The "Help! My a/c quit!" post - Page 4 - Maintenance and Repair Forum

Forum Post / Reply
You must log in before you can post or reply to messages.
Re: A/C problem 99 Z24
Tuesday, September 25, 2007 10:08 AM
my a/c stops blowing completed (like if i had shut if off) and the abs, brake and low track lights come on the dash and sometimes my check engine light comes on...all i do is put in neutral and rev the engine and then it starts back up again


"Sunfire got stolen, all i have is the J to remember it by"

Re: A/C problem 99 Z24
Wednesday, September 26, 2007 6:59 AM
oh and when it dies i hear a bing or ringing sound....like the echo of a small bell but its really sharp


"Sunfire got stolen, all i have is the J to remember it by"
Re: A/C problem 99 Z24
Wednesday, September 26, 2007 12:30 PM
Jean Aka DJ Kaanco wrote:my a/c stops blowing completed (like if i had shut if off) and the abs, brake and low track lights come on the dash and sometimes my check engine light comes on...all i do is put in neutral and rev the engine and then it starts back up again


Sounds like an alternator/battery/charging system issue.




1989 Z24 Convertible - Dust Covered
2006 tC - Dust Covered, but driven more
Re: A/C problem 99 Z24
Saturday, September 13, 2008 7:22 PM
time for me to ask an a/c question

alright well i drive a 2001 z24 5spd cav.

when i first turn my car on the a/c works great for anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes. then it just stops completely.

so i figured screw it and i just drove with the windows down but left the a/c on. whenver i would come to a stop it would still remain off. but as soon as i start moving (up to about 2k rpm) it kicks back on then back off. also it would randomly will come on while driving and give a nice ice cold blast of air then shut back off within a minute.

i have no leaks and the refrigerant is filled. any ideas?



Eat my shift
Re: A/C problem 99 Z24
Thursday, October 02, 2008 1:27 PM
well thanks for allthe help guys....

i ended up finalyl gettign under the dash and it turns out it was my blower motor. replaced it and everythign works again



Eat my shift
Re: A/C problem 99 Z24
Tuesday, February 24, 2009 6:58 PM
I have a 1998 Caviler 4 door with the 2200(NOT 2.2L) and auto.I recently replaced every electrical component associated with the AC.I still can't get power to my compressor.Took in to a GM certified repair shop and they told me that the pcm(computer) was bad.Seems that the pcm controls the AC and it's electrical ground.This is to cut power to the compressor when the throttle is in the wide open position.I live in a mountainous area so I am constantly running wide open to get up the hills.Seems this caused the grounds to burn out in the pcm.I am an ASE certified mechanic,but I was certified back when OBDI was starting to show up.All this new stuff is getting entirely to complicated for the old timers and shade tree hacks.I like the old switch and relay systems of the days gone by.

1998 Cavalier sedan base 2200 3 speed auto
Re: A/C problem 99 Z24
Thursday, May 07, 2009 6:43 PM
Sometimes when I push the button for the AC to come on, the truck makess high pitched whinning noise then kills. It will start right back up only if I turn the AC off, but when I turn it on again it does the same thing. Im trying to add freon to it, could it be that I'm adding it too fast???? Please help, I dont know bout ya'll but down here in New Orleans it is HOT as hell and its only getting hotter. I need my AIR!
Re: A/C problem 99 Z24
Tuesday, June 23, 2009 5:52 PM
So does my '99 2.2L have an orifice tube or an expansion tube?

My issues is that all I am getting is hot air out of the vents. Suction and discharge sides are within correct pressures, compressor clutch is engaging, fan comes on but not one bit of cold air out of the vents! Any ideas?


