'05 AC dead


FBA

FBA

GT Owner
Dec 5, 2010
1,679
31.022340° N / 44.846191° W
My '05 is suffering from no air conditioning. Everything lights up, but no cold air, in fact the air is basically the same as ambient temperature. It's not hot, and when I turn the knob to heat, that works fine, with the AC and Max AC turned on and lit up.

All the switches work correctly. I'm not sure if I'm suffering from a refrigerant problem, or something else. I'm going to check all the fuses that are related to the climate control system, but I think the fact that everything lights up points to a different issue... Maybe compressor, maybe refrigerant?

Has anyone had issues with the AC before? The car has 13,000 miles on it now, and it's never been anything less than ice cold on that AC unit up until last season. I took her out yesterday, and had to bring her back home.

Does anyone know where the refrigerant valves are located so I can show the guys at the AC shop where to connect to?
 
Valves up front under the luggage tray. Remove it and valves are right there. You might just need a Freon recharge.
 
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That's what I'm hoping. But it went from ice cold to zero, well sitting idle in the garage on charge from November until now, which to me sounds like it might have a leak. However I am going to go this week and have them check the refrigerant levels every charge if If that's what it is! Thank you!
 
The GT has a low pressure switch so that when the charge level gets low, it won't even cycle on the compressor. As such, you could have been dropping pressure a tad each year and then finally fell below this threshold. I would recommend charging it. One of the most common places they will leak is at the high pressure connection at the compressor. There's a couple of o-rings you can replace and solve that. Note that the compressor is accessible from below with the mid-pan removed. It is approximately below the oil filter assembly.
 
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Yesterday, when I took her out, I noticed that it didn't cycle... There was no change in sound or even a slight drop in RPM when I turned it on/off....I tried a few times, so you're probably right

I love this place! Thanks so much for the tip!
 
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Ditto the other comments. If you have never had the AC system checked for refrigerant level, that's very likely the reason. Mine has not had refrigerant added in 17 years. Now that we have suddenly reached 90+ temps in the PNW, I expect it to stop working any minute now...

Unfortunately, I can't buy HFC-134 in the stores here any more to add it myself. I don't know if it's the feds or the state who is trying to force that out of use.
 
I have an appointment booked for Friday. They're going to verify the charge level, and they will use a dye to try and identify any possible leaks in the system. He told me that they can replace the o-rings if needed.

These guys are one of two service centers that I work with, that I trust for work on all my cars. They've done quite a bit of work on my GT, so I'm pretty sure they will nail it down quickly!

I guess seeing as how this car is about 19 years old now, I'm going to start seeing shit breaking down, like rubber seals and the likes of. I already have an issue with the front lid opening by remote. Yesterday when I checked I could see why, because the latch is stiff. I sprayed lubricant everywhere in there and it's still not loose... Guessing I need to remove the latch and get to the cable, and spray lubricant down the cable.

Well, at least it's not like me, I can throw money at it and fix this shit. My body's breaking down the older I get, and that's shit that can't be fixed, just tolerated...lol

Thank you everyone for all the replies! I'll post back when I've got it fixed!
 
PeteK said:
Unfortunately, I can't buy HFC-134 in the stores here any more to add it myself. I don't know if it's the feds or the state who is trying to force that out of use.
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It's the screwed up WA state. It is still available in the free states. Public use of illegal drugs becomes legal in the state on July 1, but the sale of R-134 is illegal.
 
Thanks Ed. You can run over to Idaho and buy it. I need to check in Oregon, but I'll guess it's restricted there too.
 
Most likely low 134 level won’t activate the compressor. Once all is up and running also a good habit is to run the AC, needed or not, to self lubricate the compressor.
 
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PeteK said:
Ditto the other comments. If you have never had the AC system checked for refrigerant level, that's very likely the reason. Mine has not had refrigerant added in 17 years. Now that we have suddenly reached 90+ temps in the PNW, I expect it to stop working any minute now...

