A/C is down again!

[KIMS CRUZER]

I took my 2001 PT Cruiser to have the a/c system checked June 6th. I initially took it it due to blowing warm air. I did notice it wasn't getting as cold as it did when I first purchased her, but it cooled enough for me. This year warm. Today I took the car back in. It is blowing warm air again! The shop recharged it and put the dye in. Stated they could not see anything at the time. Today I am told it will be $432 for the part, I believe he said the condensor? or compressor? the labor would around $400. I am told they have to take the dash board out to fix the problem. It could take about 8 hours to do the job. I can remember late last summer or early this summer I heard a whoosing sounds and saw , what I thought was smoke in the front passenger side of car. Can anyone give me some insight. I have been reading other posts trying to tell if I am about to get screwed again! I have been through the whole overheating thing a few years back. Any feedback will be appreciated!

[Travis2k7]

First thing I would do would be to get a 2nd opinion.

A while back my old Camaro was running rough, and the dealer told me "it's a blown head gasket, that will be $2100."

In reality it was vacuum lines and some other minor stuff that ended up costing around $250.

[spartanburgsc]

I just went through this with my 2003 last week.It was the cooling fan on mine.When you first crank up yours in the morning,turn on the A/C and check to see if your electric fan comes on.If it dosent its the fan.The fan is a 2 speed.One speed for the A/C and one speed for the Coolant.It can be bought off E-Bay for $85 shipped.The white smoke you saw under the front passenger side was Freon being released from the pressure release valve on the compressor.Mine did the same thing.The High side pressuregoes through the roof because the fan wasnt cooling the condenser.I hope this helps.Dont let em rip ya off!

[CREWZIN]

Take the advise of the above posts, get a second opinion preferably by someone that knows air conditioning and has worked on PT's. I very much doubt you have to have the work done that the first mechanic is talking about. It could still be expensive if a major part like the compressor needs to be replaced but your dash won't have to be torn apart.

One more thing. You said "this year warm". You should run your air conditioning thruout the winter months because seals need to be lubricated and if you don't touch the A/C they can dry out. Of course if it turns' out to be the fan, there was nothing you could do about it. They tend to burn out easily. Try that first. Turn the A/C on first thiing in the morning when everything is cool and the fan should be running as soon as you turn on the A/C switch on the dash.

[KIMS CRUZER]

I will check the fan this am. With that said , I had it replaced two summers ago at Chrysler when the car went through the whole overheating issue. Overheated when car was stopped. What a great experience that was. Maybe it is defective? Maybe it is under warranty for the part. I hope that is the issue. If the fan is fuctioning, what would cause the freon to be dumped out ? Does anyone know a good a/c mechanic in the Cincinnati area? You guys are numero uno

[CREWZIN]

The freon is dumped out (a safety measure) when the pressure gets too high and that happens for a couple different reasons usually because it's not getting cooled off enough (fan not running) or a blockage somewhere and I think also because you've lost a little over the winter and the pressure on either the high side or low side isn't correct. That's why you need someone that knows what they are doing to diagnose it correctly.

[Travis2k7]

Originally Posted by CREWZIN

The freon is dumped out (a safety measure) when the pressure gets too high and that happens for a couple different reasons usually because it's not getting cooled off enough (fan not running) or a blockage somewhere and I think also because you've lost a little over the winter and the pressure on either the high side or low side isn't correct. That's why you need someone that knows what they are doing to diagnose it correctly.

"The most dangerous issue regarding freon actually comes from fire and extreme heat, Freon at anything higher that 400 degrees Fahrenheit will chemically convert Freon to phosgene gas, commonly known as suffocating gas the agent that gained notoriety in World War 1 for the sweet smell of cut grass it produced before killing its victims."

Not sure if this is the reason but it's amazing how much you can learn from Wikipedia... Freon - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I learn new stuff all the time

[KIMS CRUZER]

I went outside. I don't here the fan kicking on as I recall hearing it in the past. Is the fan under warranty? I had it recharged on the 6th of June and the freon leaked out by the 23 of June.

[KIMS CRUZER]

I could almost swear I heard the fan prior to getting her serviced. Where is the connector for the fan? I do not trust mechanics. Oh how I wish I could find a honest one.

[CREWZIN]

Kim,

The low speed fan hardly makes any noise especially when the motor is running. You really have to look for the blades of the fan when the motor is off by looking closely at the back of the fan. If you can see the blades, then when the fan is running is will all be a blur because the fan is running (of course). The high speed fan make a lot of noise and you can hear that quite easily.

If you want to check the electrical connects (see picture below) you have to see it from the ground up. It's about 6 inches from the fan motor itself, the connection with the red lock-tab on the top.