CAracer

A/C isn't working normally. Only puts out mild cold air. I pulled up two codes. They are current and history codes.

Does anybody know what these two codes mean?

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks,

tryme

i had the same problem the other day . do the codes that you see have a "h" or a "c" by them or both? does air still blow cool out of the passanger side? also can you change where the air flows like from the defrost feet and face? let me know.

allan

CAracer

Allen, both C and H after codes. The A/C does still blow cool, but, not as cool as it should.

YO-EL

I AM THE KING!

dpd

the faults are for the left side duct actuator potentiometer.the fix is to replace it.

YO-EL

Thats not the fix bro.....

dpd

it fixed the last 10 cars i had in the last 2 months with the same faults

Z06ufgrad2002

YO-EL,
What is the fix.

YO-EL

They'll be back.....

The left temperature door actuator is NOT the fault...
It is OVERCLOSING & out of range.

Unless the GEAR TEETH ARE INDEXED BY 2 TEETH INSIDE THE ACTUATOR itself, the codes & problem of warm air on drivers side will REOCCUR.

When power to the battery is disrupted, the doors do a self open & close cycle. The codes will consistently re-appear, H & C.

The indexing of the gear teeth is an "INSIDE GM TECH SUPPORT CENTER TSB" and NOT A PUBLISHED TSB...

The only way a GM tech can know this is by calling GM TECH SUPPORT
& telling them that the codes & faults occurred NUMEROUS times.
THEN they will advise with the indexing of the gear teeth...

You can thank me now.....

Oh yea, trust me on this!
Ellis

tryme

i just had the same problem last week don't pull the dash apart yet take your car in and check how much freon is in your car it should be 1.63. mine would cool but not very good and only out of the passange side trust me check that first.

allan

dpd

index teeth?there are no teeth.the actuator has a guide pin and the shaft on the door is indexed[the actuator can only go on 1 way].FWIW,gm has upgraded the actuator.i've been around the car along time,but inquired about the "indexing",nobody has never heard of it.the only other possibilities are pinched wiring or a binding flap door,other than that,more than likely the temp motor is bad.

YO-EL

Dude...
Fine....

I KNOW FOR A FACT that INSIDE the actuator, there are GEARS with TEETH. They spin & open & close the door... If your contact knows nothing about this, then you're talking to the wrong people, and trust me, your people will be back with the same issues.

And to the other dude, don't give me this "trust me" bull about checking the freon..
All you're doing is misleading people.

I own an HVAC company, & I KNOW air conditioning..
If the freon was low, there would not be any cooling at all, not as you say, just from one side...So there's goes your post...

Please don't post about things you know nothing about...

tryme

YO-EL
you are right about taking the actuator apart and moving it on tooth to change 4 counts but if you own an hvac company and don't think it is possible for that car to be low on freon you need to go back to school. if you need proof i can give you the chevrolet dealerships number that the mechanic works at that was helping me on this issue and you can ask him he has been at chevrolet for a long time. i didn't say that his car was low on freon i just told him to check it because it is alot cheaper than a 125.00 actuator. you come off as a kid telling people to disregard other peoples post that are trying to help this guy out when you really shouldn't say anything at all.

CAracer i have had the same problem that you are having now the first time it was the driverside actuator and the last time which was just this past week and it was very low on freon just check it out it won't cost and it is alot cheaper than buying an actuator that once you open you can't take back.

dpd

yo-el-
first,yes,you are right,there is a toothed gear inside the actuator,yes it is possible to take it apart and play with it to get the potentiometer to "trick"the a/c head into thinking it is ok when it is not[reindexing it makes the control head think it saw full hot/full cold when it really didn't],so this fix is the bs method.on the theory of being low on refrigerant,yes you can be low and have cold air on one side and not the other.since you are a hvac guy,what do a/c systems do?absorb heat,period!especially with 134,if you are just off a 1/2 pound,it will effect a/c performance.the other guy was trying to help out,no need to tear his head off[for the record,low refrigerant will not set the 361/441 hvac faults].
as for my cars coming back,i don't think so[i'm not perfect,but i know cars better than you think],but i don't want to argue with anybody either,all i tried to do is help.
would your method work?probably.would it be right,no.as far as any cars in my shop coming back[i'm not the only guy in the shop who has replaced them],none of their cars have comeback[strange?],but gm has a superceeded part # for the actuators[it's the same part for right/left],
so they are aware of the problem and have redesigned the actuator.

YO-EL

Dudes:

Don't tell me I need to learn more about air conditioning...

Let me tell you:

FACT:

Its as BASIC AS IT GETS!

If a system is LOW on refrigerant, I don't care what chemical it is, COOLING WILL BE DIMINISHED!!! PERIOD!

There is NO WAY a system that is low on charge, will be blowing cold air on ONE SIDE ONLY & not the other, UNLESS possibly the side with the cold air's evaporator coil where the blower is moving the air thru is partially ICED UP!

