2001 Venture A/c Troubles - Help Needed

:banghead: A/C blowing hot air. All underhood relays tested to be ok. When hotwire A/C clutch relay, I hear a click. I assume clutch is also OK.
Also there is no visible sign of leak on lower cornor of the condenser.

Question 1:How can I check the low pressure refrigerant sensor? The sensor has 3 wire sensor.

Question 2: If the low pressure sensor is not working due to leak or the sensor being bad, then there should be a DTC code set in the PCM memory. There is no DTC code. What is going on?

I am stummped and need help.

Khalid.

The pressure sensor is not a make/break type of sender as older systems used. Its a 0 to 5v sender that varies its output with pressure. The three wires are ground, +5volts and signal output.
To test the thing, you need to remove the connector from it, jumper back the gound and +5volt wires with clip wires and then measure its output. Jumping the sensor wire to ground, or + might work, I never tried. It won't hurt anything. No codes will set when the sensor fails that I can find. You can use a meter to measure the output, but with no compressor, that's not going to show you any pressure changes.

Are you sure you have freon pressure? Use a gage on it and find out.

Pin connections for the sensor connector: The pin by itself is the signal back to the pcm. Its labeled 'C' The one on the right is ground, 'A' and the left is +5 volts, 'B'

That's looking at the sensor, not the connector.

the a/c compressor on these vans has a seal behind the pulley that will leak the freon out. the kit is $45.00 from dealer. and you will need a clutch tool set and wheel puller for the pulley. you have to remove the a/c compressor and split it in half to replace the seal.also while your at the dealer get 4oz of their synthetic a/c oil and after you put the compressor back together and ready to go back on pour the oil in the compressor . put it back on and be easy wth the bolt that holds the hoses on it will strip out as it is threaded in aluminum.mine didn't set a code when the freon was out.

Thanks for all the tips. I was ablle to stat the compresser by joining the clutch relay contacts. I put in a can of R134 and cool air came from the vents BUT i notice oil leaking from the condenser. All along there was a leak in the condenser. So no R134 and hence A/C clutch will not engage.

Now I have to replace the A/C condenser. It it a DIY job? How difficult it is? Any tips on condenser replacement will be appreciated. Thanks. KC

the a/c compressor on these vans has a seal behind the pulley that will leak the freon out. the kit is $45.00 from dealer. and you will need a clutch tool set and wheel puller for the pulley. you have to remove the a/c compressor and split it in half to replace the seal.also while your at the dealer get 4oz of their synthetic a/c oil and after you put the compressor back together and ready to go back on pour the oil in the compressor . put it back on and be easy wth the bolt that holds the hoses on it will strip out as it is threaded in aluminum.mine didn't set a code when the freon was out.

could you go into detail on how this is done? mine is leaking from behind the pulley. much appreciated for your help.
thanks

thanh

I recently changed the condenser on my 02 Venture........TWICE! The first try was with a really cheaply made condenser purchased from discountacparts. DON'T buy yours there. Stay away from discountacparts.com.
I purchased a better one from Advance Discount here in Florida and installed it last week and had a shop vacuum and recharged it for me. It's been 4 days now and it's holding up cold so far.
Anyway, it's a fairly simple job. Here's what I remember:

Disconnect positive battery terminal.
Drain engine coolant.
Remove engine mounts (2) from van frame and flip them over backwards.
Remove the hood latch (leave cable connected)
Remove the two bars that connects the frame to the inside fender.
Remove the engine coolant overflow tank
remove air filter cover and filter and accordian hose
Remove upper and lower rad hoses
remove the two brackets that holds the rad
remove the two bolts that holds the fan assembly to the rad (one each end)
unplug fan plug
unhook lines from bracket at bottom of fan assembly.
remove fan assembly.
remove bolts from ac lines to condenser.
remove bracket that holds ac lines to rad (I think it's the rad)
lift rad upwards and away from frame enough to lift condenser out
(I didn't remove the 2 lines that connects to the rad)

Be careful when tightening the bolts of the ac lines to the condenser. Also, replace the "o-ring washers" (or gaskets) on the ac lines. Advance sells an ac gasket kit for like 10 bucks even though you'll only need 2 of the gaskets.

Thanks for the info on replacing the AC radiator (condenser) darnsuprat :headshake , but I think the question in this thread is fixing the leak behind the compressor pulley. I would also like to hear more detail on how this is done :popcorn:

merc81,

I was responding to a question in this tread posted by ikmch on 06-07-2008 10:44 AM:
"Now I have to replace the A/C condenser. It it a DIY job? How difficult it is? Any tips on condenser replacement will be appreciated. Thanks. KC"

You obviously missed that post.

Anyway, since I've just replaced my condenser and my memory still fresh on it, I thought I'd respond to his question!

there is a shaft seal that is beneath the a/c pulley and behind the a/c clutch. when it cracks or wears out it will let the freon leak out. you will notice a/c oil on the pulley and belt.mine even slung some on the radiator and firewall. the a/c compressor has to be removed . the shaft or pulley seal is only from dealer. you can get the cheap ones but your just wasting your $ and time. the dealer kit is $45.00 and while your at the dealer get four ounces of the synthetic a/c oil i bought a little countainer at a dollar store that had oz. marks on it,lid and had a pour spout.[i think it was a pancake batter thing.] but the dealer only has 8 oz. bottles @ $1.00 an oz. you only need four oz. you also need a g.m. a/c clutch tool set[one tool removes the clutch the other one presses it back on.] also a 6" wheel puller to pull the pulley off. the cooling fans have to be removed to get at the a/c compressor.stand the fans up against a wall - don't lay them flat .once the compressor is off take the nut and washer off the shaft.remove the clutch with the tool, pull the pulley off with puller,there is a large snap ring i the shaft hole that has to come out.i used a set of needle nose pliers .once the snap ring is out. the compressor itself has to be took apart.mark the halves with a line across both halves . loosen bolts and bump it apart.reach over the bearing and push the seal out the front.where the seal was there is a green o ring that has to come out [it sits on the outside of the seal] put some oil on the new green o ring in the kit and put the new one in the groove. put some oil on the new seal outside and inside. slide it in from the front slide the new snap ring in and make sure it pops in the groove.the kit has some instructions on how to put the extra packing in. but before you put the compressor back together look at the lage black o ring to make sure it is in good shape if so put some oil on it and put it in place and line up marks and push together. watch the front seal as the shaft goes thru it once the compressor is back together put the bolts in and tighten them up.remember the threads are in aluminum and they will strip out.put the rest of the seals in as instructions in kit say. wipe a little oil on the inside of the pulley line it up and bump it on . line the clutch up and using the clutch tool push the a/c clutch on until you have a 1/16" gap between it and the pulley. pour the 4 oz. of a/c oil in one of the hose holes in the compressor. bolt the compressor on the block.one important thing to remember when tightening the bolt that holds the hoses to compressor it is threadd in aluminum and if you torque it much it will strip out i would use a [i think 12mm ] wrench get it tight but not real real tight.put everything back and your ready for the cold stuff.if you can call 134a that.i did mine a couple of years ago dealer won't put a pulley seal in they want to sell you a new compressor. but they will sell the kit. its a good bit of work butthen you won't spend $500 o $600 on a new compressor that wil end up doing the same thing. good luck to all who dare, any problems give a holler.:2cents: