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My feet have been cold this winter with the chilly tempertures we have been having here in Colorado.
There is plenty of air blowing from the dash vents so at least my fingers stay warm.
Is this vacum hose controling all of the settings? Everything else seems fine except for the floor vents.
Has anyone found the hose in bulk sincelast summer?
Any clues on a gas gauge that will vibrate, drop to emopty and then raise all the way to above full again?
Thanks again!!
Fuel gauge problems are ususally linked to the sending unit which I believe is in the tank with the fuel pump assembly. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong. At some point your fuel pump is going to go out on you, it is another free option that GM builds into all their trucks. At that time have the sending unit replaced also unless there is another fix for your gauge.
My 2001 GMC Safari also had no heat from some outlets.Sometimes they would finally open up.You told me where to look for that tiny plastic vacuum line by the AC unit and where to look on the intake manifold. Sure enough the line was brittle and leaking by the engine.Nappa Auto sells 3' lengths of the plastic tubing(1/8")and the old fittings just pull out.I did cover the engine end of the tubing with larger rubber tubing too.and routed it over top by the air cleaner.
Hardest part was getting the doghouse off.
Total repair cost $4.00
Thank you
My creative fix was to remove the small original tubing from the rubber fittings at each end and used 1/8" drip irrigation tubing (which I had plenty of) to push into each rubber end fitting, re-route over the air filter away from extreme heat and...success. Thanks for all the helpful 'posts'!
My problem started with slow reaction on the vent lever, shifting it from position to position. This lasted for a couple of months, now it will not shift from AC to one of the upper positions (vent, blend, window) at all.
On my car there are two hoses, not one. One black and one white that runs as described in previous postings over to the driver's side where it seems to go through the wall together with all the electrical wires into the cabin under the dashboard. They are both plenty long enough for alternate routings, and they are not even close to any hot parts that could make them melt.
Opening the HVAC console (two screws), engine not running, and moving the lever, I could clearly hear the sound of vacuum shifting positions. The two vacuum hoses leading in to the console are one green and one black. They both seems to be OK. I disconnected them, and could clearly hear the suction, and feel it as well, closing the tube ends with my finger.
Any ideas?
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Has anyone done this, or does anyone have a diagram I can look at to see what I am doing wrong?
Thanks,
Ted
I read in these forums about the vacuum line running from the vacuum ball to the back of the manifold. I checked that line, and it was fine. It had been replaced with
black "fuel injection" fuel line instead of the very thin plastic line mentioned in previous posts. I had good vacuum at the "tee" connector that goes to the ball, and also goes to a thin black plastic line that disappears into the wire harness bundle and comes out to the "climate control selector switch" connecting to a "Y" connector tube (green in color). No vacuum at that end. To confirm that was the problem, I ran a piece of the same fuel line (with doghouse removed) from the "T" at the ball to the green "Y" in dash.
Wonderful air began blowing out the face vents again! Yahoo!
I then snipped off the end of the OEM thin tube at the ball end, and put it in the fuel line. I replaced that end to the "T" and reconnected to the ball. I routed the new hose along the same route as the main wire harness in the engine compartment and drilled a hole just big enough for the fuel line to fit thru in the firewall right next to the cable that opens the hood. (It is located right behind the climate control area in the dash near the doghouse opening) I used another piece of the old thin tube to make a splice to the fuel line and the green "Y" tube. It now works great.
All that said for the next guy, my new problem is this. When I select ANY setting on the selector switch other than vent, I hear the flaps redirecting air to the right places, but it causes the compressor on the A/C unit to continually click on and off, which also drags the engine down on each ON cycle. It's as if all other positions are now sending a signal to turn on the compressor.
I know this was long, but any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Chris
The problem is stated in the last paragraph of Post #124, so I will not repeat it here. I will restate that this is on a '95 GMC Safari with 4.3L "W" engine.
I found out that the compressor kicking on and off is due to low freon levels, and there is a low level sensor that cuts off the compressor to keep it from burning up. I had a freon recharge kit that I had bought for my '92 Safari, but never used. It came with 3 cans of 134a freon and a gauge to show freon levels. This gauge hooks to the low pressure side of the A/C system.(Read instructions of similar kits for location of low pressure valve in your vehicle).
The gauge would jump up and down with the cycling of the compressor, so I was unable to get a steady reading (This is with the engine running and the A/C on Max)
I found out that if you remove the connector for the low pressure sensor, which on my van was located on the back side of the accumulator(a silver cylinder a little bigger than a soda can on front passenger side of engine compartment at about 11 o'clock.),also the same place my low side fitting was located, at about 5 o'clock.
Remove this connector an short between the 2 female pins of the connector (I used a paper clip bent into a horseshoe shape) This will keep the compressor running all the time.
The gauge now clearly showed that the freon was low. I added 1-1/2 cans (approx 18oz) of freon, and VIOLA, COLD air. It has been about 3 days now and still OK. I will check in about a week and see if the gauge still reads good, or if I still have a leak. The kit I bought had 134a refrigerant,oil and a leak stopper built in. Hopefully it works!!
Hope this helps some other HOT person down the road!
Good Luck!
Please help
I am not a mechanic, but I stayed in a Holiday Inn Express last night! My guess is you still have a vacuum leak at either the "T" connector that goes to the vacuum ball, or the vacuum ball itself is cracked or the line is not connected to it. From what I understand, that vacuum ball is made to hold enough vacuum to compensate for changes in the engine speed, and keep the vacuum at a constant. The only other thing I can think of is that one of the lines is getting pinched somewhere during acceleration and torque of the motor.
These are just guesses, If I've stated something incorrectly, someone with more expertise please straighten me out. Good Luck!
Gotta love these American vehicles and their magicly disintegrating rubber and plastic. Everythin made out of plastic under the hood is super brittle now and is starting to break off in little pieces everytime I lean on or touch it. I will recheck the vacuum lines and try to reach the ball somehow. Thanks again I appreciate your post,
Randy
Also, the rear heat wont come on at all.
good luck, it's getting to damn cold to be messing with no heat!!!
If anyone has found a solution, I would be very interested to hear it.
fender wall and a skinny plastic line that went into a wire bundle. I replaced that line, but it didn't help. Any other ideas?
Need more info on whether you have a possible stuck thermostat, and no heat, or your blower isn't blowing the heat thru the right vents, or the blower doesn't blow at all?
Would love to help, it's too damn cold!! (Even though we went from the teens last week, to 73 today. I actually rode my Harley all day yesterday with just a jacket. That's St. Louis weather for ya!!)
Also, if anyone knows how to test if the rear heat control valve is working, let me know. I believe I found it on the pass side in the engine compart. bolted to the AC Evap housing, but cannot tell if its not working. Is a plunger visible? Can I push or pull it? I am just so sick of no heat. :sick:
Dallas weather is pretty crazy too, we go from low 30s to high 70s in the course of a couple of days! Wish I had my Gold Wing running! Know much about [non-permissible content removed] carbs? :-)
Thanks!
Alex