2000 C5 - A/C issue, where to start, where to take it

[Kahuna1]

So last year the A/C on my car was not blowing cold, used a can of recharge and it worked fine for a year, this year same thing, worked fine for a day.

 

I assumed I the leak had just got bigger, but?

Here is what is weird, when I hook the recharge can up like I'm going to recharge it again and now the gauge shows its still charged.

On the big Forum I've heard, reset all codes, haven't done that yet, also told that A/C might not work if low coolant - which reared its ugly head last weekend on the cruise.

I talked to my mechanic, who said they are really hard to find sometimes its just trail and error, mechanic from a Yuma dealership said to start at seals near the compressor, (He was on the cruise Sunday)

So any ideas, can anyone recommend a shop the knows the Corvette A/C system?

[Ted Y]

AZMotorhead works on Corvette A/C and he's about a mile from you. His name is Phil.

[TheCMSH]

You could have a blend door issue. Passenger footwell, fuses 27 & 18 as I recall (check owners manual that those are AC control fuses). Pull then for a couple minutes, plug them back in, turn on the key and it will cycle the blend doors through a reset cycle 

 

Search the big board for C5 blend doors, bet that'll hit on the procedure as well 

[Ted Y]

4 hours ago, TheCMSH said:

You could have a blend door issue. Passenger footwell, fuses 27 & 18 as I recall (check owners manual that those are AC control fuses). Pull then for a couple minutes, plug them back in, turn on the key and it will cycle the blend doors through a reset cycle 

 

Search the big board for C5 blend doors, bet that'll hit on the procedure as well 

 

Agreed. There's even a code for them not indexing properly, IIRC. 

 

Karl needs to post them before anything else.

[Bromley's Corvettes]

If low side presser reads normal after you have already recharged in past. That usually means crap in the system like junk clogging the orifice tube. That makes presser read normal or even high. If your car has over 100k and never had a/c work might be time for a rebuild. We see it a lot when guys try to just top off the system it might blow cold for a little while but it dont last. Best way to find out for shore is to remove the orifice tube and see how much crap is in it. What ever is stuck in the orifice tube came from the compressor:) 

[Ted Y]

I hate a clogged orifice. It feels icky.

[Bromley's Corvettes]

LOL I think the a/c systems feel same way liquid does not convert to gas right. Pressers go up performance goes down. It sucks anyway you look at it  

[dwdrummer]

let me know what you find out as mine is doing the same thing. CRAP.

[chevyguy1969]

Check your your condenser coil for proper air flow. It wouldn't hurt to clean it while you are there.

[TheCMSH]

In pre 2001 the gears inside the actuators tend to break off teeth (sort of the same problem as the headlight gears).  If the re-index doesn't help, it might need new actuators

[Ted Y]

For the love of Zora, we need the CODES!!!

 

Seriously, if you need help, call me. I'll walk you through it.

[Kahuna1]

I haven't looked at the codes, but I don't  think its the actuator doors as I can switch the air flow to other vents, (My Silverado had the actuator door issue) - Ill try and make some time to do more trouble shooting this weekend,

 

Just wanted to say a big THANK YOU  to everyone assisting

[Azmotorhead]

Honestly the only way to really know whats happening with the system is if you have a proper set of gauges on it so you can determine both the Hi and Low side pressures.

AC leaks hard to find and just trial and error. HOGWASH.

Let me know when you'd like to have me take a loook

[Azmotorhead]

Chad hows yours doing??

[theChad]

12 minutes ago, Azmotorhead said:

Chad hows yours doing??

Cold, but noisy. Have been on vacation so I haven't had a chance to install the new idler pulley to see if that stops the noise. Stay tuned! Should be able to get it on this weekend. 

[dwdrummer]

That's strange? Mine didnt have any codes pop up. Dang it

[JLs Mistress]

Karl I have always thought it might be the orifice tube .also thought it would not always turn on like defective pressure switch ?

[TheCMSH]

1 hour ago, dwdrummer said:

That's strange? Mine didnt have any codes pop up. Dang it

Do the re-index on the blend doors, see what happens. 

[dwdrummer]

I'll check that out tomorrow. Thanks for your help

[corvettech]

check if there is a difference in temperature between the high side line and the low side line near the firewall, the high side should be fairly warm to hot and the low side should be cool to cold and sweating if there's any humidity. if both lines feel good, then your issue is going to be inside the hvac case, most likely the temperature control (blend door) actuator, there are two one for each side, I have seen both go out at the same time before so comparing driver's to passenger's vent temps wont necessarily yield accurate diagnostic results. they almost always fail during a battery replacement as every time battery power is cycled all the hvac control module relearns the  actuator's min/max (left temp, right temp, air inlet(recirc), and mode)  positions by making a full travel until they reach a mechanical obstruction which then causes a voltage spike signaling the end of travel in one direction. from my experience the actual failure is the nylon drive gear develops a crack either preventing the actuator from turning back the other way or causing it to get stuck, im not sure how the crack forms either its the full cycling to the limit causing the crack or the crack has been there for some time and the actuator drive has just never made the travel all the way to it until now. if an actuator is the cause, neither one is all that easy to get to but the driver's side actuator is less swear inducing than the passenger side. I wouldn't necessarily, recommend replacing both unless neither one works as they are on opposite sides of the case and removing components to access one aren't really shared with the other. hope this helps