OK, so lets REPREAT again class...

If a system is LOW ON CHARGE, there will be little or no cooling!

A cooling system, the moment it loses ANY portion of its refrigerant charge, TOTAL COOLING will be affected.

If a system is LOW ON REFRIGERANT, THERE IS NO WAY ONE SIDE CAN BE BLOWING COLD AND THE OTHER WARM, UNLESS THE SIDE WITH THE COLD AIR IS BLOWING THRU A PARTIALLY ICED UP OR FROZEN EVAPORATOR....

I am telling you check the charge, and if its full, INDEX the teeth!

tryme

yo-el
im not trying to take any cheap shots at you but the way it can cool on the passanger side and not the drivers side is because the freon enters and exits on the passanger side of the evaporator. since you have a hvac business you have access to 134 freon why don't you pull all the freon out of your system in your vette except for .26 pounds and see how it cools you will be amazed. also since you know all about the vettes heating and cooling system do you know why gm says that the second resort is to take the actuator 1 tooth. gm's first recomended fix is to replace the head with a 2001 head. but the million dollar question is ..... why do you need to take the actuator apart what causes the actuator to bottom out before the door is closed?????

YO-EL

Well, put it this way...

I speak from experience... My own & from being on here for 5 years, one of the longest standing active members too...

I had the control head unit changed 3 times.
I had the ground wire & connectoirs changed 3 different times.
I had the actuator & the door itself changed twice....

EACH time I watched as my friend who is the GM Corvette Tech, went thru the sequence of steps printed out by Tech Support, and got measured values on his meter until the appropiate cause was indicated, and each time, as the values were NOT within the constraints, he did the recommended repair.

EACH time TECH II cleared the codes, but they always came back after a month or two...

FINALLY, he called & complained to GM about this problem where the GM recommended procedure WASN'T fixing the problem, and THEN, & ONLY THEN, was he told about this non-published, "inside" or "private" TSB about indexing the gear teeth by 2 teeth.....

He indexed the teeth by 2, and guess what, its been 3 years now, with NO codes, and nice COLD air from the passenger side, middle & DRIVERS side.

We even checked by disconnecting & reconnecting the battery & having the HVAC system go thru its startups with vaccuum & doors opening & closing, and PRESTO, no codes, & the AC works perfectly...

Look, the only reason I post like this is because I work in the HEAT ALL DAY, & I want COLD AC in my car... I don't want other people to have to go thru what I did for such a long time & so many visits until the problem was fixed...

We found the fix, and I try to tell EVERYONE what to do about it.
It has worked for me and MANY OTHERS here on the Forum.

You do with it want you want, but again, if you don't index the teeth, even after you do whatever you think is right (control unit, or actuator), I'm telling you, after some time, your clients WILL be having the problem re-occur & the codes come up & warm air blowing form 1 side again.. Its just a matter of time....

Trust me on this bro....The sequence & values by GM when diagnosing this problem are worthless... They will indicate a "false" fix.

Index the gear teeth INSIDE the actuator......

0vetteshop

Easy fella's,you are both correct A C5 that is low on freon will in fact blow cold out the right vents and hot out the left vents...Seen it many times

Moving the left actuator gear tooth compensates for a binding left temp door or a door that has extended travel due to wear.The compensation is calibrated when the battery is connected and the control head relearns full door positions during initialzation.Usually this senario is only detected after disconnecting the battery for other reasons If you install a 2001 control head on a 97-2000,indexing the gear tooth is not required.

It is also possible that the left door actuator is simply faulty and requires replacement with no indexing.This is a common occurance...

YO-EL

Dude,,,,your ignorance is showing...
Honestly, let me educate you...

IF a system is LOW on refrigerant, it will not FILL the evaporator coil.

Makes NO DIFFERENCE what side the evaporator is located on.

A partially filled evaporator coil will NOT cool.

If it gets low enough, the evaporator will frost or ice up.

Ok, so, again, it has NOTHING TO DO WITH WHERE THE EVAPORATOR COIL IS LOCATED>..

If there is not enough freon to FILL the evaporator, it ain't gonna cool.

And that the bottom line cause ELLIS says so...

Dude,, why do you think for YEARS everyone on the Forum asks me & calls me up when they have a heating or air conditioning problem?
Maybe its because I know my stuff??


Later bro...Class is over...
EL

YO-EL

Bro:

I know you're the man, but I respectfully disagree... two fold...

A system low on charge WILL NOT COOL. PERIOD!

And I had 2001 control head units put in & still the the codes & problem re-occured until the teeth were indexed.....

Like I said, I've been thru it, and have seen it on 3 other local guys cars as well as many others on here who have thanked me for the tip about indexing the gear teeth..
Ellis

C5 Tech:
Bro... not being flip, but since I'm in the field for 25 years, email me & explain to me how a system low on refrigerant can still cool....
This I gotta hear....
indypace78@aol.com