I have searched the threads and found what I thought was the answer to my problem. I have a '99 FRC, the passenger side is blowing colder than the drivers side. In my search I found threads that related to this very problem...kinda. My car doesn't have dual climate. I have read about pulling fuse #27 to reset the actuators. DONE, problem still there. I read about "re-indexing" the gears in the actuator. I plan on doing this Tue evening. The difference is that I'm not getting the two codes under HVAC. As a matter of fact, when I check for codes, I don't have a HVAC code section like in the threads I found related to this problem. So, no codes and the identical problem as others with the codes. Help! It's 102 here in VA today!

 

Had the same problem... replaced the HVAC head unit with a known good unit, but no change.

I bought an entire HVAC system from under the dash to understand what was going on with it. Checked the operation of the dampers, valves, etc...

Turns out, it was just low on charge.

Seriously.

The passenger side cools first, then the drivers side. There isn't enough refrigerant to pull out the heat, so your passenger side works and the drivers side just peters out.

I added a can of refrigerant and I was good to go.

If you know someone with a set of gages, or feel comfortable doing it yourself, it's an easy fix. Good luck.

Mark

 

Last summer , i had cool air coming out of the pass. ducts and hot on my side what a bummer. anyway I disconected my battery for some other reason for about a day or two,and when i hooked the battery back up A/C all around and not a problem since. And i have taken loose the terminals say 5 times since then and still great A/C. I am NOT a mechanic, just thought u might want to try that. I think i read on a post the gears and actuator have to be in line. Maybe connecting and reconnecting the battery a few times will cure it . Maybe someone knowledgeable can chime in and help u .good luck! GREG O.

 

My best friend is a mechanic, he has gauges at work...I'll send him to work with it. I had searched on here and found that other people had the exact same problem, but they were getting codes. I'm getting zero codes. At least if he checked it with the gauges, I'd know how much refrigerant is in there. I could eliminate that as a possibility before I tear into the dash...but I was gonna try everything else before I take it to his shop.

 

That was mentioned in one of the threads in my search. The power needed to be interrupted to the actuator and it would reset itself, I did so by pulling fuse #27. No luck. I'll think about trying that tomorrow.

 

Do the cars without dual zone climate control even have actuators? If they do, I'm guessing they only have one and therefore could not affect just the driver or passenger side...but I could be wrong. I didn't think that the non dual zone head units even communicate with the BCM, so that's why you have no codes. My understanding is that it is a much simpler system.

I would follow Fasthotrod's suggestion and check your refrigerant pressures.

 

I had same symptoms, no codes....recharged the freon and the driver's side blows cold again. Start with the simple stuff, then move on once it's ruled out.

 

Hi, The manual system doesn't have separate actuators for left and right side. The cool air enters the plenum at the passenger side, and makes its way across the vehicle to the various outlets. If the cooling is marginal the driver side of the vehicle outlets will not be as cool as the passenger side. Possible causes are low refridgerant charge, dirty condenser, restrictions, bad pressure switches. A good place to start is to check the refridgerant levels, and it would be a good idea to make sure the condenser is clean and free of debris, including in between the condenser and radiator.
Good Luck

 

I have the same symptoms as well as no codes being thrown. How much should one expect to spend on getting the system recharged if that is indeed the problem?

 

You should be able to have the system evacuated and recharged for $75 or less. Some a/c shops should even check your pressure for free. There is a good post (by Plasticfan) on how to check and recharge your a/c if you feel up to the task. Autozone will loan you the gauges for a fully refundable deposit of $99 (last time I checked) if you need them.

 

Thanks everyone for the help. I'll make sure the condenser is free of debris and then send it to my friends shop to have the refrigerant level checked. I'll update this with the answer once I get it straight.

 

That's good to know and helps narrow down the answer. I'll have to look at the condenser area to be sure it's free of debris. Thanks again!

 

Hi, FWIW- If the system has lost a small amount of refridgerant, enough to diminish the cooling capacity or even shut it down by tripping the low pressure switch, and there is even a small amount left in there,(positive pressure reading), all you really need to do is top it back up. A total evacuate is not neccessary under these conditions, (unless the system became totally empty and allowed air to get in,then it would be neccessary to fix the leak and evacuate, and recharge with refridgerant and oil, and install a new accumulator/drier) . It is not very difficult to top up the system, you can buy the kit at any of the auto parts stores, and DIY. Kits can cost as low as 20.00 or so. They include a can of r134 and some oil and usually a hose and cheap guage to install it. The cheap guage will tell you if you are in the right range of added refridgerant, and is usually sufficient to do so. If your leak is very small, taking a year or more to get to the point of needing replenishing this is a good alternative to handling the situation. Also don't be fooled by adds that say super cold or some other claim for their r134, the chemical make up of this refridgerant is standardized and they are all the same, except if they have aded oil or dye in them. And if you are needing to add refridgerant to your system you should add a bit of oil with it.
Good Luck
One Choice Linked Below
http://www.partsamerica.com/ProductD...goryCode=3571B

 

Well I just got my a/c recharged, everything is fine now XXXLTRP, our cars both displayed the same symptoms and threw no codes, so you may want to do the same.

 

Ok, thanks for the update. I hope thats all mine is too.Work has me busy and I haven't had time to mess with it.

How low was yours?

 

They said it looked full at first glance, but after doing a proper test it was apparently missing 1 pound.

 

Last week I ordered and installed a CLB..I know unrelated to my AC problem, but while I had the knee panel and radio portion of the dash off I looked to see if I had the electronic actuators. My '99 FRC doesn't have dual climate nor does it have any electronic actuators. That was the one question that I couldn't get answered. I was pretty sure it didn't have two because of the lack of dual climate. I eliminated that as the problem plus I had zero codes.

Today I went to my friends shop to get the refrigerant checked. Sure enough it was low. It had .4 lbs in it. It's supposed to have 1.5 lbs. Ok, we are on to something here I had him extract all of it and refill it. He refilled it to 1.75 lbs. The reason being the hoses are long enough from the machine that they hold.3 lbs. If he had only filled it to 1.5 I would have in reality only gotten 1.2 lbs in the system. The pressure cam out to spec and I need a hooded sweatshirt on a 90+ degree day. He added the dye to see if I have a major leak. He doesn't think thats the case due to the fact I still had good pressure in the system.

bonus... it cost me nothing!