a/c not working

[1998gstspyder]

hey you guys, the other day, i just noticed my a/c not working...the fans are working, but the air is not cold. i already checked the fuse and relay...looks fine...what can the problem be? 98 gst spyder btw. thanks.

 

[Defiant]

You -because of the nature of this very basic automotive question- should take the car to an independent AC shop and have it fixed.

The first thing to consider is the condition of the system's refrigerant charge. Then there are things such as leaks, bad pressure/temperature sensors, the AC control unit, the AC switch, and onward from there.

 

[project_tsi]

The car most likely has a leak in the system some where. A recharge of R-134A should bring the cold air back to life for a while, however, it will probly leak out again and start to get "not so cold" anymore.

 

[Nanan]

Thus the reason I gutted my A/C. Its a good cheap weight loss plan which can net you about 50lb of weight off the front of the car.

 

[danielbui]

check and see if there is still a belt connected to the compressor pulley. if there is not a belt than no air conditioner.

 

[ClipseT96]

Plain and simple REMOVE IT.

 

[1998gstspyder]

thanks for all the tips...and no i cant remove it..jesus christ guys i live in LA, heading for summer....well into 90s, some 100 degree days...black on black on grey leather gst spyder? i need AC!!

 

[foreverinvayne]

removing a/c is pretty much useless unless you're going for a COMPLETE race car. You'd be lucky to be revmoving 50lbs of parts... i've held all the parts of an a/c system in my hands, except for some pretty heavy compressors, they wouldn't add up to that. and on our cars... our compressors are not that big. and there is a slight power difference when the a/c is engaged, but thats' why if you're gonna race, just turn it off! or you have the whole a/c disengaging thing you can get on a chip. Besides you should hear how many people i talk to that regret taking out their a/c during a really hot day . like my buddy's firebird... where the a/c removal only gained him 3 horsepower, and not even a 1/10 of a second at the track .

and yes, you should listen to defiant. take it to someone who KNOWS a/c. Even I could help you out if i was near you... and i just took a 3 week class on it. (gotta love universal technical institute). The a/c system doesn't have very many parts, but it can be pretty difficult without the proper tools or know how to diagnose.

If it's a leak, it could be anywhere, it could be in any of your lines, it could be in your condensor (the front thing, like the radiator), or it could be in ur evaporator... which was the case with my mom's honda (we never fixed it, that's too much of a pain... gotta take the whole dash apart many times.) And no, you woudln't even be able to see it or feel it most of hte time. and then there's the compressor... you could have a bad clutch, not engaging the compressor, or a faulty compressor that's just not pumping refrigerant, or a seized compressor. or... blah blah blah

I could go on forever about different thigns that could go wrong, and you'll just get bored. in short, if you need it, then you'll have to take it somewhere... cuz no matter what, you'll have to have someone who is EPA certified to handle refrigerant and can recycle or recharge it back up for you if you have to replace parts or whatnot. Because techinically it is illegal for anyone else to purchase or handle refrigerant.

(that post was way too long, sorry)

 

[1998gstspyder]

ya going into a mechanic that deals with a/c tomororow because its going to be 88 and 89 in my area this weekend. i hope it doesn't empty my pockets though because i was getting ready for my turbo upgrade... but ill post back here what it was and how much it will cost me.

 

[ZachM31]

i dont think it will cost that much. I had my old car retrofitted to R-134a a year ago and it cost me around $130. So i would say just a recharge (and maybe a belt, i didnt read the whole post) would cost maybe $60... I see that they sell the little "R-134a in a can" now, but i dont think i would do that, anyways, i hope it doesnt cost that much... maybe it will turn out to be like my REAR END Alignment that cost me $170... still have to do the front end too now ...

 

[1998gstspyder]

update...the guy quoted me 98 for recharging the freon and checking for leaks...good news it had no leaks, and he ended up just taking 90 from me because he was armenian...(so am i) btw, is it normal for and 1998 car needing a refill if it had no leaks?? because im like did u make sure it had no leaks? hes like ya, no leaks...i hope it doesnt run it out like 3 months again.

 

[FourG63 97GST]

how did he know there's no leaks, did u have dye in the system?

 

[1998gstspyder]

how did he know there's no leaks, did u have dye in the system?

same thing my dad said...frankly i dont know, i didnt know about the dye method so i didnt ask...

 

[HighPsi92GST]

He probably used a tester to check all the lines.

Anyone who is having ac problems, Id suggest getting them fixed soon, prices are going to keep going up because of the "shortage" or r134. A few months ago we were paying 60 bucks for a 30 pound bottle of it (you, the customer of course dont need anywhere near that much) now a 30 pound bottle is going for around 300-400 bucks. They claim there is a shortage, who knows for sure. Basically it went from about 2-4 bucks a pound to 10-15 bucks a pound in less then a year. And supposedly going to keep climbing in price.

 

[Defiant]

I still have my 30# bottle of R-12

 

[Schnellen]

Ive noticed recently that my AC isnt as cold as it should be. Im thinkin a recharge as well... do the 92's still use R-134? (-92 Talon, Non turbo.) I looked on the AC compressor but couldn't find a sticker or anything that had the type on it.
-Thanks, Cale

 

[HighPsi92GST]

I still have my 30# bottle of R-12

I have one too, stuff is worth ALOT

 

[wolf20043]

Julia dont really want her a/c,but it has been in the upper 90's and low 100s here the last 3 days.A/C is My friend
Wolf

 

[Defiant]

Ive noticed recently that my AC isnt as cold as it should be. Im thinkin a recharge as well... do the 92's still use R-134? (-92 Talon, Non turbo.) I looked on the AC compressor but couldn't find a sticker or anything that had the type on it.
-Thanks, Cale

It came with R12. If it's been converted over, there are supposed to be stickers on the underside of the hood saying so, and there are different adapters mounted on the original filling valves.

 

[Schnellen]

Darn, it uses R-12. oh well, thanks, Cale