Ac on passenger side still warm on the driver side

[imidazol97]

I just bought my Bonneville 4/15/10. It's a beauty. I swear that I tested the a/c when I test drove it and it worked. However, I am now experiencing the same problem that you described... ICE Cold air on passenger side. Warm (sometimes cool NOT COLD) air on Driver's side. Dual Climate Control
I'm a girl and I don't have a lot of money to mess with this but I swear it's been the hottest Spring/Summer EVER! Can you give me some ideas of where to start?!

A friend of a friend said that he would have to take apart the whole dash board to check to see if the air/mix door actuators are functioning. Is this correct?

I'm also having trouble with an intermittent no start / no crank.
I got stranded one night about an hour away from home, went back the next day to have the car towed to my mechanic and when I got there it started right up! I took it to my mechanic anyway and he kept it for a week. He couldn't get it to fail so per a GM service bulletin he decided it was probably the Ignition Switch and he replaced that...$160 later, that wasn't the problem. I initially thought it had something to do with rain or moisture but I really can't connect it to anything. It randomly happens. Aside from the time I described where I was stranded, it has always started on the 2nd or 3rd try and sometimes even if I just keep it turned all the way to the right when it doesn't start right up. There's just a few second delay. Just wondering if anyone has any ideas or has experienced the same thing?

Low freon charge would be the first thought. If it seems that in the cool morning if the blower is on low speed the left side feels coo,l but when the load on the whole unit goes hotter, you don't get cooling, that would be a good description.

For the reluctant cranking, starter solenoid may be going bad. That would mean a replacement starter. You can test if someone who knows where to tap, they can tap on the side of the solenoid under the front of the engine while you hold the key to crank! A bad solenoid will often start right up.

[bonn-evil-le 00 SLE]

Low freon charge would be the first thought. If it seems that in the cool morning if the blower is on low speed the left side feels coo,l but when the load on the whole unit goes hotter, you don't get cooling, that would be a good description.

For the reluctant cranking, starter solenoid may be going bad. That would mean a replacement starter. You can test if someone who knows where to tap, they can tap on the side of the solenoid under the front of the engine while you hold the key to crank! A bad solenoid will often start right up.

Thank you! My mechanic and my boyfriend also said that about tapping the starter. It's so infrequent that it happens, I'm usually the only one in the car. It's really stressful.

About the low freon charge.
How do I test this?


Just for clarification the passenger side will always get cold and shows no signs of a/c trouble it's only the driver's side that is always warm and if I leave the a/c on full blast it seems to cool down very slightly but I don't know if that's just because of the a/c coming out of the passenger vents cooling of the car a bit.

[imidazol97]

Just for clarification the passenger side will always get cold and shows no signs of a/c trouble it's only the driver's side that is always warm and if I leave the a/c on full blast it seems to cool down very slightly but I don't know if that's just because of the a/c coming out of the passenger vents cooling of the car a bit.

When the coolant system is hot, if you turn the heat up to full does the driver's side react and adjust to give full heat? If so that would indicate the electric motor that moves the door for the driver's side to blend the cool incoming air with hot air through the heater core is working and moving. If it doesn't react then you might look for the electric actuator on the driver's side of the HVAC box in the middle of the car.

But, if you turn the fan on when the AC's been running, open the hood and reach to the two metal tubes for the freon going into the firewall behind the middle of the motor, the bottom tube will be cold and the upper tube coming out to the larger diameter metal tube will not be as cold. Ideally, with a full freon charge, the upper tube coming out should be slightly colder than the inlet tube if I remember the cursory diagnosis from my factory service manuals.

Be careful reaching around the moving belts with the motor running.

Another test would be to keep the fan on one of the low speeds when the outside is not hot, at night or early morning, and turn the AC on recirculate. See if the driver side seems to get more cooling from freon under those conditions.

[bc21]

Sorry everyone for the long delay on reply i will add pictures tonight. I have been dealing with cancer in the family so i have been preoccupied with that. Here is a link to a photo hosting website showing the pics of dashboard being torn apart. half way through i remembered the camera. When the pics uploaded they are a little out of order but i tried to sort them the best way possible.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/53027875@N08/

[silverstreak00]

I've been having the exact same issue with my 2000 SLE, so keeping tabs on this string hoping for a solution.

Sorry to hear of the cancer in your family, BC21. I'm a cancer survivor myself. Best of luck to your family member with their battle.

[wug]

Not much of a chance of the refrigerant losing it's cooling capabilities/properties for just the driver side vents is there? Mine was doing the same the other day and every summer for that matter and I simply drop 2 cans of RedTek in it and it's good for the summer (usually). The other day I needed another can and all front vents blow cold now.

Well I got home today after buying the ac charge system. When I connected it the gauge said 45psi already and was in the normal zone. I went ahead and hit it anyway it went up to 100psi the gauge was now in the red area. So I stopped, it only took a second to get up that high. Still same problem. Cold on pass. side warm air on the driver side. Is there a chance the refrigerant needs replaced or can it lose cooling properties? Should I vacuum out the old refrigerant and replace with new? I am getting cold air on the pass side so I know the AC system is working correctly. I have a feeling its with in the dash still, I will try any suggestions.


TY

Brandon

[imidazol97]

Well I got home today after buying the ac charge system. When I connected it the gauge said 45psi already and was in the normal zone. I went ahead and hit it anyway it went up to 100psi the gauge was now in the red area. So I stopped, it only took a second to get up that high.
Brandon

Did you have the engine and AC running at about 2000 rpm when checking the charge and adding that little bit? The blower inside the car should be on high and the system should have run for 3-4 minutes before testing.