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AC blowing warm air

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47K views 22 replies 8 participants last post by  daverdnob  
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
So, a couple of days ago I noticed my air conditioning was not blowing cold anymore. I tried cycling through different settings to see if I could trigger it to work to no avail. I checked the fuse and relay, and both appear to be working fine.

I popped the hood, and activated the AC in the car and didn't hear the compressor kick in, but I don't recall hearing it in the past either.

This week I will be putting "freon" in it to see if it is out.

History: The vehicle was in a front-end collision about 2 years ago and they replaced the condenser. I assume they filled it with new freon then. This is also the same car that was driven into a river some time back.

So, what should I be checking in the meantime to see what is going on?
 
#2 · (Edited by Moderator)
Does the AC blow cold when you're driving around at a decent speed?
  • If so... When you have the car on max cool, recirculation, does the AC fan kick on?
  • If not... it might be your fan motor or relay.
  • If not... When you adjust from hot to cold, is there a clicking noise from behind the dash?
  • If so... there may be an issue with your blend door actuator being stuck on a warm setting and not letting cool air

These are a few points you might like to explore. I'm sure there are plenty more, but this is what I can regurgitate from the top of my head right now lol. Hope this helps!
 
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#3 · (Edited by Moderator)
Update:

  • Checked fuse, it's fine. Swapped relay, it's fine.
  • Cycled through different hvac settings, still not blowing cold air.
  • Moved the temperature settings to hot, and the air came out significantly hotter than the "cool" air.
  • Checked freon pressure, it is good. A little high actually.
  • When I engage the A/C, I don't hear the compressor kick on, however, my car does surge like it normally would when the air is turned on.

Could it be something like the clutch or something?
 
#5 ·
Update:

Checked fuse, its fine. Swapped relay, its fine.
Cycled through different hvac settings, still not blowing cold air.
Moved the temperature settings to hot, and the air came out significantly hotter than the "cool" air.
Checked freon pressure, it is good. A little high actually.
When i engage the A/C, i dont hear the compressor kick on, however my car does surge like it normally would when the air is turned on.

Could it be something like the clutch or something?
How did you measure the freon pressure?

You can check the compressor clutch by turning the AC on and checking under the hood. When the clutch is engaged, the entire end of the compressor spins whereas when it's disengaged, only the outer wheel turns (with the belt).

That said, the clutch is controlled by a pressure switch in one of the AC hoses. If the pressure is too low, it won't engage.

Doug

.
 
#20 ·
On our '08, the Torx head bolt in the center broke off and the clutch plate fell off. Look at the compressor with engine off. You should be able to see the bolt with a mirror. The clutch plate, or whatever it's called, was laying on the sub frame beneath the compressor. A new compressor + labor & recharge was about $850 from the Chevy dealer 4 years ago. The service writer said they had a lot of them that had happened to.
 
#22 ·
Hi, last week I cleaned the throttle body of my ‘07 Impala and when I mounted everything back I Went fot a drive and the ac didn’t cold. When the car is parked blow cold air but when I start driving the air turn hot.
I don't think cleaning your throttle body would have anything to do with your AC not working. I think it may just be a coincidence. High pressure or low pressure could be causing this issue. When you're driving you're changing the air flow across the condenser which will lower the high side pressure causing the air to get cooler inside the vehicle.

To find out what's going on you would really need to hook gauges up to the vehicle and know what the pressures are.
 
#23 · (Edited by Moderator)
Perhaps your engine is getting too hot, and thus the air conditioner does not work so well. It is very strange, most likely you have something with the details, you need to show your car to specialists urgently. By the way, how long have you been cleaning your air conditioner? Perhaps there is dirt accumulated there, and it prevents the air conditioner from functioning normally. If this is the case, then you will save a lot of money on the details. Perhaps you will need to do a chemical cleaning of the radiator, which is not so expensive. The other day, I decided to do a chemical cleaning in the car of the air conditioner and at home at my friend's service. Now it has become much better, and the air conditioner has finally started working well.