How To: A/C & Recirculation intermittant/blinking

This has been discussed many times here before, and I thought I would bring all of the information together in a "how-to." I am going to attempt the semi-permanent cleaning repair this weekend. I will let you all know how it works.

Problem: A/C and Recirculation lights flash on and off intermittently.

Reason: HVAC Control head unit is worn.

Affected Model Years: 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003

Semi-Permanent Fix:

1. Replace unit at a cost of $100 - $150.
Will return in 2-3 years depending on use.

2. Clean existing unit with directions provided here, at no cost.
Will return in 2-3 years (estimated) depending on use.
Forum: http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=199000&page=1&pp=15 (Post #14)
Direct Link: http://www.imcool.com/articles/aircondition/AC_ControllersAreRepairable.pdf

Just to let everyone know, I did this modification two nights ago. It took about 30 minutes total. More time was spent taking the dash apart than actually doing the cleaning.

It seems to have worked. I have been driving with just the Recirc on, just the A/C on, and with both on for two days and have not had one flicker.

This also has seemed to stop another problem that happened occasionally when I would go to change the blower location setting. Sometimes it would hesitate and still blow where the selector was at and not where I moved it too. (i.e. It was set on defrost, I moved it to floor, but it was still blowing on the window) It has also not done this for two days.

How do I remove the facia to get to the control head?

its not held in by any screws just some of thoes stupid clips so all you have to do is pull it off, starting at the top usualy works best

Once again Thanks.

I just finished the cleaning. I no longer have the problem with my A/C light flashing and the recirculation stays lit with out changing. i still have a problem with my a/c not blowing on the 1 and 2 settings but i believe that's a different problem. I'm very satisfied so far. thanks for the walk through

That is the resistor problem. The first URL in the message above will give you directions on changing it. It is around $20 for the part and around 1 hour of labor.

The A/C light on our 1998 Malibu would not stay on all the time so we took it to the dealer and they replaced the A/C control head. Now the controls work differently then they did before. Now with the fan on, if you press the recirc switch, the A/C will come on and stay on. The light on the A/C switch remains off. You can cycle the A/C switch on and off ( the light works) but it does not turn off the A/C. The dealer states that this is the way it is supposed to work but I am not convinced. We have owned the car since it was new and it never worked like this before. You could have the fan running in recirc mode without the A/C running. Am I wrong? We have been back to the dealer twice on this issue.

I know this is somewhat late of a reply, but my control unit works the same way. It has since the car was new. If you are put in recirculate mode it kicks the A/C compressor on. Regardless of whether the A/C button is on or off. Samethin when you put in on defrost. The A/C compressor turns on. Kinda don't like this thing doing the thinking for me. Tried the cleaning thing...guess I will see how it goes. Haven't installed the unit back in yet though...still sitting here on the desk.

I know this is somewhat late of a reply, but my control unit works the same way. It has since the car was new. If you are put in recirculate mode it kicks the A/C compressor on. Regardless of whether the A/C button is on or off. Samethin when you put in on defrost. The A/C compressor turns on. Kinda don't like this thing doing the thinking for me. Tried the cleaning thing...guess I will see how it goes. Haven't installed the unit back in yet though...still sitting here on the desk.

Thank you for responding. We have just decided to live with it and get used to the change in how the controls work.

well I did the cleaning instructions as stated in the link above...so far so good. Mine used to do it occasionally, then it got progressively worse. Didn't matter if it was in re-circulate or not the a/c light and compressor would flash on and off. Here on a hot Texas day it wasn't enought to keep the car cool with the compressor kicking on and off. (I was waiting for the compressor to die with it turning off and on). But the fix has worked so far if it does it again I will just take it apart, you could probably do it in 5-10 minutes easy, if you have any questions on how to do this feel free to ask.

I have lived with this problem for more than 2 years. I wish I had surfed to find this site earlier. I am so pumped that it worked. What an easy repair!!!!

Definitely worth doing.

Problem went away, not sure why cleaning the contacts fixed it.

I followed these instructions - very easy - very clean procedure.

I should have done this 2 years ago.

Thank you for the post BeatnikTermite. I just did it on my Malibu and it worked like a charm.

This has been discussed many times here before, and I thought I would bring all of the information together in a "how-to." I am going to attempt the semi-permanent cleaning repair this weekend. I will let you all know how it works.

Problem: A/C and Recirculation lights flash on and off intermittently.

Reason: HVAC Control head unit is worn.

