I have a 2003 SLS. A/C Hose leaked over the winter. Needed a new hose and a recharge. Got the car back from the mechanic yesterday. the car blows cold air on the passenger side, and hot air on the driver's side. I can't figure out why.
My mechanic says that there is some sort of motor in the dash that directs the flow of air and it is not making the cold air come out that side. That makes sense. But I fear the problem is greater than that. Here's why:
I ran some tests on the temperature of the air coming out of the vents using a meat thermometer. First, with the A/C off and temperature set to the minimum, in other words, make it as cold as you can in here without R410A. I got 102 degree air coming out of the driver's side and 98 out the passenger side. More or less the same.
Then I switched to maximum heat with the A/C off. I got 153 out the passenger side, and 156 out the driver side. Basically the same again, but the driver's side tends to be a bit hotter. No big deal, though. so far.
I turn the A/C on and tell it to make me as cold as possible, fan speed on high, all air coming out the front. All four vents open. I get a cool 53 degrees from the passenger side but 93 from the driver's side - just 9 degrees better than with the A/C turned off.
So right away you must be thinking something is stopping the cold air from getting over to those two driver's side vents. BUT, if I close one of those vents, that nice cold air coming from the passenger side becomes 55 degrees. So some of that uncooled air made it over there. Close the other driver's side vent so that only the passenger side vents are open, and it blows 64 degree air.
So this cold air, and uncooled air are being mixed. The two systems aren't acting as though they are separate, and I thought they were, but I guess that's another story. So why is air getting into the system and not being cooled, and why only half of it? I'm telling it "send me cool air" and it's saying "ok, here's some cool air and some air that's not". And when I close those vents and say "I don't want that warm air" it's saying "too bad, i'll just mix it in with the cold air on this side" - So clearly it "means" to give me this warm air one way or another. I can't block it out or fool it. the system should be full of cold air if my AC is working from a mechanical standpoint, which it appears to be. So why is it half full of warm air?
I've never had a car with climate control before. Are there two compressors? Two condensers? Two rads? Perhaps both needed recharging and only one was. My mechanic says no, it's one A/C system only, and there's something in the dash probably wrong. I'm concerned because it never did this before, he worked on my A/C and now it does this. It's most likely due to his work so I have trouble believing the problem is within the dash. What could the issue be?
My mechanic says that there is some sort of motor in the dash that directs the flow of air and it is not making the cold air come out that side. That makes sense. But I fear the problem is greater than that. Here's why:
I ran some tests on the temperature of the air coming out of the vents using a meat thermometer. First, with the A/C off and temperature set to the minimum, in other words, make it as cold as you can in here without R410A. I got 102 degree air coming out of the driver's side and 98 out the passenger side. More or less the same.
Then I switched to maximum heat with the A/C off. I got 153 out the passenger side, and 156 out the driver side. Basically the same again, but the driver's side tends to be a bit hotter. No big deal, though. so far.
I turn the A/C on and tell it to make me as cold as possible, fan speed on high, all air coming out the front. All four vents open. I get a cool 53 degrees from the passenger side but 93 from the driver's side - just 9 degrees better than with the A/C turned off.
So right away you must be thinking something is stopping the cold air from getting over to those two driver's side vents. BUT, if I close one of those vents, that nice cold air coming from the passenger side becomes 55 degrees. So some of that uncooled air made it over there. Close the other driver's side vent so that only the passenger side vents are open, and it blows 64 degree air.
So this cold air, and uncooled air are being mixed. The two systems aren't acting as though they are separate, and I thought they were, but I guess that's another story. So why is air getting into the system and not being cooled, and why only half of it? I'm telling it "send me cool air" and it's saying "ok, here's some cool air and some air that's not". And when I close those vents and say "I don't want that warm air" it's saying "too bad, i'll just mix it in with the cold air on this side" - So clearly it "means" to give me this warm air one way or another. I can't block it out or fool it. the system should be full of cold air if my AC is working from a mechanical standpoint, which it appears to be. So why is it half full of warm air?
I've never had a car with climate control before. Are there two compressors? Two condensers? Two rads? Perhaps both needed recharging and only one was. My mechanic says no, it's one A/C system only, and there's something in the dash probably wrong. I'm concerned because it never did this before, he worked on my A/C and now it does this. It's most likely due to his work so I have trouble believing the problem is within the dash. What could the issue be?
