My car's AC doesn't perform well after sitting under the sun and during hot days. It needs to be driven in the highway or at least in faster speeds before it starts to get cool. However, it does perform seemingly well during evening or early in morning. Mechanic already installed new compressor(due to leaks), new expansion valve(due to blockage), and new evaporator(due to leaks and old age). Only thing that hasn't been replaced is the condenser. The blower fan also blows every 15-20 seconds or so and my mechanic leak tested the system and found nothing. My car is a Toyota Vios 2003. Any tips? Thanks!
ok hopefully someone lese can comment on my comment but perhaps a faulty fan control module if it isnt blowing as it should? my cadillac had an issue where the fan control modeule went bad. Im not saying that is the issue but perhaps you can ask your mechanic if that could be the issue.
Make sure your fans are kicking on when you turn the A/C on. They should automatically. Put your hand behind them and make sure they're blowing pretty substantially, be careful. This is a classic sign of weak fans.
They do spin and blow substantially, but not all the time. It turns on and off every now and then. My car's condenser and radiator are stacked together, so it only has one fan. So I was wondering if the fan should always be ON when the AC is on.
in addition to the hvac blower control module, check thes cooling fan module if you cooling fans are not working properly.
well, you do realize that when your car sits out baking in the sun, the a/c has to blow all that hot air out before it can cool you?
next time, open the windows and drive a bit to expel the "politistism vapor" aka hot air before you turn the a/c on and see what happens.
go to harbor freight or ace hardware and get a temperature probe and put it in an air vent with the a/c on to see what's coming out. close all but one vent.
Either the fans aren’t working properly or the cabin filter is clogged up.
Cabin filter was replaced when I got the evaporator replaced. Also, my car's condenser and radiator are stacked together, so it only has one fan. So I was wondering if the fan should always be ON when the AC is on.
i don't think your radiator fan is what they were referring to. the fan that blows for the heater and for ac throught the heater core and evaporator box. if that fan isnt blowing then the cool air will not circulate into the cabin.
Oh okay. Yeah, the blower fan inside the cabin works as it should.
This may be a stupid question, but did your mechanic verify that the correct type and amount of refrigerant is in the system?
Yes. My mechanic did follow what my car's manual said.
Then like the others here, I too would suspect the cooling fan. If it’s still the original fan motor from 2003, it might be weak. You could try swapping it temporarily with a known good unit & check if it makes a difference. Did the AC not blow cool in the afternoon, even right after installing all new parts?
The radiator fan was replaced too months before installing some of the new AC parts. I am not really sure if my radiator fans are working properly or not. I see and feel the fan kicks-in when the engine gets hot and then shuts off when the engine temperature goes down. The part where I am not sure is if my car's radiator fan should kick-in and STAY ON when I turn on the AC. And yes, the AC does blow cool in the evening or when it's cloudy outside.
The fans don’t need to stay on continuously. Scotty answered your question yesterday and he was of the opinion that you’re either low on refrigerant or your cooling fans are weak.
My 2004 scion xb did the same thing. Both are subcompacts and toyota did cut a few corners I know, at least with the scion. First off, make sure you have a clean air filter. The fans were kinda weak in the scion, may be the same with yours.
I live in south georgia, and it gets crazy hot. The ac would be enough to keep you from sweating, so it was working, just not great. I added a strong fan in the front, and that did help. Seems like there was also talk of the ducts being a bit leaky, but I never checked that.
You mean you added an extra fan in front of the condenser? If so, do you have a link to the fan you used? And did you do it yourself? Thanks!
Did you replace the a/c condenser?? If not then you need to change the a/c condenser and clean the whole air conditioning system after replacing the condenser.
Almost every part of the AC has been replaced except for the condenser. I did have the AC system cleaned after they replace the evaporator.
make sure either the windows are open to let hot air out or at a minimum do not use the air recirculate feature until the hot air has been expelled from the cabin. it will take longer to cool inside air if you keep recirculating hot air on those hot days.
I recently had same issue and truck cooled off quicker with recirc off. of curse use recirc when appropriate after this hot air has been expelled. If you dont have a recirc feature then please ignore this suggestion. weak fans also a potential issue as air climate control sytems that malfunction or leaking ductwork. There are other issues too but they have been mentioend above. My issue was ultimately how freon due to a leak. Once the leak solved no need to worry about recirc becuase the system is very strong. 2005 yukon xl GMC truck.
I actually do roll the windows down while driving to expel the hot air out. However, even if I already feel the hot air has been expelled, the AC still takes time to cool even with recirc on.
in addition to the hvac blower control module, check thes cooling fan module if you cooling fans are not working properly.
Sorry for the late reply. I am not really sure if my radiator fans are working properly or not. I see and feel the fan kicks-in when the engine gets hot and then shuts off when the engine temperature goes down. The part where I am not sure is if my car's radiator fan should kick-in and stay on when I turn on the AC.