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No A/C on driver and no codes -Help!
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Joined: Jul 2012
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From: Arlington Heights Illinois
St. Jude Donor '12
No A/C on driver and no codes -Help!
The first time I needed AC this year, I discovered a problem - only the passenger gets cold air. The passenger's side is ice cold, but the driver's side is ambient temp. I checked the DIC for codes, but there are no HVAC codes. I also reset the HVAC from the DIC and by pulling the fuse - neither helped. I also tried topping off the refrigerant, but it doesn't need any.
Strangely, the driver's side does cool down after 20 minutes of driving, but I'm full of sweat by then.
Any ideas? From posts I've read here, I think it may be the left blend door actuator, but everyone with that issue reports having a code on the DIC. Thanks in advance.
Strangely, the driver's side does cool down after 20 minutes of driving, but I'm full of sweat by then.
Any ideas? From posts I've read here, I think it may be the left blend door actuator, but everyone with that issue reports having a code on the DIC. Thanks in advance.
Last edited by bkalkwarf; May 28, 2013 at 12:08 AM. Reason: Typo
Drifting
Joined: Sep 2002
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From: South Florida
You have an ac leak somewhere and are now down on refrigerant. It may be as simple as the O-rings, but it could be more. Do a sniffer test to isolate the area (you'll need a sniffer tool from a shop or friend). When using the sniffer run the car with the AC on. Turn the car off AC off, see where it gets a reading. Then turn the AC on (car off) and see where you get the reading. Add some die and look around that area to pinpoint the leak. replace the applicable parts. When replacing the O-rings (or other components) you'll want to replace the dryer and the orifice tube also.
Last edited by Smokin Joe; May 27, 2013 at 11:42 PM.
Tech Contributor
Joined: Dec 1999
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From: Anthony TX
CI 6,7,8,9,11 Vet
St. Jude Donor '08
Do you have Dual Zone or MANUAL Control HVAC ???
First,,, Can you increase the drivers temp control **** and increase the air temp from the ambient out of the drivers vent that you have?
Second.. If the output shaft drive gear is cracked,, the Air Door Actuator will be DRIVING the shaft to the correct position BUT,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, the air door may be positioning to the correct position.
You can actually view the position of the output shaft and see if it is going to the FULL COLD DOOR position.
If it is not, see if you can manually move it.
If you really have dual zone and the air temp door is positioning to the full cold position,, THEN,, you could have a low charge condition.
Bill
First,,, Can you increase the drivers temp control **** and increase the air temp from the ambient out of the drivers vent that you have?
Second.. If the output shaft drive gear is cracked,, the Air Door Actuator will be DRIVING the shaft to the correct position BUT,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, the air door may be positioning to the correct position.
You can actually view the position of the output shaft and see if it is going to the FULL COLD DOOR position.
If it is not, see if you can manually move it.
If you really have dual zone and the air temp door is positioning to the full cold position,, THEN,, you could have a low charge condition.
Bill
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Joined: Jul 2012
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From: Arlington Heights Illinois
St. Jude Donor '12
Thanks for your replies. i made a typo - I typed coolant, but I meant refrigerant. I have checked the refrigerant level, and a leak is not the problem. I do have dual-zone HVAC.
Bill - this kinda makes sense, but I'm having trouble visualizing it. I had the dash apart and tried to figure out what should be happening and what's broken, but that wasn't making sense. Do you know of any diagrams to help me learn which lever or door or actuator is for which purpose?
Bill - this kinda makes sense, but I'm having trouble visualizing it. I had the dash apart and tried to figure out what should be happening and what's broken, but that wasn't making sense. Do you know of any diagrams to help me learn which lever or door or actuator is for which purpose?
Last edited by bkalkwarf; May 28, 2013 at 12:11 AM.
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From: Arlington Heights Illinois
St. Jude Donor '12
Thanks guys. After multiple replies to check the refrigerant, I figured I should try that again. I found an old post by Bill, with more detail on the recharge process. I let the compressor run for 20 minutes on the drive home, then tried to recharge. This time, the car actually took some refrigerant, and the AC is working once again.
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Melting Slicks
Joined: Jan 2009
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From: Miami FL
Thanks guys. After multiple replies to check the refrigerant, I figured I should try that again. I found an old post by Bill, with more detail on the recharge process. I let the compressor run for 20 minutes on the drive home, then tried to recharge. This time, the car actually took some refrigerant, and the AC is working once again.
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Joined: Jul 2012
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From: Arlington Heights Illinois
St. Jude Donor '12
I'm sorry. Here is the post, and it actually wasn't from Bill.
https://www.corvetteforum.com/c5-gen...-ac-101-a.html
https://www.corvetteforum.com/c5-gen...-ac-101-a.html
Drifting
Joined: Sep 2009
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From: cinnaminson n.j.
St. Jude Donor '14
I agree it's probably low freon. It's the most common cause of your symptom. The simplest way to get your answer would be to evacuate the system, add dye and recharge it with he correct amount of r134a. If you get cold air, your done - for now. Hopefully it lasts the summer. If not the leak can be found easily with a black light. I am not a fan of the sniffer style leak detectors. False reading are common. Dye doesn't lie.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Sep 2003
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From: Longview Texas
My C5 Z06 started blowing warm air through center vent, while still cold on passenger side. It seems like it would get cool for short periods, but then would go back to warm air.
I pulled the #27 fuse in the footwell for a couple of minutes, and put it back to hopefully synchronize the air doors, and that fixed the problem.
I did read on another post that if you turn the temp down too fast to 60 degrees, it can get the doors out of sync. I had put in a rebuilt HVAC control head to fix the dim display problem, and had been changing the temp more than usual to check it out, so maybe that is what caused the problem..
I pulled the #27 fuse in the footwell for a couple of minutes, and put it back to hopefully synchronize the air doors, and that fixed the problem.
I did read on another post that if you turn the temp down too fast to 60 degrees, it can get the doors out of sync. I had put in a rebuilt HVAC control head to fix the dim display problem, and had been changing the temp more than usual to check it out, so maybe that is what caused the problem..