Your Insight Please 

"zeontestpilot" (zeontestpilot) 07/12/2018 at 07:56 • Filed to: Car repairs

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Hey Oppo, I’d like your insight to help narrow down a problem. On the pt cruiser, the fan works, but does not blow ice co ld air. We’ve had it recharged before, and it worked... until it didn’t.

Obviously the fan motor is still working, but where/what else should I look at to see what is broken and needs to be replaced/fixed? Is there a connection that I need to check? Maybe a fuse? Common problem that might have a simple solution? Anything helps! Thanks in advance!

Captain of the Enterprise > zeontestpilot 07/12/2018 at 08:07

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You might have a leak in your ac system. That would explain why it worked after being recharged but then stopped after a while.

pip bip - choose Corrour > zeontestpilot 07/12/2018 at 08:09

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refill it, add flour dye, run the a/c for a couple of weeks (if it lasts that long) then check for leaks and repair if necc.

if that doesn’t fix it, i’m clueless.

E90M3 > zeontestpilot 07/12/2018 at 08:24

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As pip bip and captain said, probably a leak. Now where that leak is, good luck.

That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms > zeontestpilot 07/12/2018 at 08:27

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When you say fan, you mean the blower motor for the interior? Check the engine cooling fan to make sure that’s working, if it isn’t then your AC is just gonna cycle on and off and not really make cold air.

Could also be a stuck blend door, so it’ll be making cold air but letting heat mix in so it doesn’t feel cold. If it’s a climate control system rather than just regular ass air conditioning, you may be able to pull a fuse to reset it. 

pip bip - choose Corrour > pip bip - choose Corrour 07/12/2018 at 08:34

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*fluro dye

zeontestpilot > That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms 07/12/2018 at 08:48

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Hmmm, worth investigating. Thanks!

zeontestpilot > Captain of the Enterprise 07/12/2018 at 08:49

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So I should figure out where the ac system lines are, and check them?

PartyPooper2012 > zeontestpilot 07/12/2018 at 08:59

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Your ac system is a closed system. There is something called freon in it. It’s an invisible gas. When it leaks out, you typically wouldn’t see it. AC re-charging places have dye they add and if there is a leak, they can see it with a black light. 

PartyPooper2012 > zeontestpilot 07/12/2018 at 09:04

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AC system has several bits that make it work.

Compressor, dryer, condenser, freon gas, AC lines. etc.

The leak could literally be anywhere. Also if Compressor died, it would no longer compress gas and produce cold goodness. However, in your case it seems there is a leak through which freon gas is escaping. To find it, have professional add dye to it. Check for leaks and repair it.

It’s bad for environment to release freon into the atmosphere. This is why AC places will empty out the freon from your system (capture it using a special machine) before working on the leaks. After that, they will refill it (once the leak is repaired).

Basically what I am saying is that you should take to AC place and have them make repairs. You need a lot of specialized tools to work on AC stuff and typical folks at home wouldn’t have these expensive specialized tools

Dogsatemypants > zeontestpilot 07/12/2018 at 09:08

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So check under the hood somewhere near the radiator. There should be an etching that looks somewhat like a pentagram. This mark summons a beast. Beasts aren’t nearly as dangerous as demo ns or hellcats. In fact, beasts tend to cause minor annoyances, electrical issues, and regular seal failures. They might be related to gremlins.

Dogsatemypants > zeontestpilot 07/12/2018 at 09:13

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But seriously. Open the hood with things running and the ac on. Doe s the ac compressor clutch engage? If no check the fuse, ac relay, and the pulley.

Wacko > zeontestpilot 07/12/2018 at 09:46

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Try the recharge kit with the stop leak bottle

facw > zeontestpilot 07/12/2018 at 09:52

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OK, obviously not my Insight, but that’s the one I’d get if I got one. I did think about a few years ago when cheap gas was driving down prices.

In any event, sounds to me like you have a leak. A/C shop can put a dye in the system to find it. Not sure how hard that is to do yourself. Personally I wouldn’t trust a stop leak product, but I’m not very familiar with them, so maybe they are fine?

