Hello, I tried reading here but cannot find exactly what is happening.
Got the 1996 Bonneville SSE (not supercharged) back from my "mechanic". He fixed a coolant leak that was (facing the car) on the front left side. That part is fine I believe. (no leaking).
He also replaced the belt.
Also had a driveability problem he said that he fixed. I did not find that fixed and a day after ward check engine came on and I found it running terrible. I looked at spark plug wires. 1 and 3 were so bad that I very gently pulled on each one...I emphasize "very gently" and each wire came out of it's boot where it attaches to the plug. So much for the "mechanic's" statement that the wires looked fine. I replaced all 6 wires. Check engine light is out. Seems to be running fine now.
It got hot yesterday so I turned on the a/c. No cold air, just kind of cool but not cold and kind of warm but not hot. Maybe 75 degress (that's just an estimate).
I went through the up/down with the temperature control and no change. (several times).
The air can be channeled to the defrost, the dash vents and the floor, no problem here. I can hear the compressor kick on. I attached a can of refrigerant and the gauge said it was full (blue area, ok). The a/c tube closer to the firewall is nice and cold. The a/c tube that runs toward the front of the car is not...it's actually on the hot side. So why is my a/c not cold anymore? Thanks and greatly appreciate any help

Do you have the electronic climate control, or the knobs? If it's electronic, is the display flashing at any time?

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Knew I'd leave something out! I do have the ECC. It is not flashing. Thanks

this has to be just a wild guess. looks like everything is working normally but you don't get temp control. so, except for the indicator not flashing, it should be airmix actuator malfunction. if you want to check it and to provide one more bit of info, remove the glove box and inspect for movement of the rod that moves the airmix door. should be light in color (white). will be difficult to spot until you get your bearings but it is possible. once you are in position to see rod, start engine with ac on. you should see rod move from one extreme position to the other and then settle at a point that represents temperature you have selected.

report back and we can go from there.

PS my experience does not include dual air. so if you have dual air, best ignore my post.

Hmm, Well I already did look in the glovebox and I couldn't see anything. I saw the other posts regarding the two holes. I don't know how one could see the arm through those two holes. I'll take another look, Perhaps I didn't look close enough (I was wearing my glasses!)
Dual Air - I'm not sure, if you mean being able to set temperature different for driver and passenger - No I do not have that (I wouldn't know if that was actually offered). But there is a vent on the back of the console for the passengers in the back. If by dual air, you mean rear vent - yes I have that.

Did you remove the glovebox liner?

http://trialsnuts.com/ecc.pdf

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right, dual air to me is having separate controls for passenger and driver. so, your vehicle hvac configuration should be very close to my 96 se/sle (i'm not sure which but it is not sse}. so, no offense, but did you remove glove box liner as haro posted? if so (and if sse is close to se/sle configuration) you will find behind the gove box liner a metal bar (brace) that runs horizontally. peeping in the space outlined by the brace should give you visual access. in my case, the space was wide enough to insert long screwdrive and pop the white rod loose from the airmix door.

i hope i don't send you on a wild goose chase, but i can't think of any other point to recommend you start diagnosing problem. anyway if you can determine that airmix door is being moved, it will cast more light on the subject.

I did remove the liner ..six screws. I'll take another look tomorrow

some other thoughts in case airmix is working properly:

cowl vents clogged, can you manually change blower speed hi to lo, do you get strong air flow from vents when blower on hi speed?

ac evaporator plugged, can you get sufficient heat when selecting 90 deg, in other words is the ac the only part of hvac not working properly?

post back with answers. will follow whatever path seems logical.

Guess I will throw my 2 cents in here too. He didn't say he was getting only a little air, but it was cold, he says he is getting warmish air. Also says that the A/C lines are cold going in to the cabin, and warm going to the condenser up front. That is another good sign. I dont think the evaporator is plugged.

My questions are:

When the A/C is on, does the compressor fire, and stay running, or does it cycle on and off?

If the compressor runs steady, I would have to point towards actuator issues also.

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~Randall~


1993 Buick Park Avenue - 197k - Some odds and ends done - Simply won't die
1994 Buick Regal - 78k - Bone stock - Always ready for a good kicking
1990 Oldsmobile 88 - Gone to a better place

I remember hearing something about the little vacuum hoses inside the dash for the electronic air temperature control. If the hosess collapse, you won't get vacuum signals going to open or close certain doors. I believe the module, located near the glove box, needs to be opened and the hoses replaced.

