No A/C
#1
06-30-2016, 04:09 PM
No A/C
Hello all and thanks in advance for the potential assistance. My 2003 L200 had great cold A/C on a Friday when I got home from work and the following Monday it was gone. I can feel the compressor kick in and when I put my hand against the vent I can feel cold air but it's not blowing out. Any thoughts? Also, I'm not at all familiar with Saturns, this is the first one we've owned. I don't have the owner's manual and the little door on the driver's side fuse box is missing so I'm not sure where the fuse might be in order to check it.
#2
06-30-2016, 11:30 PM
1)Does the blower fan work? meaning do speeds 1-4 work and does speed 5 work on the blower motor that moves the air throughout the cabin?
Could be a blower motor resistor pack or blower motor issue.
2) If it is extremely hot and humid out and you have the climate control temp inside the car set pretty low AND have recirc on (maybe), the AC system will cool down moist air and that makes...ice. The ice forms on the evaporator coils that sit in the flow path of the incoming air. Once it begins to ice up, it can physically block the opening, which gives you the experience of turning it up more and more and having little to no air come out.
Based on your location, I would't be at all surprised.
15 30 min with the AC off is usually enough time for it to self defrost.
Once it does begin to ice up, turn off the blower motor. The reason for this is that the blower motor resistor (controls blower motor speeds) is inline with the airflow and requires that airflow to keep it cool enough not to melt down.
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Just experienced the icing phenomenon in a 2014 Escape on a road trip. 97 deg, 70% humidity. We had the temp set to 63. was fine for hours and hours but then flow began to decrease. Then I realized what it was and we shut it off, let it defrost at a rest stop, kept the damn recirc off (programmed to turn on by default), set the temp at 67 and all was fine. Apparently this is a known "issue" with the new gen of Escapes; the cooling capacity greatly exceeds the amount needed and this makes the system that much more prone to it.
Did this happen on an extremely hot and humid day?
Could be a blower motor resistor pack or blower motor issue.
2) If it is extremely hot and humid out and you have the climate control temp inside the car set pretty low AND have recirc on (maybe), the AC system will cool down moist air and that makes...ice. The ice forms on the evaporator coils that sit in the flow path of the incoming air. Once it begins to ice up, it can physically block the opening, which gives you the experience of turning it up more and more and having little to no air come out.
Based on your location, I would't be at all surprised.
15 30 min with the AC off is usually enough time for it to self defrost.
Once it does begin to ice up, turn off the blower motor. The reason for this is that the blower motor resistor (controls blower motor speeds) is inline with the airflow and requires that airflow to keep it cool enough not to melt down.
--------------------
Just experienced the icing phenomenon in a 2014 Escape on a road trip. 97 deg, 70% humidity. We had the temp set to 63. was fine for hours and hours but then flow began to decrease. Then I realized what it was and we shut it off, let it defrost at a rest stop, kept the damn recirc off (programmed to turn on by default), set the temp at 67 and all was fine. Apparently this is a known "issue" with the new gen of Escapes; the cooling capacity greatly exceeds the amount needed and this makes the system that much more prone to it.
Did this happen on an extremely hot and humid day?
#4
07-01-2016, 05:56 AM
Ahh, my man. I never remember that. Thank you.
Probably because I have never had a soaked passenger side floor due to a clogged evaporator drain from the melting ice or condensation in general having nowhere to go if the drain is clogged.
The simplest answer is quite often the correct one......
Probably because I have never had a soaked passenger side floor due to a clogged evaporator drain from the melting ice or condensation in general having nowhere to go if the drain is clogged.
The simplest answer is quite often the correct one......
#5
07-01-2016, 06:36 AM
Just start pulling the fuses one by one. If one's popped, you'll find it. That't the only way I know how to find one unless someone with the same model car is kind enough to look at their fuse box cover and tell you. And guys, he didn't say anything about icing. He simply states that on Friday the a/c worked. It apparently sat all weekend and on Monday, it doesn't blow out the vents at any speed. Unless I misread that. Which I probably did.
Last edited by Rubehayseed; 07-01-2016 at 06:38 AM.
#6
07-01-2016, 08:33 AM
First off thanks for the replies. There isn't an icing issue and the blower doesn't work on any speed setting or on Auto. It won't even blow on heat. I removed the blower motor last night, it's in the firewall beneath the windshield wipers, and I straight wired it to a power source and it turned. I don't have a multimeter but I used a screwdriver that lights up and the connector that plugs to the blower motor has power to it with the system on. Man, I really hoped it was the blower motor.
#7
07-01-2016, 10:30 AM
Okay, the blower motor works. That's leaves two things I can think of and you haven't stated that you found the first one. The fuse. Do you have power TO the motor or not? If not, a wiring issue is most likely. A blown fuse? If the fuse is okay and you have power to the blower motor, then most likely the resistor pack that was mentioned. I have NO idea where the hell it is unless it's behind the glove box like on a lot of other cars I've owned over the years.
#8
07-01-2016, 11:21 AM
Per Rube's comment about the fuse issue: I will dig up a pic of the IPJB inner cover so you have a map. Might also be out in the UHJB.
If it were the blower motor resistor pack, all the speeds but MAX are usually controlled on a single circuit board -- the blower motor resistor pack, as mentioned previously. Different resistors are placed in series with the blower motor to control its speed.
Max setting is almost always wired through a relay on the same board straight from the battery to the blower motor.
