Climate Control Problems

[sixshooter]

I just purchased a Calais and am having some weird problems with the Climate control...

The main problem is with the vents...It doesn't blow air through the centre vents when I selected them in Manual or Auto...

It does work sometimes when it decides it wants to work...

But there is like a 15 min delay after swithing on...

Sometimes switching backwards between "Floor + Centre" & back to Centre helps it start to work....but only when left in "Floor + Centre" selection...

Anyone else experienced this behaviour from their Climate Control ?

I've searched for "Climate" "Air Conditioning" but nothing turned up useful...

I thought I read somewhere about some clogged filters on a vacuum line or something....but I cant find the thread...
I suspect it might be something like that as the car had few years of is life in Whyalla and was coated in bulldust

All help appreciated... thanks

regards,

 

[sire01TMK]

It could be clogged filters also check the suction plug on the back of the control knob.

 

[sixshooter]

It could be clogged filters also check the suction plug on the back of the control knob.

Thanks for the quick reply sire01TMK,

But can you elabourate some more...

Such as whereabouts these filters are ? And how i can get to them to clean?

I haven't pulled a VS dash apart before...I'm guessing they're in there somewhere...

 

[sire01TMK]

Not too sure where filters are located but when I was installing my stereo I had to take out console for stereo surround & I had to unplug the suction plug on the back of climate control knob. Then when I put it all back together the aircon did not blow air through centre vents for a few minutes then when it did the air was hot for a few minutes then ran cold so I checked the suction plug & found it was not connected securely so I just secured it properly & then it was fine!

 

[KILLERVS]

Hey mate, not trying to take you for a fool or anything, but have you tried pressing the fan button to alternate the power you want the cool air to come out at, i.e. 1, 2, 3, AC. This is really basic however, but may have gone unnoticed, as i know I did the same thing when I first started using my Climate Control...

 

[sixshooter]

Hey mate, not trying to take you for a fool or anything, but have you tried pressing the fan button to alternate the power you want the cool air to come out at, i.e. 1, 2, 3, AC. This is really basic however, but may have gone unnoticed, as i know I did the same thing when I first started using my Climate Control...

Yeah...done that...

I took it for a drive last night...I switched it on in Manual...and selected Centre vent and it worked... then I switched it over to Auto...and It continued to work through the centre vent...

But when I start it in Auto and have Centre selected...it just blows air out onto the floor...takes about 15 mins to switch over to the Centre...

I'll play around and read the manual again... It might just be the nut behind the wheel and not the car at all... if you know what I mean...:embarrass

 

[sixshooter]

Further expalaination..

Switching through all the vent postitions in Manual works...

However there is a sticking point between going from "Demister" to "Centre"

Likely probs with the vacuum switch ?

From what I've read of the manual the jist is... "In Auto mode it does whatever it feels like doing to keep the temperature at the set level"

 

[Demons1964]

Welcome to the wonderful world of climate control problems. I'm almost at the end of my climate drama so I can probably offer some pointers. The symptoms of vent problems can be somewhat random so are difficult to diagnose. It could be 1) Vacuum leak or 2) Clogged filter on the vacuum control box or a combination of both.

1)Vacuum Leak
To determine where the leak is you'll need to listen for is a hissing sound on any of the vacuum lines. Start with the engine bay, the heater tap or the one-way valve near the brake booster are likely culprits. With the engine running put a piece of hose to your ear to help amplify the sounds from the other end by drowning out the sound of the engine. Check the vacuum tank as well beneath the passenger side guard. If you don't find any luck there read on.

2) Clogged dust filter
Now, the filter sire01TMK is talking about is in the vacuum control module located directly beneath the stereo, it sits on top of the carpet above the transmission tunnel. You'll need to remove the centre console and then the fascia surrounding the stereo to get to it. It takes a bit of time to remove everything which is why I didn't suggest you do this first. This box controls the switching of the vents by redirecting vacuum. You'll see a slim black box behind some wiring harnesses with 5 holes about the size of 5-cent pieces. One or more of the filter holes may be caked in dust which is more than likely in your case given where the car lived. Flip down the lid by depressing the tangs on top of the module and remove the filter. Soak it in warm soapy water for a long time to get rid of the dust. I cleaned out my filter and it reduced how often the vent problem showed itself, but I still have a vacuum leak I just located yesterday. There are a number of thin vacuum lines coming into the vacuum control box. Any one of these lines may be cracked as well, or where they join the control box. Or it could even be the servos inside the box. Hopefully it's just your filter that's clogged.

Do a search in the aircon sub-forum for "vacuum" and "climate" by the username "gsmrobinson" for further tips.

Hope this helps out.
Mark.

 

[sixshooter]

Cheers, Mark !

regards,

 

[Fletch_QLD]

Welcome to the wonderful world of climate control problems. I'm almost at the end of my climate drama so I can probably offer some pointers. The symptoms of vent problems can be somewhat random so are difficult to diagnose. It could be 1) Vacuum leak or 2) Clogged filter on the vacuum control box or a combination of both.

Those tips could come in handy - thanks mate.

I have another variation of this problem - my problem arises most notably when accelerating uphill, but can kick in under hard acceleration with no hill, or a big hill with no acceleration... Anyways, what happens is under the extra 'G' forces (hehe) the vent switches from centre to feet.

Any ideas ?

cheers