weak a/c ?

[red]

i went to use my a/c for the 1st time last week (yes even in alaska we use a/c once in awhile, lol !) anyway, i let it run for awhile and it didnt seem to get very cold, at least not as cool as compared to my company vehicle (ford e-350 van) or my former 93 s-10....does this system seem weak to anyone else ??? i had read at the matrix owner site that if i use recirc and a/c at the same time that i would get a mold build up in my vents ???? is there a tsb on this anywhere????

[ragingfish]

My air isn't bad...I wish it was a bit colder, so I think I'll have the dealer tweak it a bit next time I'm in...but it works pretty good.As to the rumor abotu recirculating causing mold buildup, I have never heard of such a thing. I use recirc frequently. But you shouldn't use it for an extended time anyway because it doesn't bring fresh air into the car.Also, I know this seems obvious, but be sure the temp knob is all the way at cold. Believe it or not, I thought my A/C was broken, I was sweating, and I kept turning the button on, off, on, off, thinking something was wrong. 10 minutes later, I glanced at the temp knob, sure enough, it was set to hot. DUH!!!!!

[meathead333]

yeah, mine seems kinda slow, but it chills fine after a bit. it might just be an example of how we have become impatient in this fast food society.

[NSimkins]

quote:is there a tsb on this anywhere????Yes, there should be. Check out this thread:http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=1315

[Triton]

I have heard of other people having to take theirs in to have the a/c "tweaked." It might be a good idea. When I have tried mine, it seemed fine. But it really wasn't hot enough outside or in the car to get a good judgement of how it will work when I really need it to. One thing is for sure, I will take it in if it doesn't perform the way I think it should. Not to say that I am being unrealistic, but I do want it to get cold enough to make a noticable difference in the car.

[yank dini]

I have something from GM Tech when I got an oil change for the old Vibe late last year. When I get home and if I remember I'll either scan the doc and post it or just type it on the site. There is something the techs have to do in order for the AC to blow colder. This is also works for the Geo/Chevy Prism

[ColonelPanic]

I wasn't impressed with the Vibe's A/C when I started using it... At the last oil change, I had the dealership take a look. Indeed, there is a TSB for this.They made a quick adjustment to the temperature control cable and all is well. Except now it seems to work a little too good...

[ragingfish]

I know one thing for sure. When I read the brochure for my Sunfire, I remember vividly it saying "Ice Cold Air Conditioning!" When I went to use it, it wasn't so hot...rather, it was! It really sucked. And there was nothing they could do, it was poor design.I want ICE COLD AIR CONDITIONING! I want to FREEZE myself to death in my vibe! I want to be able to put a popsicle on a vent and it will still be frozen when I get to my destination 2 hours away...My friends dad works for GM...she said she'd ask him to turbocharge my A/C for me...I think he packs in so much freon or something that it really is so cold, it's unbearable...Now we're tlaking!Actually, it's funny...my friend just said to me "just install a window unit in your back window...hell, you can plug it in even!"I should look into that...

[Guy in PHX]

Just to help you guys to stay in perspective . . . . . . The other day my outside temp display read 113 degrees! It's not even summer yet. I think this year is going to be a beast. All in all the A/C was barely adequate. I think I'll have it looked at. What concerned me was the amount of swooshing noises (technical term) that was coming from the evaporator area under the pasenger side dash. Does anyone know if that is an indicator of under or over charge of freon? I'll periodicly post some temp readings just so you can stay thankfull you don't live in the desert. I just know I'll see 120 this year.

[joatmon]

It's been a weird spring here, last year was drought, but in May it rained here 24 days. Cool too, so I haven't really needed the AC. Did notice that if the fan is set to off, the AC doesn't turn on. I thought it was broken, I kept hitting the AC button and it wouldn;t light up. Must be some kind of interlock, but I was sure it was broken. Turned the fan on and the button lit up.

[ragingfish]

It's pretty simple actually.The fan, when set to off, turns off the entire system. While air still circulates, it's not actively being blown, cooled, or heated by the system. The force with which that air blows is directly proportional to the speed of the car. If you set the vent switch to upper vent, you can feel it get stronger as you speed up, and dissapear when you slow down.Because the system is off, that is why the A/C button doesn't work.

[Altus]

Down here in Southern Ontario we haven't had much call for the A/C yet this year... but we all know it's a comin! And the couple of times I've used it I noticed that it didn't seem to be working all that great either.Planned to have the dealer have a gander at it when I take it in for it's oil change / maintenance.Another thing I've noticed - with the temp dial to full Cold, and going to the vents, the air seems to still be getting heated some. As in the air coming out the vents is warmer than the ambient air with the window open.Anyone else noticed this?

[ragingfish]

Sounds like your temp sensor might be misaligned...