GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

I noticed yesterday that my air doesn't come on when I turn it on at the lowest setting. I did a search and read that it may very well be the blower resistor. When I was just out, I turned the A/C on the second lowest setting and heard what I assume is the fan kick on every 20 seconds or so. (I am not that knowledgeable about cars.) I popped my hood and it appears it that it is the fan since it is what blows into the radiator. Could the fan kicking on this often be related to the possible resistor issue? If not, any suggestions?

Welcome to Genvibe! The engine fan kicks on whenever the A/C compressor kicks on. It could be every 20 seconds or so or if it's really hot both may stay on almost all the time. The engine fan operation is not in any way related to the blower resistor for the fan in the cabin. Usually when the blower resistor goes you lose all speeds except the highest. It may be the fan switch itself which is not working correctly.

The fan sounded loud so I popped my hood to see what the noise was. Maybe it's always done it and I never noticed before.Do you know how you know if your compressor is bad and/or going? My car flipped 100,000 a week or so ago, and my luck seems to be with every car I've had that things start going at 100K!Thanks for your help.

If the compressor is going it usually gets loud as in grinding and squealing. If you are getting cold air and no excessive noise the compressor is probably fine.

Sounds like you are low on freon to me. that would make the compressor cycle like that.

Quote, originally posted by Digger »Sounds like you are low on freon to me. that would make the compressor cycle like that.I'll second that.

I didn't think cars still used freon, wasn't that stuff banned years ago?Our 89 Ford wagon used Freon and we had a hell of a time ever trying to find people to recharge it for us cause of the environmental hazard the stuff posed.As for the A/C, if it is cold, it works, if it's not too loud, it works. If it is like freezing to the bone cold, then your unit is about to go. My fan kicks on a lot when it's been driving for awhile then sits, or if it's really hot. I rarely put the air on in my car, I'm a windows down guy. But when I do park for any period of time lately I've been shutting the car off to save on fuel.

Yes, they still use freon........todays freon (since '96 IIRC) is R134A, the old stuff is R12. With most FWD cars today (electric rad fans), it's amazing to see how much cooler the engine operates when driving around town with the A/C is on. Dash gauge won't tell you that but the ScanGauge will.

I officially learned something new today