Affected Model Years: 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003

Semi-Permanent Fix:

1. Replace unit at a cost of $100 - $150.
Will return in 2-3 years depending on use.

2. Clean existing unit with directions provided here, at no cost.
Will return in 2-3 years (estimated) depending on use.
Forum: http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=199000&page=1&pp=15 (Post #14)
Direct Link: http://www.imcool.com/articles/aircondition/AC_ControllersAreRepairable.pdf

This has been discussed many times here before, and I thought I would bring all of the information together in a "how-to." I am going to attempt the semi-permanent cleaning repair this weekend. I will let you all know how it works.

Problem: A/C and Recirculation lights flash on and off intermittently.

Reason: HVAC Control head unit is worn.

Affected Model Years: 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003

Semi-Permanent Fix:

1. Replace unit at a cost of $100 - $150.
Will return in 2-3 years depending on use.

2. Clean existing unit with directions provided here, at no cost.
Will return in 2-3 years (estimated) depending on use.
Forum: http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=199000&page=1&pp=15 (Post #14)
Direct Link: http://www.imcool.com/articles/aircondition/AC_ControllersAreRepairable.pdf
BeatnikTermite....THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!
Apparently the problem with my a/c is not an unfamiliar one and thank goodness to the powers that be for Google. I took my car to a local shop to diagnose the problem. I dealt with the owner. He "suggested" that I have the entire system replaced to a tune of almost $1500 (provided me with a detailed estimate as he tried to confound me with tradespeak). This cost me $25. I took it to another shop, the mgr told me he ran the a/c for 30 min and the problem I described did not surface, therefore he could not give me any estimate for repair, not knowing what the problem was. This cost me $0. It occurred to me to give Google a try, keyed in malibu+a-c+problem, which brought me to this forum, and low and behold, found my problem described to a T. It makes me boiling mad to have anybody attempt to hose me...and especially automotive repair shops. Ain't my first rodeo, and have had encounters with unscrupulous sorts....what really burns my butt is those who think that because my chromosomes are XX, that I am an airheaded woman and an easy target.
The pdf page is step-by-step w/ pictures too. Love that. I copied and pasted the forum page and pdf. I am in the process of contacting 8 on your side consumer reporter. If they decide not to investigate, I will march into that shop on a busy Monday morning, with documents in hand and politely, calmly, read the owner the riot act, with both barrels loaded. Not only will the owner find out that I won't subscribe to his brand of "service", but will in return, "suggest" he learn to Google, look up the meaning of INTEGRITY, and review a course on business ethics, but the customers waiting to be served will get some insight as to how they operate there. The ultimate irony? A tagline on their letterhead that reads: Yesterday's integrity, todays technology. --Respectfully and humbly--PW

BeatnikTermite....THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!
Apparently the problem with my a/c is not an unfamiliar one and thank goodness to the powers that be for Google. I took my car to a local shop to diagnose the problem. I dealt with the owner. He "suggested" that I have the entire system replaced to a tune of almost $1500 (provided me with a detailed estimate as he tried to confound me with tradespeak). This cost me $25. I took it to another shop, the mgr told me he ran the a/c for 30 min and the problem I described did not surface, therefore he could not give me any estimate for repair, not knowing what the problem was. This cost me $0. It occurred to me to give Google a try, keyed in malibu+a-c+problem, which brought me to this forum, and low and behold, found my problem described to a T. It makes me boiling mad to have anybody attempt to hose me...and especially automotive repair shops. Ain't my first rodeo, and have had encounters with unscrupulous sorts....what really burns my butt is those who think that because my chromosomes are XX, that I am an airheaded woman and an easy target.
The pdf page is step-by-step w/ pictures too. Love that. I copied and pasted the forum page and pdf. I am in the process of contacting 8 on your side consumer reporter. If they decide not to investigate, I will march into that shop on a busy Monday morning, with documents in hand and politely, calmly, read the owner the riot act, with both barrels loaded. Not only will the owner find out that I won't subscribe to his brand of "service", but will in return, "suggest" he learn to Google, look up the meaning of INTEGRITY, and review a course on business ethics, but the customers waiting to be served will get some insight as to how they operate there. The ultimate irony? A tagline on their letterhead that reads: Yesterday's integrity, todays technology. --Respectfully and humbly--PW

No problem. I am glad you could use this. I am just here to help, and hopefully, be helpful.

Bump.

This has been brought up several times again recently.

Just wanted to post an update. I fixed mine as stated in my last post in May of 2005 it is almost a year now March 2006, and it still works perfectly. If it does it agian I will just do the simple fix again.