To be honest, the description I just gave is appropriate for a manually controlled Climate Control system. I have no first hand experience with auto climate control systems and the differences in how they are implemented, though I do not believe they are all that different.
That being said:
1) straightwire to "a power source" shows fan can spin. How do the bearings sound and feel when you spin, especially from a stop? If it was not a car battery you used for testing, it likely cannot supply the high currents those motors pull in real live action. Plus you don't get to hear the real life spin up and operating bearing noise
You need to repeat this test wired to the battery to simulate what the fan motor does when connected to the car. Do not touch both battery terminals at the same time and you'll be fine.
2) Suppose if you're getting V at the fan input terminal in the different switch positions, that kind of rules out the resistor pack b/c it would be open circuit if not intact.
3) Random thought of maybe the one of the blend or other doors is stuck in a position such that it is blocking airflow through the system. With ign off and AC turned on, turn the key to run (don't start) and listen very carefully for ticking or grinding sounds for a few minutes. These doors that move around use servo/stepper motors, usually gear driven. If the teeth strip off the gear on one side or the other, then you have no choice but to open it up and replace it. If it behaves like other GM vehicles of the era I've seen, it will try several times to set the door positions to match the AC head unit requests. It can take 3 or 4 min for it to cycle back for the 2nd attempt.
4) Since the blower motor is out, leave it out but reconnect it and pin it down so that it can freely spin but cannot fly all over the place which it will if you run it secured to/by nothing. Does it make ANY noise when switched through the different speeds? Can you hand start it and have it work?
5) Does either end of the blower motor connector show signs of overheating? Yellowed/brown plastic, black sooty pins, etc. Have you manipulated the wiring to see if at might be a bad connection at the blower motor connector?
Others have reported finding burned up wiring at the connector to the AC head unit itself, but let's go there yet.
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I'm attaching what I BELIEVE to be the correct inside cover of the fuse box for the underhood fuse box as it seems to have everything we need. I would check
40A HVAC Blower
10A AC (prob the head unit)
A/C Relay (next to fuse puller)
Controls B+ (sounds like fuse for a whole mess of stuff)
I may have missed something but do not have time right this second to keep digging for the internal panel. I found pix of diagrams labeled as LH and RH but they contain nothing related to this issue.
If it were the blower motor resistor pack, all the speeds but MAX are usually controlled on a single circuit board -- the blower motor resistor pack, as mentioned previously. Different resistors are placed in series with the blower motor to control its speed.
Max setting is almost always wired through a relay on the same board straight from the battery to the blower motor.
To be honest, the description I just gave is appropriate for a manually controlled Climate Control system. I have no first hand experience with auto climate control systems and the differences in how they are implemented, though I do not believe they are all that different.
That being said:
1) straightwire to "a power source" shows fan can spin. How do the bearings sound and feel when you spin, especially from a stop? If it was not a car battery you used for testing, it likely cannot supply the high currents those motors pull in real live action. Plus you don't get to hear the real life spin up and operating bearing noise
You need to repeat this test wired to the battery to simulate what the fan motor does when connected to the car. Do not touch both battery terminals at the same time and you'll be fine.
2) Suppose if you're getting V at the fan input terminal in the different switch positions, that kind of rules out the resistor pack b/c it would be open circuit if not intact.
3) Random thought of maybe the one of the blend or other doors is stuck in a position such that it is blocking airflow through the system. With ign off and AC turned on, turn the key to run (don't start) and listen very carefully for ticking or grinding sounds for a few minutes. These doors that move around use servo/stepper motors, usually gear driven. If the teeth strip off the gear on one side or the other, then you have no choice but to open it up and replace it. If it behaves like other GM vehicles of the era I've seen, it will try several times to set the door positions to match the AC head unit requests. It can take 3 or 4 min for it to cycle back for the 2nd attempt.
4) Since the blower motor is out, leave it out but reconnect it and pin it down so that it can freely spin but cannot fly all over the place which it will if you run it secured to/by nothing. Does it make ANY noise when switched through the different speeds? Can you hand start it and have it work?
5) Does either end of the blower motor connector show signs of overheating? Yellowed/brown plastic, black sooty pins, etc. Have you manipulated the wiring to see if at might be a bad connection at the blower motor connector?
Others have reported finding burned up wiring at the connector to the AC head unit itself, but let's go there yet.
---------------------
I'm attaching what I BELIEVE to be the correct inside cover of the fuse box for the underhood fuse box as it seems to have everything we need. I would check
40A HVAC Blower
10A AC (prob the head unit)
A/C Relay (next to fuse puller)
Controls B+ (sounds like fuse for a whole mess of stuff)
I may have missed something but do not have time right this second to keep digging for the internal panel. I found pix of diagrams labeled as LH and RH but they contain nothing related to this issue.
#9
07-01-2016, 11:48 AM
Thanks for all the info. The blower motor spins fine, no noise or grinding, very smooth. The cover on the driver's side floor board fuse box was missing when we got the car so I'm not sure which fuse is for the A/C system. I've tried all the different settings, auto and low through high and even turned on the heat and the blower motor won't start. When I tested it last night I connected it to the car battery and it immediately started spinning freely. The guide on the fuse box under the hood has worn off so I don't know which fuse is which. I really appreciate y'all taking time on a Friday to try and help me fix this. It's hotter than Hades in Alabama now and I really want to get it fixed because my dog comes to work with me every day. The mornings aren't so bad but the drive home is hot and I hate it for her.
