick back to cold in a few minutes, or not for awhile. Once when I floored the car to pass on a two-lane highway, the cold air came back on! However, now that doesn't happen.
To fix my car, it appears that the service folks overroad the auto setting by pushing the A/C button--the "A/C on" is now lit up all the time on the control display panel. It worked fine for awhile, but now it stops producing cold air, even though the "A/C On" is lit up on the control panel. I even got the "A/C Off" to light up for a short time, and did not press any button! It will sometimes cycle the air back to cold, but when that musty smell starts, I know the cold air is done!
It never did that before when in AUTO. For manual A/C operation, my owner's manual says "Press this button to override the automatic system and turn the air conditioning system on or off. When A/C is pressed, an indicator light in the button will come on to let you know that it is activated". The "snowflake" button does NOT light up. And, the "A/C On" does not always readily light on the control display. I usually have to turn the car off and then press the A/C button immediately upon restart to get it to indicate "A/C On" in the display, but, cold air does not always come out of the vents!
The dealer got no codes when hooked up to diagnostics. I believe they are stumped as well. I have used this forum to address other issues, and my dealer is anxious to see what you folks suggest. I apologize for the long post, but if someone can help, it would be most appreciated!
Thanks, Bryan
The problem is different than the older models before 00 when the programmer was vacuum operated. The newer ones are electrical. Your dealer should be able to find what's happening if it's giving the problem as often as it sounds like it does. Let them give you a loaner and drive yours a couple of days so it can happen when they ahve the techII hooked up to it.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Anyway, the musty smell is only for a couple of seconds, and now that you have explained it, happens as the A/C compressor quits and the coils warm back up. The car had no such odor until the A/C started acting up. Also, I left the car for three days with them, and I think what they did was start it each day and drive it around the lot/local roads for a few minutes. The problem usually takes longer than that to manifest itself. If nothing else, I am patient. And, owning 4 GM cars, I can let them have the Bonny another week or so, no problem. That's how I finally got my sunroof rattle properly diagnosed--the service manager commuted in the car for a week. And I must say, other than the sunroof rattle and this latest A/C issue, the car has been great.
When I go back on Friday, I will be armed with a lot more info that I had. The more I have read on this thread makes me think my dealer will be able to solve the problem--I'll just "help" them with some good 'ol Edmunds knowledge. Thanks again for your input.
You say that it works fine when you first turn it on, but then quits after some time. With all ACC systems I have seen they run in "max" or "recirculate" mode when you first turn them on, then switch over to fresh air mode when the temperature approaches your setting. This switchover is almost always done by a vacuum solenoid that mechanically moves a door to direct the input air from inside or outside the car, inside being the max position and outside the fresh air position. If the valve is leaky or the control for the valve it can cause the problem your talking about. This can happen with the vacuum leak not causing any other noticable problems with the car since they usually have a one way valve installed in the vacuum source to keep it that way.
The time you said it worked when you sped up to pass on the highway could have been caused by the vacuum jumping up when you let off the gas after passing.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Was the weather in the 40s when this happened? The AC runs down into the 40s before it cuts off the compressor due to low outside temps. It also would cut off if the charge of freon is low and that pressure has dropped below the minimum required to operate the system (that's another way of protecting the system besides the power train module sensing outside temps too low for AC compressor operation. Too little freon would mean your car would drop pressure after the compressor squeezes it into the high side lines and condensor and that would turn off the compressor for a while. Then the freon going through the expansion value into the evaporator would raise the pressure on the low side and the system would turn the compressor back on.
I'll spend some quality time with my service manual later today with a cup of decaf and see what I come up with on the controls. I still think the TechII info will catch the problem--but it might be certain outside, ambient temps at which it's happening. Checking the total freon charge may not be easy, however, without evacuating and refilling these days.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
p.s. I live in Phoenix, so humidity is so low that there won't be much moisture in the air.
I think it would be best to pay someone to evacuate and refill.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I also spent some time looking back at some messages on this thread and thought the problem described in messages 25 and 30 (different type of car) was similar to my situation. I printed that out along with Mr. Shiftright's response (message 26) which indicated "Sounds like the a/c clutch is cycling off and on, so the problem could be electrical and has nothing to do with freon charged or coolant". And my dealer told me after the last visit that the freon charge level was okay. I'm taking several printed pages on Friday to the dealer from this thread that have a few other potential suggestions for them to explore. Your comment "The dealer should be using it with a TechII to tell them if the AC off button is indeed requesting "off" or "on."" really caught my attention, and I will be sure to bring that detail to the dealer's attention as well.
Hopefully, that will help them fix the problem. The car is warrantied for six years/60K, so I have four years and 41K more miles left I really appreciate your time, effort and extensive knowledge. Folks like you on this board provide invaluable service. Thanks again.