Perhaps some one with more knowledge about the system remembers what I'm talking about and can elaborate on the issue.

Enslow

The vacuum hoses you are referring to do exist, but they control the air diversion. The temperature diverted is electronically controlled and does not suffer from vacuum issues.

_________________
~Randall~


1993 Buick Park Avenue - 197k - Some odds and ends done - Simply won't die
1994 Buick Regal - 78k - Bone stock - Always ready for a good kicking
1990 Oldsmobile 88 - Gone to a better place

Does that mean the blend door to the evaporator is operated with an electric motor then?

Sorry, I answered my own question here in tech info:

viewtopic.php?f=49&t=3537

In response to your already answered question, yes, electric motor. I also think mine might not be too far off also, as there is a big differance between temperatures on driver and passenger side. Driver side is always colder, whether it be A/C, heater, whatever. But when it goes, it goes. I just need to pull my glovebox out and it is a cakewalk from there.

_________________
~Randall~


1993 Buick Park Avenue - 197k - Some odds and ends done - Simply won't die
1994 Buick Regal - 78k - Bone stock - Always ready for a good kicking
1990 Oldsmobile 88 - Gone to a better place

Randall,
I was looking at gmman's post again.

Did you think gmman was suggesting that the AC lines inside the evaporator were plugged, or that the fins through which the air flows were plugged?

I would definitely agree that the AC lines are not plugged and that the AC system itself is functioning well. I would think that if the condenser fins were plugged with debris, that would have little effect on the compressor cycling, but restrict the airflow through the evaporator, thus not cool the air. Hence, I could see how plugged evaporator fins could cause poor cooling as described.

Enslow

I think he was referring to a possible air flow issue, however you do raise a valid point. I would think though that that would wreak havoc on the pressures in the system. That is going to be a hard thing to prove though, and I think the actuator is the prime suspect because they are known for failing and the symptoms fit. I guess we will see next time the OP checks in.

_________________
~Randall~


1993 Buick Park Avenue - 197k - Some odds and ends done - Simply won't die
1994 Buick Regal - 78k - Bone stock - Always ready for a good kicking
1990 Oldsmobile 88 - Gone to a better place

I would put money on the actuator too. If I had any. It's a good thing for me to know as well, because it's likely to go on mine one day. I guess we'll see what powerdog comes up with.

Hello folks, have had a schedule change and haven't looked at it yet. I will get to it this weekend (seems a long way off) but I must figure this out or come summer sweat to death. I will get to it soon and respond. Thanks for all the comments. Kudos to the person bringing attention to the a/c (tubes?) one cold one not. ALso I wonder about the replaced belt. But time will tell hopefully. Beback soon. Thanks again Oh, and from what I remember the tmperature was not changing when I went uo and down the temp setting. At least from memory (right now) I don't think so. But I will double check all that's here and report back. See Ya!

ok Got some answers here but seem to point nowhere (to me).
Finally (with the help of pic 18 in the other post), I can see the actuator move (via the small hole on the left) while I change the temp. Looks like it moves a good deal (estimate an inch or maybe two)
I am able to change blower speed and get strong air flow when on high, less of course on low. Airflow has always been stronger on the passenger side vents

When I bump temp up to 90, it's nice and hot. Bring it down to 60 and it's still just well, not cold, just a little cool I guess. wimpy cool. Driving to work yesterday, I left the a/c on a few minutes (it was 90 outside) and I was more cool with both the front windows open. Tried it a couple times. (car is black, t-shirt and shirt worn was black, I know I know).
Compressor appears to stay on. I did not see it go off/on, watched it a minute or so).
I am at a loss. I'm going to go get that A/c recharge can. Maybe the reading (blue = good or full) was wrong or a fluke. And I am putting that on the smaller nipple? on the a/c tube. (the one closer to the firewall). I'll try that and report back. Thanks for any input.

Can't find the freon cans. might have thrown them away because they were getting near empty, which make me ask. If the freon can was low, and the gauge went to blue = full or good, is it possible that I got that reading because the can was near empty? Is that a possibility?