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > zeontestpilot 07/12/2018 at 10:15

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You have a leak. Best to have a shop fix it. Takes special equipment and can be dangerous/hazardous to your health, not to mention if you’re caught expelling refrigerant into the air the fines will not be pleasant. Whatever you do don’t use stop leak unless you want to plug up the condenser or evaporator, or kill the compressor.

zeontestpilot > PartyPooper2012 07/12/2018 at 13:24

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How much would that cost? On average I mean.

PartyPooper2012 > zeontestpilot 07/12/2018 at 13:35

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It all depends on what’s wrong. It could be your compressor leaking and you may need a new compressor. I had to replace compressor in my corvette and that was few hundred dollars for parts alone. check rockauto.com for part prices.

It could be a small o-ring leaking on connections and that is less than a dollar to change.

There are access points on the AC line where there are valves (for filling and discharging the freon) those valves may leak with time. Those are also not super expensive, but you have to discharge freon, replace parts and fill again.

Average mechanic is around 95 dollars per hour work.

So depending on how pain in the rear your car is to work on and how quickly mechanic can replace parts...

Also typical discharge and re-charge of the system is about 100 bucks.

Typically I would say take it to a shop for a discharge/dye test. Figure out what’s busted.

Take it home and repair parts yourself.

Take it back to have AC system pressure tested (with air to check for leaks) and if it holds, re-charge.

However, without trying to sound like a dick, it doesn’t appear to me you are very mechanically experienced and so I say take it to a shop to have it fixed.

You can certainly go my typical route - try to fix it yourself. See if your repairs make difference and then take it back to have pressure tested and re-charged. It will save you whatever mechanic charges per hour etc, but then keep in mind that if your repairs are no good, you would still take the car back to the shop for repairs you would have done in the first place by a shop.

Again, it depends on what’s wrong. if it’s one of those rubber o-rings or valves, it’s super easy. Just a recharge cost and few bucks in parts.

Still need to know where the leak is and that’s where the dye test comes in. 

zeontestpilot > PartyPooper2012 07/13/2018 at 06:03

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I learn by doing it myself. On my Grand Prix, I had a similar problem; the fan unit wasn’t blowing any air. Though after some experimenting, I discovered the fan itself wasn’t bad, but the cable that connected the fan to the a/c controller unit (the part on the dash, if that’s what you call it) was burnt out. So I swapped it out.

On the opposite side, I also had a bad battery connection in the Grand Prix; after investigating I discovered the metal head on the wire connected to the battery was physically broken, it was previously held together by just battery corrosion. I could connect a new contact, but I was short on time and I knew it wouldn’t be a quick fix, so I just took it in to a mechanic and told them exactly what needs to be done.

I'll do some research on my end, see what I can do. It'll help me learn the car better by getting under the hood, and seeing what makes it tick. lol 

zeontestpilot > AMGtech - now with more recalls! 07/13/2018 at 06:04

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I figured I probably have a leak, it's just that I'd like to narrow it down to see if it's a simple fix I can do on my own.

zeontestpilot > Dogsatemypants 07/13/2018 at 06:05

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Are we talking about Karl the gremlin? We are good friends, first name basis and everything.

PartyPooper2012 > zeontestpilot 07/13/2018 at 06:29

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Go for it. But before you disconnect any AC lines, please have the freon captured by qualified AC shop.

Even if you have a leak, there is still a good amount of it in the system.

Mechanical and electrical I can see you doing yourself, but this is a very toxic gas. Once it’s empty, give it hell and fix it all you want. 

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > zeontestpilot 07/13/2018 at 10:00

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Aside from tightening the valve cores there's nothing you can do without opening the system. Meaning it needs to be discharged. Next step is to put the system under vacuum. Inject leak dye. Charge it. See where the dye shows up. Other option is a refrigerant sniffer but good luck finding someone who has one or getting an accurate diagnosis out of it.