BT:

Ditto to that! About two years ago I started doing my own work on my cars. I had to. I would have gone postal on the next mechanic who left 'spare bolts' on my battery; who left the bottom radiatior hose clamp loose after spending week rebuilding my cooling system; who left me with loose valve cover bolts after charging me $200 to replace the VC gaskets; who replaced my radiator, and sent me out of the shop with a bad waterpump; etc. All real things that happened.

Do not get me wrong. Some of my best friends are mechanics. I have the greatest respect for guys who do the right thing and those guys earn every penny of what they charge.

Enough of the soapbox.

Thanks for posting this "how to". My wife will think I am a genius when I fix her AC problem. Thanks for making me look good: in advance.

2002 Malibu

The A/C light on the control head would flicker then go off. We would have to keep punching the a/c button to get it to stay on. I went to a salvage yard and removed the control head from a wrecked malibu. The control head worked for a while. I will try the cleaning. The good part is I now have a spare unit that I can do the cleaning to and swap out with the one that is presently in the car.

I did mine the other day, it took about an hour start to finish. We are thrilled with the result. I thought I had inherited a really nasty electrical problem, but who new it could be so simple to fix. The Forum Rules!

It started out that he Recirc mode just would not hold, it would revert to Fresh Air mode pretty quickly, and of course the AC just doesn't cool as well in that mode. Here in the Deep South its a real issue if you are not getting every bit you can out of that AC.

The day I started to do the work, I noticed the AC light was flickering and would go off. The compressor clutch would snap in and out. Couldn't be a good thing.

All is well now. Thanks Again!

Thank you very much - I tried this fix about a month ago, and the A/C has been working great since then. We just sucked it up and put the windows down last summer as the A/C would only stay on for about 20 seconds at a time.

From start to finish, it took about an hour and it cost me nothing. Wish I had seen this last July...

I fixed mine today ,using this info-- thanks

I did this as well. It works like a charm now. Considering how stinking hot it is out right now, this is a real blessing... especially since it's a FREE fix! Thanks!!!!!

I did this fix about three months ago and thought I was good to go. However, it has started to act up again. Not nearly as bad as before though. I think it is mainly the fan switch that causes this. I found on a long trip in June that if I switched fan speeds a lot, it would cause the AC to turn off, or the recirc to drop back to fresh air mode.....

For now we are leaving the fan on 5 (max speed) and the AC rarely drops out. We still see occasional drop outs of the recirculation mode. I will probably try cleaning it again, it's a lot better than forking over $200 to GM for the control head....

They really should own up to this failure like they have the bad Hazard switch.

Good luck to all! Thanks Too!

"My other car is a 02 Malibu"

You Are Wrong The Recirc Mode Can Only Be Used In The A/c Mode

recirc mode can be used in every setting with the ac on or off except defrost and defrost/ floor. Or at least I do it all the time and the car seems to let me.

recirc mode can be used in every setting with the ac on or off except defrost and defrost/ floor. Or at least I do it all the time and the car seems to let me.

That is true except, the A/C will always be on when in recir mode, by default.
My 04 Malibu Z model is setup that way.

recirc mode can be used in every setting with the ac on or off except defrost and defrost/ floor. Or at least I do it all the time and the car seems to let me.

Same on my 2000 Malibu

I knew if I searched long enough I would find the fix for this problem, and here it is! After years of struggling with this problem on my wife's '99 Malibu, I finally fixed it thanks to this forum. Let me add a couple of notes:


Step 1 is to remove the trim bezel from around the radio and control head. I covered a flat-blade screwdriver with masking tape and used it to pry off the bezel. It snaps in place in four places.
When removing the control head from the dash, be sure to pull it straight out. There are two plastic alignment pins on the rear of the head which can snap if you pull it out at an angle.
The face plate is held onto the plastic control head frame by 4 barbed catches. Use a small flat-blade screwdriver to lift the frame away from the barb to release it.
The PCB is also held in place with four barbed catches. Gently push the barb to the edge of the PCB to release it.
My PCB was so dirty that alcohol wouldn’t clean it, so I used an old trick I learned when fixing large-scale mainframe computers. I used a pencil eraser to clean the brushes and PCB. I rubbed the PCB fairly briskly and a dark coating came off of the etch. However, I was very gentle with the brushes since they are very delicate. I rubbed them with the pencil eraser just enough to make them shiny.
So now my wife's car is working correctly and I'm the hero. :lol2: