Climate Control
clauritzen
05-15-2006, 11:23 PM
I have a 91 PA with dual climate contol. A while back I noticed that passengers would always turn the temp way up on their side. Now that it has warmed up, I have noticed that I always have hot air on the drivers side and cold air on the passenger side. Is this something with the climate control system or a damper in the vent that is stuck? Any help would be appreciated.
benEzra
05-17-2006, 11:15 AM
Could be as simple as your system being a bit low on refrigerant. My '97 does exactly that when the refrigerant gets a tad low; the A/C goes warm on the driver's side first. It's not uncommon for cars to lose a bit of refrigerant during the winter, when the system isn't used as much.
IF your car has an R-134 system or has been retrofitted, you can simply have the dealer or a trusted A/C shop top it off, or buy a can of R-134 and a fill kit at Autozone or Advance Auto and do it yourself if you're confident doing so. Just make sure you connect to the LOW pressure side. Do be aware that the A/C system on these cars is a bit more complex than the one on a less-expensive car, so if you have extensive work done, you might want a dealer to do it.
If your car is an R-12 system (could be if it's a '91), you won't be able to just have it topped off; the system will have to be retrofitted for the new refrigerant. I had an '87 Toyota retrofitted and it was a few hundred dollars, as I recall. They might be able to check your system pressure to see if that's the problem, though.
If it's not low refrigerant, it could be a blend door actuator or something, but I'd check for low refrigerant/low system pressure first. For the '97's, the dealer can actually pull fault codes from the climate control computer to help diagnose failed actuators and such, but I don't know if that's possible with a '91.
IF your car has an R-134 system or has been retrofitted, you can simply have the dealer or a trusted A/C shop top it off, or buy a can of R-134 and a fill kit at Autozone or Advance Auto and do it yourself if you're confident doing so. Just make sure you connect to the LOW pressure side. Do be aware that the A/C system on these cars is a bit more complex than the one on a less-expensive car, so if you have extensive work done, you might want a dealer to do it.
If your car is an R-12 system (could be if it's a '91), you won't be able to just have it topped off; the system will have to be retrofitted for the new refrigerant. I had an '87 Toyota retrofitted and it was a few hundred dollars, as I recall. They might be able to check your system pressure to see if that's the problem, though.
If it's not low refrigerant, it could be a blend door actuator or something, but I'd check for low refrigerant/low system pressure first. For the '97's, the dealer can actually pull fault codes from the climate control computer to help diagnose failed actuators and such, but I don't know if that's possible with a '91.
clauritzen
05-17-2006, 10:32 PM
I don't know if it makes any difference in the diagnosis, but it blows hot on the drivers side all the time, whether on econ, or auto mode. I can get cold on the passenger side, but the drivers side is always very hot. I now drive with the passenger vents open and turned towards me and the drivers vents shut.
benEzra
05-18-2006, 07:03 AM
If it's very hot (like it's on heat), as opposed to just warm like the A/C just isn't working, then the problem is most likely a stuck blend door or faulty actuator. If it were low refrigerant, the air coming out would be cool on a cool morning and only moderately warm when it's warmer outside.
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