Climate Control Problems

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

 

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!

 

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...

 

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.

 

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

 

Yours is the common case of a vacuum leak. You lose vacuum when you accelerate, and at that point with not enough vacuum to hold the face vents open because of the leak, the airflow moves to the default position (feet). When you take your foot off the go pedal you've now got enough vacuum to compensate for the leak and airflow returns to the face vents. Find your vacuum leak as mentioned previously and you've solved your problem.

Cheers,
Mark.

 

Just a quick note to 'sixshooter'- Just in case this was overlooked.

As stated in owners manual...switching to 'manual' on climate control you direct the air where you want it to go. If you still have no air coming through when it is in manual then you definately have a problem. But if the problem is only when the 'auto' is turned on then it is simply how climate control works, by directing air to vent to change the temp in car more efficently. Just a question though does the same problem only happen when you try to cool the car or heat it as well?

 

Glad to hear you got it sorted out. After everything you checked the only thing left was one or more faulty solenoids in the control box.

Good to see a wrecker where a happy customer was their priority for a change. How much did it cost?

 

Hey I bought my Cal S2 last week, if the climate control is off, why is there air flow still coming thru the vents? plus it seemed this morning that the air flow was coming from outside the car because I was behind a damn garbo truck, you know the rest, when I turned on climate control it shows a C and it's set to take air from cabin.

 

sixshooter is spot on the money. The C is when you try to go below 16 degrees. For recirc what you're looking for is the little arrow going around in a circle. I can't remember if you can select that in auto mode, just do it in manual mode. If that arrow is on and it still won't recirc then the flap that closes off the outside air intake is stuck (either a vacuum leak or a faulty solenoid in the vacuum control box).

As to the Fresh air coming in with the climate control off, there'll still be an open inlet from the plenum chamber through to the vents. Air is forced through just by the car moving forwards (same deal as having an open window). The higher the speed you're travelling the more fresh air comes in. Someone feel free to correct me, but I imagine there's something in the ADR's to keep a default open fresh air inlet to the cabin to prevent buildup of carbon monoxide/dioxide in the cabin.

Mark.