Anniversary "Z"

iTrader: (26)

Keeps taking longer and longer for it to kick on. And wife said she ran to the gas station and back and it never kicked on. It's 90+ today and should have kicked on immediately.

Anyone know of any common issues with our AC systems?

Panther427

probally low on refrigerant.

LS1 Racing

iTrader: (15)

X2.

Ours gets cold immediately.

Anniversary "Z"

iTrader: (26)

Would it stop the fans from kicking on too? I figured it would just blow hot air

Model16

mines been acting wierd lately as well..I never use it cause of the loss of mpgs and whatnot..but lately its been mid 90s and so and just dont feel like being hot..mines not really cold and seems to take forever to get cold..i was guessing low on refrigerant as well

int_53185

Common cause of GM refrigerant leak is the compressor seal. Usually means the compressor is fubard.

RedHotG8

iTrader: (1)

You probably have a bad HVAC actuator, it gets stuck and doesn't direct the cold airflow to the vents. This is a common problem with the 2004+ Grand Prix.

groundZ-28ERO

you need more r-404a, possibly
a dirty evaporator

RedHotG8

iTrader: (1)

He said it doesn't blow any air, not that it's blowing warm air, so it can't be low on refrigerant.

Anniversary "Z"

iTrader: (26)

When it does kick in it blows cold

I've noticed since I made this thread it has been kicking on fine, but the days haven't been nearly as hot as the day it didn't work. I'm wondering if the humidity had anything to do with the acuator possibly sticking, but I still should have heard the blower kicking on.

vroom_vroom

iTrader: (5)

maybe its the temp sensor inside the car? sound logical.

i have had problems with the w bodys ac more that once but it was the compressor going out, mine acts up occasionally but sometimes it will get cold and sometimes it will not 120 out today and it was cold ill never understand

RedHotG8

iTrader: (1)

It could be a bad temp sensor but I'd bet it's the actuator. The grease gets thick inside the actuator and it stops moving, so the humidity wouldn't effect it. Vrooom it sounds like you have a sticky actuator too.

vroom_vroom

iTrader: (5)

where is it located i have limited experience with ac

RedHotG8

iTrader: (1)

It's behind the heat & A/C controls in the dash.

vroom_vroom

iTrader: (5)

so i take it this is gonna be a ****

RedHotG8

iTrader: (1)

It's not too bad, I think you can get to it through the glovebox. I'll look it up in my GM service manual and let you know for sure.

vroom_vroom

iTrader: (5)

word thanks for the research still not a 100% on what i am replacing or what it dose

RedHotG8

iTrader: (1)

It's a small plastic housing with a motor and gears that open and close the vents to direct airflow when needed. There is also one that controls the temperature, I just discovered it while looking for info about the vent actuator. So either one could be bad depending on if there's no air coming out of the vents or if there's warm air when it's supposed to be cold or vice versa. Also I was wrong about the location, it's behind the right hand side of the glovebox, so it's easier to replace than I thought.

In the link below there's a good writeup on how to replace it with pictures. It also tells you how to calibrate the actuator which is around $25 from GM. Plus in the left hand pane there are more writeups for the 2004+ Grand Prix along with parts listings and other good info that should interest other members here too.

http://home.comcast.net/~warren.family/GP.html

OK the link takes you to his home page. If you click on AC Recirc Actuator FYI Pics in the left pane it'll take you to the actuator writeup.

RedHotG8

iTrader: (1)

So it seems I opened a can of worms on this subject. I just found out there's two temp actuators (right & left or dual zone) and a mode valve actuator to change heat & A/C modes, in addition to the vent actuator.

Plus I just realized the writeup above is for the recirculation actuator, which means there's a total of 5 of them in various locations in the dash. You can use the writeup to replace the vent actuator, but keep in mind it's a different one than the recirculation actuator and I think they all look pretty similar.

vroom_vroom

iTrader: (5)

yea i think i need the one for the blend door? i get air its just warm sometimes