HELP!!! 02 Buick Lesabre Air conditioner broken

[02BuickLesabre]

Sorry I'm new here so if this has already been discussed, I apologize. I'm going to have the car looked at, but before I do I thought I'd run it by you all here and see if its something minor or major. 2 days ago in about 95 degree weather, I drove to the Lake mostly with the air on. After stopping to get a bite to eat, a guy told me my car was draining fluid outside. I moved the car back and it was just water....the guy dipped his finger in it and smelled it....So everything was working fine, drove back home air on and after pulling into the garage the same thing happened.

First question: Where is this water coming from?

Okay, last night I went out to watch the fight and the drive to the party was about an hour away. I got to the party, a friend came out and needed a lift to the store, at this point the car had only been off for a minute and after starting the car, the air conditioner would not come on....While we drove to the store, the air was still coming out the vents and cold like normal. During the night, we made a few runs and sometimes the air would kick on (i Could hear it running) and then towards the end of the night it was doing the same thing it did when I got there and that was just blow when the car was moving.

Second question: Does anyone know why the air is blowing out cold only while the car is moving?

And lastly, got up to run to Home depot and the air won't come on and it appears to be blowing cold air when the car is in motion but not very hard due to the speed I was driving I guess. My mechanic will get the job to fix it, but I'm the type of person that likes to get a few ideas about a problem before letting the person I'm paying tell me whats wrong....Thanks for your help and time reading this post.

UPDATE: Okay, I started looking around online and some good folks gave some troubleshooting suggestions so I went out and performed these things?
Checked to make sure fans were moving....check
Checked to make sure air compressor was rotating....check
Checked the metal coolant lines...ice cold....check

After this, I opened the radiator cap and coolant tank and saw some rusty brown stuff inside the tank and the radiator cap had it also. My mechanic did a flush maybe 6 months ago and said I'd probably need a new radiator at some point.

Third question: Does the brown stuff or radiator have anything to do with the air not coming into the car?

[emt1134]

Without getting technical, the water is absolutely normal. Basically, the A/C component which takes out heat from the air is located inside your vehicle... Condensation collects on the outside of this component, which must drain to the outside of the vehicle (otherwise your passenger side carpet would be soaking wet)....

As for your other concern, how does the AC feel compared to other days? Sometimes the AC just doesnt work very well unless the vehicle is moving... However, from what you are describing, you may have a small refrigerant leak or possible a clogges condenser.

[02BuickLesabre]

Thanks EMT...after doing more research I found a article that describes the water issue exactly as you put it. But I think my problem is a short somewhere, or something isn't grounded properly. Another article said to trouble shoot the vent issue, it said to turn the temperature up to the warm levels and I should here a door or something open. Well I didn't hear this open and thought I got an idea of what the problem might be. Long story short, I took the car out once the sun went down and I started doing different things, raising the temp, lowering, turn the recirc on then the vent and I noticed I had cold air coming through so as this happened, I went over a speed bump...I didn't see it....but I wasn't going very fast and my air was turn up to 4 bars...I think 6 is max power and the air started blowing hard like it should. I stopped the car to make sure it was running and it wasn't the movement of the car making it blow air in and its working again so I figure it had to be a short...

[imidazol97]

Originally Posted by 02BuickLesabre

Sorry I'm new here so if this has already been discussed, I apologize. I'm going to have the car looked at, but before I do I thought I'd run it by you all here and see if its something minor or major. 2 days ago in about 95 degree weather, I drove to the Lake mostly with the air on. After stopping to get a bite to eat, a guy told me my car was draining fluid outside. I moved the car back and it was just water....the guy dipped his finger in it and smelled it....So everything was working fine, drove back home air on and after pulling into the garage the same thing happened.

First question: Where is this water coming from?

when the car was moving.

Second question: Does anyone know why the air is blowing out cold only while the car is moving?

car?

The water is the humidity removed from the air by the evaporator inside the HVAC box.

The air blows only while you're moving because the inside blower fan is not working right. Several have had trouble.

With the key ON and the blower switch set to a higher speed, use the toe of your shoe on the right side of the hump near the firewall to bump the bottom of the HVAC box. That's where the fan motor is.

If the blower turns on, you have the failed blower problem. When driving, typically hitting a bump may cause it to make contact and start blowing.

The connector to the heater blower fan may be burned; check the contacts there first.

The blower motor itself may not be making contact inside. Easiest is to replace the blower motor. Three screws, rubber cooling air hose, the connector, and you may have to pull the carpet back to wiggle the squirrel cage out. Remember to put the rubber cooling tube on before you start putting in the three screws.

[02BuickLesabre]

Thanks imidazol97. I was thinking it was just a short. I cantacted my mechanic this morning about adding this to the list of other repairs (outer tie rod ends, coil springs, front & rear brakes, engine and trans flush.....but now I'll be adding a new radiator and possible a blower motor)he's doing for me. I love this car, but its beginning to have more things go wrong, but its still a lot cheaper than buying a new car and it has enough space for me since I'm a big guy.

Thanks to everyone for the replies. I'll be submitting another question to the community about my sunroof...yikes.

[claimed4all]

Remember, not all 2002 Buick Lesabres have a cooling tube on the blower motor. I know mine does not which makes the blower motor about 100$ cheaper to replace. Mine quit working and I took it apart, sprayed it with electrical motor cleaner and put it back together. No problems in over a year. Very easy to do yourself with minimal tools.

[imidazol97]

Originally Posted by claimed4all

Remember, not all 2002 Buick Lesabres have a cooling tube on the blower motor. I know mine does not which makes the blower motor about 100$ cheaper to replace. Mine quit working and I took it apart, sprayed it with electrical motor cleaner and put it back together. No problems in over a year. Very easy to do yourself with minimal tools.

How did you get the brushes to stay in while you put the cap back over the rotor end?