AIR CONDITIONING HELP!!

[mission008]

Are there any common leakage points in the A/C system in the 2nd Gen Aurora? My A/C isn't working and I need to fix it because it is HOT! Where should I check for leaks, and how? I know its leaking somewhere because it wont hold refrigerant

[mission008]

please help someone! it so hot inside my car! haha

[BNICOV]

The usual suspects are the evaporator under the dash, the condensor in front of the radiator and any connections that may be loose, unfortunately, you need specialized equipment to check for leaks, they fill up the system with a special gas/dye mixture and check for leaks that way. Take it to a shop.

[Marc]

An A/C shop will also use a leak detector like this one.

[mission008]

does anyone have an idea of how much this would cost to go to a shop and have them tell me where the leak is?

[Marc]

They would charge you by the hour. Most auto repair shops where I live ( Westchester Co., NY) charge about $80 - 90 an hour for labor. Any competant A/C shop should be able to find the leak in less than an hour, so the charge for this should be about
$80 - $90.

[mission008]

lovely...thanks

[Marc]

OK!

[mission008]

I dont suppose I could do the old soapy water trick to find a leak huh?

[A-boy95]

Atualy mission look for wet and dirty hoses/connections, and also check the Highside and the lowside fittings, sometimes the valve stems in the fittings will go bad, ill get a diagram from school and scan it and pist it up for ya. it usualy rare for the components to go bad, the hoses will go way before.

and it was 100 at school today and i didint even use my A/C

[Marc]

Mission008......That would work if the leak were in a part that was out in the open like a hose or the compressor. You could easily see the bubbling. But if the leak were in the evaporator, which is concealed, you'd have to have a leak detector like this one to stick into an A/C outlet closest to the evaporator with the A/C on to detect any 134a being blown away from the leaking evaporator.

[Aurora40]

Does the compressor even come on? Have you tried a basic pressure gauge just to see if there is a reasonable amount of pressure in the system? It could be something electrical instead of a leak. Though it could also be a leak. Just a thought...

[mission008]

aurora40 said:

Does the compressor even come on? Have you tried a basic pressure gauge just to see if there is a reasonable amount of pressure in the system? It could be something electrical instead of a leak. Though it could also be a leak. Just a thought...

well at one point I bought a can of the refrigerant and did what it said to do on the can. when the refrigerant was going in, the whole system blew cold air.....as soon as it was gone out of the can it started blowing warm/hot air again....so im assuming that the compressor is turning on?

[Marc]

The compressor was going when you were putting a can of 134a.
But when the can emptied & the system started blowing hot air again, this meant that all the 134a had escaped. My guess is that there is a very large leak there.
I just remembered, according to auto.consumerguide.com/Auto/Used/reviews/full/index.cfm/id/2507/act/usedcarreviewreliability/ that there is a leak point that can cause a big leak:

"Air conditioner: On early production vehicles, the temperature sensor in the air conditioning compressor pops out causing refrigerant loss and no A/C. (2001)"

Check that.

[mission008]

THANKS !!!!

[Marc]

OK!

[mission008]

1 more quick question. I brought my car to get an oil change a couple months back, and they did an Alkalinity test on my coolant and said that its bad now. The level of my coolant is ok, but every once in a while I get a message across my DIC that says "Low Engine Coolant" is this because of the low level of Alkalinity in the coolant? ALSO, is there any connection to the fact that my coolant being bad could make my A/C blow hot?

[Marc]

There's no connection between the A/C system & the engine cooling system. Bad antifreeze wouldn't affect the A/C's cooling ability.
The low level of alkalinity in the coolant wouldn't cause the low coolant warning. Check the level of coolant in the surge tank. It should be up to the line.
Also, you can get a false reading about the coolant level being low. It's happened in my 2001 4.0 occasionally.

[mission008]

how does it send a false reading? what causes that?

[Marc]

The electronics in this car are very complicated & for that reason you will occasionally see a false warning. As I said, I have seen this once in a while on my own 2001. In the instance of a low coolant warning, I check the level in the surge tank. The coolant level is always OK & I know then that it's a false reading.

[mission008]

ok i'll do that and add some if necessary and then i'll let you know about my findings in the A/C....THANKS MARC!!!!!

[Marc]

OK!

[Wacko]

How'd you make out at the dealer Friday?

Also, I'd recommend a preventative maintenance drain and refill of your coolant. Once the fluid starts to get acidic, it starts looking for things to eat, like water pumps, radiators, heater cores, head gaskets...

Dexcool is supposed to last longer than traditional coolant but not forever. I think 5years/100Kmiles. I drained mine when I changed my waterpump and thermostat. Refilled with a 50/50 mixture of Dexcool and distilled water. Don't for get the sealant tabs or similar. Walmart carries this stuff or have a dealer do it.

I think this is often overlooked and leads to bigger troubles. It comes down to this; if you want your car to last and keep resale high, all the fluids must be tended to regularly. Oil, trans fluid, power steering fluid, brake fluid and coolant. I'm talking about changing the fluids, not just keeping the level in check. You can greatly increase the longevity of your car by doing this.

Typically, we have no trouble changing the fuel regularly. Let us know the outcome of the A/C repair.

[joeslark]

I had a problem with the Ac on my 2001

Dealer checked and said they could not find the leak using the black light and dye. so they filled it up and said it might go a couple weeks or a couple of months.

One day later the A/C was blowing warm again.
so I take it back and now they can find the leak, no kidding it was large enough to discharge the whole system in less than 24 hours but they could not see it the first time.

bottom line high press side hose total repair cost $330 plus the $90 to check the first time.

GMpartsdirect.com shows the cost of the part at $58.

I think I am going to try the 134a leak sealer kit from auto zone first.

[Marc]

They probably couldn't find it the first time because the black light & dye method won't find a leak in a hidden part, like the evaporator. A leak detector like this one can find leaks in hidden or hard to see parts of an A/C system.

[Wacko]

Replacing the hose is not the hard part. To do the repair right, you then need to evacuate the system and fill it with the proper amount of R134a and PAG oil. That's hard if you don't have the right equipment. Plus, if you have the dealer do it, you now have recourse should the thing blow warm soon.

[mission008]

ok after much procrastination, i finally made my appt at the local GM Dealer to get the A/C fixed, and I figured that since I am going in I may as well just have the oil changed to before my trip down to South Carolina. I'm bringing her in at 7:30am tomorrow, so hopefully I will know whats up by early afternoon