Unfortunately, I can't buy HFC-134 in the stores here any more to add it myself. I don't know if it's the feds or the state who is trying to force that out of use.
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Probably the state, Pete.
 
a few years back, mine had intermittent cooling with the associated clicking sound as the above mentioned low pressure switch was cycling.
Took a considerable amount of Freon to get it back to spec.
 
System only holds 18 ounces as I remember.
 
Yes, a good hint that your AC is getting low on refrigerant is increased cycling of the compressor, along with somewhat less cooling. At that point, it won't be long before it stops cycling completely, due to not enough refrigerant pressure to activate the low pressure switch.
 
Seal leaks are common, especially if you don't run it monthly.

Joe
 
I think the compressor power supply has a breaker? When I ran mine in the Big Bend road Race a few years ago the A/C stopped blowing cold halfway through the race. I had to disconnect the battery for some reason and when I reconnected it everything was back to normal. It's worth a try!l
 
ByeEnzo said:
Valves up front under the luggage tray. Remove it and valves are right there. You might just need a Freon recharge.
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Few years later but, it was definitely low on refrigerant and I've had to add again last year. They never found the leak so I will hunt down at the compressor like was mentioned in the thread, but I've never done an AC recharge before. Level of difficulty and what I should look out for?

I was planning to take her out in the morning and I figured I would just go pick up an AC recharge kit and do it myself. Doesn't seem to be too difficult, but I could use some tips before I go ahead and do the deed...🤪

I have done quite a bit of minor repair in the past but very minor stuff, nothing that would require opening an engine... And how do I ensure that I don't overcharge it?
 
The spec is 18 oz of 134a refrigerant. Most cans are 12 oz cans. Some are larger, and you might find an 18 oz can. Don't overfill or you can damage the compressor. Although I have gotten away with just adding a can, that's not the right way to do it.

If you don't want to buy AC service gauges and a vacuum pump, your average independent garage can service the AC. It's not electronically controlled and variable output like some newer AC systems. Typical process is to pump the existing refrigerant out and measure how much came out, then put back in 18 oz.

If the system is completely empty, then you don't have to measure what came out, just put in 18 oz. The way to do that is to put in one can (12 oz), then put the second can on a scale and weigh it. Then start adding refrigerant until the scale indicates that 6 more ounces have been removed from the can.
 
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FBA said:
but I've never done an AC recharge before. Level of difficulty and what I should look out for?
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If its leaking I would encourage you to take it to a service place that has a unit that does a full evac, pressure/leak test and recharge. They will most likely replace the o rings at the start. This way you get exactly the correct amount of refrigerant. If they don't find an obvious leak during pressure test they will add a uv dye when they recharge (and probably will anyway since it includes the oil lubricant).

The auto zone self units do not measure the amount but dead reckon it by pressure and ambient temperature. The result is it might feel right but you could be over or under charged.

I had my Honda crv in for exactly this service about two weeks ago. Cost was about $400. It is almost 10 years old and would not cool at all at idle and not very well at operating RPM. After recharge its like a refrigerated locker. With the correct amount of freon.

Almost any decent sized repair place will have the machine. The local place I take my truck to had it but wanted the same price as Honda dealer so I took it to dealer.

Ps. No leak detected with dye after 15 mins so its really slow...

Note my auto zone friend told of a guy that bought the kit and to get the right amount EVACUATED BY OPENING VALVES TO ATMOSPHERE!!! Cringe. Please don't do that.

Pps. Now I'm not a flaming environmentalist, but there is a leak and you'll be back doing it again and will have put another pound into the atmosphere. r134a isn't as bad as r11 but still if you can avoid leaking with a proper you should.
 
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Yeah, it took 2 years for the last fill to come to the point where it's stopped working again so it is a very slow leak. I think I'll just take it to an AC repair shop, at least one that knows what they're doing this time! Thank you guys for your help!
 
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