AC System works Cold but in Driver Side Vents ONLY! Help!

[Reaccion]

Hi guys! I have a little issue with my 2003 Vibe's AC. I notice that my AC system works. however, the AC only blows cold air through the driver side vents. I checked the freon level on the system and it is just fine. I also tested the heater and noticed that when using the heater, the vents work great as they should. I am new on the Pontiac/Toyota world so any help will be greatly appreciated! Thanks guys!

Solution: I opened the low pressure valve and there was only air (No Freon) being sprayed out. I let all the air come out and I added a whole 12oz R134a Freon can. Then I felt a lot better the air coming from the passenger side vents. I think that if I give it a FULL vacuum, the AC should feel perfect in all vents.



Tags: 03 04 05 06 07 08 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Matrix GT air conditioner conditioning A/C

[bluneon]

how did you go about checking the refrigerant level? these are symptoms of lower charge. check for leaks.

[Reaccion]

how did you go about checking the refrigerant level? these are symptoms of lower charge. check for leaks.

I actually used a low pressure gauge. I had the following reading (No actual picture but it is the actual reading):

IMG00315-20120811-1252.jpg (134.86 KiB) Viewed 4574 times

[Reaccion]

Anybody?

[joatmon]

No idea. A while back there was someone who had a problem of the heater only blowing warm air out one side of the dash, and the cause was an air bubble in the heater core that kept coolant from flowing through one half of the heater core. I didn't think it would have that effect, but I guess there's no large header on the output of the heater box for the air to homogenize before it hits the individual vent pipes.

You said that when in AC mode, the cold air only blows from the drivers side but when using the heater, the vents work as they should.

To better characterize the problem, is it that
- when in AC mode, cold air blows out the drivers side and little to no air blows out the passenger side?
or
- when in AC mode, plenty of air blows out the passenger side, but the passenger side air is warm while the driver's side is cool?

(on the passenger side, is the problem airflow or temperature?)

[Reaccion]

No idea. A while back there was someone who had a problem of the heater only blowing warm air out one side of the dash, and the cause was an air bubble in the heater core that kept coolant from flowing through one half of the heater core. I didn't think it would have that effect, but I guess there's no large header on the output of the heater box for the air to homogenize before it hits the individual vent pipes.

You said that when in AC mode, the cold air only blows from the drivers side but when using the heater, the vents work as they should.

To better characterize the problem, is it that
- when in AC mode, cold air blows out the drivers side and little to no air blows out the passenger side?
or
- when in AC mode, plenty of air blows out the passenger side, but the passenger side air is warm while the driver's side is cool?

(on the passenger side, is the problem airflow or temperature?)

Thank you for replying. I read the thread that you are refering to. My problem is that when the AC is on, plenty of air blows out the passenger side, but the passenger side air is in normal temperature while the driver's side is cool. There is a cold temperature problem on the passenger side vents.

[bluneon]

you might be low on charge regardless of what the pressure gauge shows. if you don't see or suspect a leak then i would evacuate the system to measure exactly how much charge you have, that way you'll know right off the bat if you truly are low or not. then top off accordingly and see what happens.

[joatmon]

No idea if it would cause the problem you are having, but you might want to check the temperature flap control cable, see viewtopic.php?t=1004" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I have no practical AC skills, I'd have to take it somewhere to purge and refill.

If you shut off the driver side vents, do the passenger vents get cooler?

Seems like the only logical explanations are that either air is getting around the AC core somehow, or the side of the AC core the passenger side air passes through isn't getting cold

[Reaccion]

No idea if it would cause the problem you are having, but you might want to check the temperature flap control cable, see viewtopic.php?t=1004" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I have no practical AC skills, I'd have to take it somewhere to purge and refill.

If you shut off the driver side vents, do the passenger vents get cooler?

Seems like the only logical explanations are that either air is getting around the AC core somehow, or the side of the AC core the passenger side air passes through isn't getting cold

Okay, that is a great link! Thanks.

[Reaccion]

you might be low on charge regardless of what the pressure gauge shows. if you don't see or suspect a leak then i would evacuate the system to measure exactly how much charge you have, that way you'll know right off the bat if you truly are low or not. then top off accordingly and see what happens.

Thank you for replying!
You are right. I opened the low pressure valve and there was only air (No Freon) being sprayed out. I let all the air come out and I added a whole 12oz R134a Freon can. Then I felt a lot better the air coming from the passenger side vents. I think that if I give it a full vacuum, the AC should be perfect in all vents.

[joatmon]

Good call blueneon