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A/C Cools only when car is moving


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Posted

On my 1990 Olds Cutty 3.1, the A/C cools OK when the car is moving but blows warm air when the car is stopped. I have jumpered the ALDL and both fans work. I also have had the car in my carport with the A/C on and the primary fan will run and the A/C is cold. So I guess I have some type of intermittent problem. I have done a search of the forum and i couldn't find anything. Any ideas would be appreciated.

 

John

Posted

Makes sense. Higher RPM means the compressor is spinning faster.

 

But, how warm are we talking though. Like, is it still considerable cooler than outside, or is it still pretty warm?

Posted

flip in on max a/c...when the car is warmed up and sitting there the passenger side fan should be on

Posted

Thanks for your answers.

 

94CutlassSLCoupe: When I have it on Max the right side fan does not run.

 

slick94prix : When stopped at a stop light the air feels pretty warm... warm enough to shut off the air and open the windows.

 

JS

Posted

How long does your compressor stay kicked in? Count how many seconds it cycles, then how many it stays off. Could be getting low. Also check between your condensor and radiator for dirt, that can hurt cooling and AC operation.

Posted

Maybe your system is low on the freon stuff? If it's too low the compressor will not turn on.

Posted

Parked with the AC on MAX cold, you should have a fan running after a few minutes...doesn't really matter which one technically, but you need a fan to run. It may be a pressure sensor in your system has failed and is not requesting the fan (the fan shouldn't run at highway speeds when the system is getting enough heat exchange), but it should on request.

 

If you have the car in park, AC on MAX cold, and increase the RPM's of the engine, does it get colder? That could be a low refrigerant problem. A quick check with a home R-134a kit gauge can tell you if your system is OK with coolant. If you are still running R-12, you've lost that option as the fittings are different.

 

Your clutch may not cycle as others have mentioned. I know my LQ1 had a variable compressor (my caprice does too)...that means that the compressor clutch is always engaged with the AC on and it varies the output of the compressor to keep the system up to pressure. I'm pretty sure that's not a problem as you have cold when the car is moving, and it needs the compressor to do that.

 

 

Posted

Thanks to everyone. It turned out to be a bad clutch coil. All cool now!

 

JS

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