Aircon not cold

[pops2114]

Hi guys, I have a Holden VE 2007 SV6. Aircon was recently re gassed and was blowing cold air. I installed a aerpro facia kit and made sure the sensor was cable tied under the glove in the correct position. The aircon is not blowing out cold air anymore. I disconnected the battery for 30 mins and back on just in case that did something. Still no cold air. The facia and functions are working correctly so I am not sure if this is a common problem with cold air?

I was thinking maybe getting the aircon checked to see if there is any leaks…

Has anyone had this problem before?

Thanks

 

[Fu Manchu]

faults like this are incredibly difficult to diagnose without really good bidirectional scan tools. They can be quite expensive to buy.

All I can suggest is something you won’t want to do. Reinstall the original headunit so it can be plugged in and operated. Then see if the ac works.

 

[mtd]

faults like this are incredibly difficult to diagnose without really good bidirectional scan tools

Agree. You could check the AC (leaks) but doubt (re you just had it checked/gassed) that's the REAL problem. My suggestion is wait... See if it's the same 3 weeks from now.

As Fu kind of suggested, it's likely the H/U install. TBH, I'm not sure many of these H/U fittings are CORRECTLY installed to align FULLY with the GM VE specs. Mine was supposed to be fully compliant, but alas, it was MOSTLY compliant. When I had the Alpine kit installed (H/U with HVAC) JUST DIDN'T WORK properly for about 3 weeks. Now, without doing anything at all - it works, most of the time.

I'm not suggesting it's all 'black magic' - what I am referring to is the HVAC on these cars is highly temperamental. The problem is that while there is absolute science behind what actuates, and when, there seems to be a hell-of-a-lot going on, and therefore what can go wrong. Also, these are VE's, so the chips were simpler... Just one item sending back the wrong response can cause a multitude of problems, that, might, eventuate to completely unrelated items flagging an 'error' (because, the item does actually receive an error! - it's computer programming 101 - a chain reaction back up the line).

This is why many people on this forum start with the basics (akin to, "have you turned the computer on at the power outlet").
It's also a major reason why commercial pilots MUST go through a checklist when a fault occurs (drastic or otherwise) I digress...

Sorry that this doesn't help immediately or directly - and please forgive me if I sound arrogant - because I genuinely don't mean to be - I just see volumes of posts with 'no cooling', 'no heating', 'no fan', 'lack lustre' air, 'wrong vents' on the forum and many (not all mind you) are resolved by following a disciplined and discrete PROCESS of a checklist.

I wonder if any guru here could write up something that could be iterated over by a few others and perfected over time. It might help many.

 

[pops2114]

I put the original facia back on and the car was still not blowing cold air. Took it back to my aircon guy and turns out there is definitely a leak somewhere because it lost over 200grams of gas in 8 days. The leak must be small because we can’t find the dye with the light. I even tried checking at night but can’t find where it’s leaking from. I might have to keep running the aircon every day until it stops blowing cool air and hopefully enough dye has leaked so I can find where it coming from.

On another note, the aerpro facia controls for the aircon work sometimes and sometimes it doesn’t turn on. Yesterday the fan was blowing but I couldn’t turn the aircon off. I tried to reset it but still not working. I removed the negative from the battery and left it for 20 mins than put it back on and it worked. This **** is doing my head in aye ‍

 

[lout]

200 grams in 8 days is a massive leak
only takes just under 600 grams for a complete fill

 

[Fu Manchu]

Get the UV torch up under the transmission bell housing area on the left side.

If you can’t see the leak, it could be the evaporator in the dash.
It can also be inspected with a borescope and you’d be looking for oily residue on the bottom corners and edge of it.

 

[J_D 2.0]

Like Fu said, if you can’t find the gas leak it might be the evaporator under the dash. Which will be a pita to replace. Heres a video of what’s involved.

 

[adios57]

I had a similar problem with a small leak from the air con which turned out to be a very small leak in the condensor. Once that was replaced with o rings etc no problem. the leak was difficult to find, took three goes. Works well now. Hope this helps.

 

[krusing]

The common fault for Air Con leaks is the HP hose compression fittings,
the pipe and hose that comes from the compressor to the condenser,
The leak is the the compression fittings at each end of the rubber hose,
The UV Dye is usually visible on the said hose, and at each end.

 

[VFSV6FORME]

I had a similar problem with a small leak from the air con which turned out to be a very small leak in the condensor. Once that was replaced with o rings etc no problem. the leak was difficult to find, took three goes. Works well now. Hope this helps.

Prefer to change the Condenser but the evaporator on a VE or VF. all I can say I hope you have a good memory.