My car has the passenger side blowing hot air and the drivers side blowing colder air. Why? There are two controls for each side.
If the vehicle has a dual zone A/C, then the most common problem is a bad temperature door actuator. This actuator is what controls the temperature door. If the door doesn’t open, the cool air won’t get in. Dual zone A/C systems have a temperature door for both sides.Vehicles without a dual zone A/C system usually experiences this problem if there is a low Freon charge in the system. This is commonly missed by mechanics because the Freon gauge will read normal even if it is low on Freon. For instance, a system that is ½ lb. low will cause the passenger side vents to blow cooler air, and the driver’s side to blow warmer air. In this case, there is simply not enough Freon to cool the driver’s side. Make sure you have your Freon levels checked and filled if needed.
Why is my car's air conditioner taking so long to cool?
Refrigerant is one part of a refrigerant cycle. The others are compression, expansion, and radiation. The refrigerant is compressed by a belt driven compressor. It becomes a liquid. Heat is drawn off of it. It’s expanded (throttled) and allowed to turn back into a gas. This chills it. The chilled gas is run by a heat exchanger somewhere in your dash air system. The warmed refrigerant is cycled back, re-compressed, extra heat is radiated off, end the cycle continues.When you start the AC, you’re not just cooling air. You’re also chilling the metal or other materials of the coolant and heat exchanger, which has more thermal mass than the gas or the air going through on opposite sides of the exchanger. In some cars, this will seem more or less instantaneous when you turn on the AC. In other cases, it can take a while.Mechanically speaking, you have topped off the refrigerant, presumably to the correct amount (you can have too much refrigerant as well as too little, so the person doing the top-off should be using a proper set of gauges to make sure there’s the correct amount) The compressor needs to have mechanical drive, so if the belt for the compressor is worn, or loose, this will slow the process. There is usually a clutch in the compressor, so that the pulley on the AC compressor will spin free when you’re not running the AC, reducing engine load. If the clutch is in the process of failing, you may not be getting full (or any) mechanical coupling of the belt drive to the compressor axis for a bit - some clutches may be a bit slippery until some part warms up a bit and the surfaces catch better.If you have a leak, it’d show in keeping needing to add refrigerant. There could also be some sort of blockage / kink in a line that keeps the refrigerant from circulating properly. Depending on the design of the heat exchanger in the dash, it might have common heat-exchanger real estate with the heater, which will normally divert hot coolant through a heat exchanger for when you want warmer air. If there is any issue with if/whether the heater may be all the way off, it may be that the AC is needing some time to chill off the thermal mass of the coolant there.
Heater broken in VW Beetle.?
My 2001 Volkswagen Beetle doesn't have heat coming out with any force. I can tell is heating is heating inside the dashboard but I think the fan just isn't blowing it out. I took it to the place I got it (I just got it a couple weeks ago) and even though it had a 3 month warranty they said that heating/cooling isn't included. Anyways, I was told that the "control head" needed to be fixed. Part is $200 and labor is $100. What do they mean by control head? I just sort of want to look up the price of the part at an online store and verify their story.
How can you tell when a blonde is having a bad day?
A blonde's house is on fire. She calls 911 and says, "My house is on fire." The dispatcher says, "Well, can you tell me how we get there?" "Duhhhh, in the big red trucks, of course."
Im buying a $1800 VW Passat. Needs Heater Core?
This is not easy on this model -- must pull entire dash, remove freon from AC (if so equipped) and so on -- 12 book hours for a skilled tech with proper tools. Instead, try flushing the core. The core is top fed and empties also from top, so it acts as a sump for crud and debris. disconnect both heater hoses, and pump water through the core at pressure, going in first from one hose and then the other. Do this several times, and pump compressed air through it from both ends, too, if you have the means. Then reconnect hoses, and on the smaller hose, there's a bleed valve -- bleed hiss and bubbles till you get a steady stream of liquid. Be sure to replenish coolant to proper concentration after this procedure. Not as good as a new core, but a lot cheaper and likely will result in heater working again -- costs near nothing.
Why does my car's air conditioning smell bad? How do I get rid of it?
I will answer each question separately.First, this is a common problem. Many people describe the smell as a musty smell, "wet" smell, dirty socks smell etc. The smell may be accompanied by slight suffocation feeling and headaches.For your questions:Why does my car's air conditioning smell bad?The common case: moisture in your car A/C coils, drip pans or other components of your car A/C. The moisture promotes the growth of mold and bacteria and those smell bad.How do I get rid of it?There are few ways. I will try not to repeat what already has been told in other answers.1. Leave the fan running for 5-10 minutes. This will hopefully dry the access moisture. It is basically the manual version of the X-FAN mode in other A/Cs.2. Make sure water is dripping underneath your car when A/C running in COOL mode. It may take few minutes.If water is not dripping, the drain line may be clogged (dust + water = mud) which cause water pooling and smell. I recommend you let a professional fix that.3. Use evaporator coils cleaning spray. Mentioned in other comments.4. Clean/replace A/C filters. Dirty filters reduce airflow and help moisture remain inside the unit. You should replace A/C filters as recommended by the manufacturer of your car.5. Check if the smell is there when the A/C is running in HEAT mode. Usually, it should not be noticeable. Let the fan work for a while, the HOT air may dry some of the unit (It may not work since COOL and HOT air work separately in a car).This answer is based on a home A/C solutions. Here is more information: 5 great cleaning tips for a musty smelling air conditioner.There is also a YouTube video offering more solutions for home A/C. They might inspire other creative solutions.