J
Re: The
Friday, August 21, 2009 2:22 PM
Fox wrote:Low refrigerant is the majority of no cooling on gm cars. This is the quick and easy way to check it. Open your hood. Crank your car. Turn on your a/c, turn fan to highest setting. Look at clutch on A/C compressor and see if the head is spinning. If the center is not spinning, try this. Find the accumulator, it is the silver canister on the left hand side of the engine compartment with hoses tied to it. There is a little plastic thing sticking out of the side of it. This little jewel is known as the low pressure cut off switch or LPCO. This small switch is a pressure switch and when the refrigerant level gets too low, it kills the clutch drive on the compressor. Why? because the refrigerant acts as a coolant for the compressor along with the oil. IF there is a leak or blockage, little or less freon is being fed to the compressor. If the switch didn't cut off the compressor, the compressor will overheat, expand, and lock up. Same as if you run your engine with no oil or no antifreeze/water. Friction and heat will fuse it locked. Back to the switch. Undo the wiring harness to it, usually a little plastic clip. If unplugged the canister will have two prongs sticking out of it. Now, the wiring harness still in hand, take a piece of wire (14 gauge or pretty thick) cut the wire about 10 inches long and strip the coating off the wire on both ends about an inch. Take the wire and insert it into the wiring harness, one end on one side where the prong went in and one on the other side of the wire where the prongs went in. IF the compressor clutch engages it means you have low refrigerant pressure, a.k.a. low charge. This should be done only for a short time, do not jump it out and leave it this way. Or like said above, you'll burnout the compressor. You have narrowed it down to low charge, a restriction in the line somewhere (like putting your finger on the end of a garden hose, water coming through but not enough to maintain proper pressure) or a bad low pressure cut off switch. This is the majority of the problem and the best starting point. If the compressor isn't running nothing else matters. Do this little check and it will save you alot of trouble. You can do this as well to help pull a vacuum to charge the system. Not the best way to do it, but when your on a budget like most, it's all you got. I hope this helps people save alot of time (AND hopefully alot of money). Just remember, think simple. Getting power, not electrical.


I have a 1997 Sunfire SE with the 2.4. I just took my car to get the a/c system recharged after replacing the compressor. The service technician said he could not find the low pressure cut-off, and therefore could not finish recharging the a/c. I am supposed to bring the car back Monday so they can continue looking for it. He even showed me the Alldata diagram of where it was supposed to be, which showed it was along the silver hard line running from the accumulator/receiver dryer across the firewall. I looked myself and also could not find the low pressure cut-off. Please, somebody help me find this thing so I don't have to pay them to keep looking for it! Thanks!




I can't type in cursive!
Re: The
Saturday, August 22, 2009 7:41 PM
Bump. Help!


I can't type in cursive!
Re: The
Sunday, August 23, 2009 7:09 AM
the low pressure runs on top of the pulleys. it usually has a blue cap.
the fitting is smaller than the high pressure one.
the high pressure has a black cap and should be towards the front of the car.
i think it's under, next to the radiator. just follow the hoses. you're bound to find it. we don't have many hoses running everywhere.





Re: The
Monday, September 07, 2009 6:49 PM
Good evening:

The cut-out is a switch, not a charging connector.

Behind the V-5 compressor there is a switch which is either a HPCO (High Side Cut Out) or a HSLP (High Side Low Pressure). It should have continuity with the engine off.

If your system has a V-5 compressor, it is a VDOT (Variable Displacement Orifice Tube) Systems, which are sensitive to refrigerator charge quantity. It needs to have a proper vaccum and then it must be charged by weight. Once it is working properly, you should get an outlet temp. of 7 -9 Centifˇgrade (45 F - 48 F) at highway speeds, blower at 1 or 2 and recirculation (Max postion).

VDOT systems do not have a pressure switch connected to the Acumulator.

See: http://www.acdelco.com/pdf/appcat_buyers/typical_VDOT.pdf

Regards,
AC Delco A/C information
Monday, September 07, 2009 7:10 PM

Check these links from Ac Delco about A/A:

Where it says "Pictures / Illiˇustartin Guide" select the several topics:

http://www.acdelco.com/parts/air-conditioning/ac_catalog.jsp

For example for typical GM Systems:

http://www.acdelco.com/pdf/appcat_buyers/typical_GM_AC_system.pdf

Rerards,
Re: AC Delco A/C information
Monday, April 12, 2010 3:44 PM
Hoping someone can help me out on this.

My girlfriend has a 2000 Sunfire 2.2. Noticed recently that the A/C wasn't blowing cold (or even cool for that matter). Bought a couple cans of freon and charged the system. The compressor came on almost as soon as the freon hit the lines. Charged it fully and two days (yes, DAYS) later, it's blowing warm again. Ran some dye through the system and the ONLY place I saw dye, was at the low side service port. Bought a new one from O'Reilly's for $10 and replaced it. Charged the system back up (again, compressor came on when freon hit the lines) and it was blowing nice and cold (much colder than the first time I filled it up). That was Sunday. TODAY, my girlfriend sent me a text saying it was blowing warm again. I cannot see ANY dye anywhere at all. Any suggestions as to what's going on?


My Car Domain Page

Re: AC Delco A/C information
Tuesday, April 13, 2010 5:40 PM
scratch that.. found the leak. Freon is pouring of the seal behind the clutch. Yay new compressor -_-


My Car Domain Page

Re: AC Delco A/C information
Thursday, April 15, 2010 11:44 AM
after reading through this thread, one thing i havent seen very frequently as that the cooling fan does play a part in whether or not the a/c will blow cold air. if the compresser engages, your fully charged, but your still blowing warm, check the cooling fan. thats what my problem was. my cooling fan motor was shot. replaced it (fixed the problem with the fuses blowing) and my a/c started blowing cold
91 2.2 conversion
Tuesday, June 15, 2010 11:00 AM
Have a '91 2.2 sedan. The AC needs recharging, but of course needs to go through the R-12 -> R-134a conversion.

Problem is, the conversion kits I've picked up at Autozone don't seem to fit the Low side at all, but fit the High side just fine. Is there something specific I should be getting for it?

The package said "doesn't work for some 91-93 GM vehicles". Looks like this car slid nicely under that.
Re: 91 2.2 conversion
Wednesday, April 20, 2011 8:48 PM
ok heres my problem. just had my motor replaced and i went to charge my ac it took it but pretty slowly. the compressor wont kick on. it is plugged in the fuses and relays are good for everything. the hi side pressure switch is plugge in . the button on the dash is working to. if you push it the fans kick on but no ac clutch. i power probed the relay and on the left side front terminal once probed it kicked on and blows cold air. but thats the only way itll work. its a 96 cavi 2.2 5sp and does not have a low pressure switch on the acumulator. if anyone has any advice on what to check and how please fill me in. thanks
Re: 91 2.2 conversion
Saturday, July 23, 2011 9:45 AM
Another thing that I didn't see mentioned is blockage in the condenser, Example: full of bugs/mud/dirt and whatever else you can find. If the condenser isn't flowing air through it it will not cool the Freon and your A/C won't work properly. This could be the cause of some problems I have seen in this thread, I know they were old posts but most looked to be unanswered. I saw several talking about having A/C driving down the road, but not when idling or at a stop light etc.. This is due to less air movement through the condenser. Cleaning your condenser out may help you there. Wash it out with a garden hose, maybe spray some bug remover on it first if you see alot of those in there.. Do not use a pressure washer, you can bend the aluminum fins way too easily and ruin your condenser. And anyone that is recharging their A/C on their own, remember that your system needs oil! Your A/C compressor needs oil otherwise it can an will go bad. Oil is especially necessary when changing from r12 to 134a because of differences in their composition, and the fact that your likely replacing parts and evacuating the system completely. It only takes a few ounces of oil to lubricate the entire system, you don't want to overfill it. I highly recommend you to stay away from the fill it yourself cans, Using an A/C machine or at least manifold gauges with a keg is way better than the little cans as mentioned in the first post, they only give you one pressure gauge (if that) and that is just not enough to properly fill your system as both low and high side pressure should be monitored, this also does not allow to properly diagnose problems occurring in your system.
Re: 91 2.2 conversion
Tuesday, July 26, 2011 5:47 PM
Any one know if the compressor from a 2.2 will fit a 2.4?
Re: 91 2.2 conversion
Saturday, July 30, 2011 12:38 PM
I would love to help some of you guys. However, based on some of the teminology I see being thrown around here, I feel some of you may not have the knowledge/experience/equipment needed to diagnose these repairs.
Diagnosing an A/C system always begins with a visual inspection, followed by pressure readings, and ends with electrical readings. At that point, you'll have a vast amount of information to flowchart the problem or perform a leak test.
I understand the majority of you are trying to save a buck and reputable shops will charge you less than $80 to:

    Provide a certified HVAC technician for the work performed.
    Diagnose the problem.
    Capture the existing refrigerant, during a vacuum test.
    Refill up to 1lb of refrigerant, if needed

At that point, you can decide if you're willing to pay for or perform the major repairs yourself.

I'm certainly in disgust of those who are intentionally/knowingly venting their refrigerant into the atmosphere. If you are opening your A/C system, without properly capturing, or refilling more than once you fall into this category. Continually throwing refrigerant at the problem is not going to fix it. You need to seek a certified; professional shop, that uses the proper tools. You're wasting money, resources, and doing your part to damage the Ozone.

Re: 91 2.2 conversion
Saturday, July 30, 2011 2:19 PM
LoneRanger wrote:I would love to help some of you guys. However, based on some of the teminology I see being thrown around here, I feel some of you may not have the knowledge/experience/equipment needed to diagnose these repairs.
Diagnosing an A/C system always begins with a visual inspection, followed by pressure readings, and ends with electrical readings. At that point, you'll have a vast amount of information to flowchart the problem or perform a leak test.
I understand the majority of you are trying to save a buck and reputable shops will charge you less than $80 to:

    Provide a certified HVAC technician for the work performed.
    Diagnose the problem.
    Capture the existing refrigerant, during a vacuum test.
    Refill up to 1lb of refrigerant, if needed

At that point, you can decide if you're willing to pay for or perform the major repairs yourself.

I'm certainly in disgust of those who are intentionally/knowingly venting their refrigerant into the atmosphere. If you are opening your A/C system, without properly capturing, or refilling more than once you fall into this category. Continually throwing refrigerant at the problem is not going to fix it. You need to seek a certified; professional shop, that uses the proper tools. You're wasting money, resources, and doing your part to damage the Ozone.


I do agree with you here, not everyone knows exactly what is going on inside an A/C system or what the proper way is to fix it. I also get that they want to save some money and do it themselves. Equipment is the biggest issue. Almost noone has their own A/C machine in their garage, and only a few more even have manifold gauges. And to some it may not be cost effective to take it to a shop. I have known some places that have taken refrigerant out of a full system to replace a part, and then charged the full price per pound to put it back in, then found another problem, and again evaccuated the system and charged them again to re fill it which is plain stupid, especially with the price of refrigerant going sky high now (because they are sending it all to japan to cool the reactors) Many car dealerships have been going to a salvage yard that I frequent to evaccuate the systems in the junk cars because they can't always get a good supply from their distributors.

And also, ANYONE can become HVAC Certified, All you have to do anymore is send for the test and study book, fill out the open book test, and send it in along with 15 dollars to get your little piece of paper and your certification card. So there is a difference between someone that is just certified, and someone who knows what they are doing.
Re: 91 2.2 conversion
Wednesday, September 03, 2014 1:24 PM
1998 Cavalier V5 compressor.I replaced everything but the evaporator.New compressor,lines,orifice tube,accumulator,and condenser.I added 8 ounces of oil to the system.4 ounces in the compressor and four ounces in the suction line.I vacuumed down the system to 28Hg for 45 minutes.Held vacuum for 30 minutes before I started charging the system.The system calls for 1.50lbs, or 68kg, of 134a.I closed off the high side on my manifold gauges.I connected my can tap and the system sucked in one 12 ounce can.I turned on the ac system to recirculate the air, and low fan speed.The compressor and the radiator fan started immediately. I had a pressure reading of 20 Low and 130 high.So I started feeding the second 12 ounce can.It took all of that can and pressures settled in at 39 low and 220 high.Ambient temp was 85F with a vent temp varying around 42F to 45F.The air was cold for a couple days, and now the air is cool, but never really gets cold.55 to 60 at the vent with the fan on low, on an 80 degree day.I can't find any leaks by way of dye and the pressures are still good.The door to block off air from outside the air box is operating properly and closes when the setting is on air recirculate.The condenser doesn't get hot.It does get warm to the touch.I'm guessing high 80sF.The fan really moves a lot of air through the condenser and radiator.The reason for the repair was for a suspected bad compressor clutch coil.It turned out to be a bent pin on the compressor electrical connector.The system should be clean.The oil that can out of the old lines,accumulator,compressor,and condenser was all clean.Nothing but clean air,and a little oil mist, came out of the evaporator when I blew compressed air through it.The original orifice tube was clean also.I can't figure out if I got a bad compressor or I possibly added to much oil.The indirections that came with the new compressor said to add all 8 ounces of the PAG150 oil to the compressor and suction side or condenser.I've put about 300 miles on the car since the AC work and about 50 of that the AC worked properly.Just an FYI,my car has one pressure switch on the high side which tells the EEC to power the AC clutch and fan on.I will ass-u-me that it will also shut down in the event of a high pressure problem.

1998 Cavalier sedan base 2200 3 speed auto
Forum Post / Reply
You must log in before you can post or reply to messages.

 

Start New Topic Advanced Search