Vacuum...

[Manny]

If my air is blowing through the vents, and I accelerate, the air blows through the floor vents until the speed settles down or I let off the throttle. Does this mean that my vacuum reservoir ball (under the left front fender) is bad? Or is that normal for our cars?

 

Also, where can I get a blue or a yellow fixed orifice tube? Autozone and Napa around here only have original white, or the Variable orifice valve, about which there seems to be much controversy (not to mention its about 5 to 10x the price of a regular fot).

 

...and where is our fixed orifice tube located? at the condenser end or the evaporator end of the liquid line?

 

oh yeah, its for a lumina 3.4.

 

thanks, peeps... 8)

[godofthunder]

no, i was pretty sure this was normal.

 

jon

[LukeZ34]

My TGP does this as well.. Whenever I get in to boost, the air goes to the floor.

[93GTP]

Yeah, my car also does this and I have been wondering if it was being caused by a vacuum leak as well. Another thing I was wondering about is my cruise control. It will not kick down at all like the electronic module in the '94 GP SE my mother has, even if I hold on accelerate for an extended amount of time. With cruise on, my car is content to chug up the steepest hill on the highway while staying in overdrive, even if it means shedding some 10 km/h in the process. Is this the nature of the vacuum operated cruise control module, or is this a sign that I have a vacuum problem?

[95DropTop]

my95 cutlass does this as well....I want it to be a leak cause I hope to fix the air blowing out the top vents all the time. I do not have the cruise problem; my cruise will kick down a gear. Some one with more vaccuum knowledge, please help us fix our a/c.

[sl3196]

The only car I have been in that has done this is my work truck. 2001 dodge ram, no idea on why it does it sure is wierd though.

[Brian P]

uhg ok:

 

Check the vacuum line that runs from the vacuum reserve canister (front drivers side in front of fender, look under the bumper- big black ball) check the line from it, around the battery, and to a T-fitting by the cruise. YOu'll prolly find a break somewhere, usually by the battery. As to '94+ The cruise is ELECTRONIC not vacuum operated so you won't get this problem.

[Dannymik]

I get the hot air whatever position my heater/air controls are on...so this is common and not a problem?

[Brian P]

heat is a different story. That's controlled by the electric motor, controlled by the HVAC unit. You have auto climate control?

[Dannymik]

yes I do

[Brian P]

what year? The unit itself could be flaking out, the motor is not functioning, or the temperature sensor is shorted. Is it always blowing hot air?

[Dannymik]

when I think about it, hot air comes out of the vents when its hot outside which "should" be normal.

[Brian P]

well you might be feeling the "flow thru" ventilation, when the climate control is completely off, this is still active.

[hosser]

while putting my intake in i removed the battery to have more room while i was working on it. I noticed a small hose and thought nothing of it; thought it could have been a bleed vavle for something just set it where it was and put everything back together. after just reading through this i got under the car and noticed that big black ball, on it no hoses or anything was connected to it. but i dont have any problems with venting. Does it matter that the hose is not connected?

[GutlessSupreme]

While we're sort of on this topic.. my floor vents seem to be always on. If I shut my climate control off, I can still feel some what of a breeze down there, and if I move the temp slider I can feel it go from hot to cold, almost as if the vents just aren't closing. but it shouldn't matter if they close or not if the system is off, right?

 

and btw, I also get the problem mentioned above... if I floor it there's a noticable decrease in the power of the blowers until I let off the throttle. that's probably just my engine running like shit though.

[Brian P]

while putting my intake in i removed the battery to have more room while i was working on it. I noticed a small hose and thought nothing of it; thought it could have been a bleed vavle for something just set it where it was and put everything back together. after just reading through this i got under the car and noticed that big black ball, on it no hoses or anything was connected to it. but i dont have any problems with venting. Does it matter that the hose is not connected?

 

your vents will probably go to the floor under wide open throttle, and your cruise might not hold a steady speed up hills.

 

feeling the air while moving, climate control off is the flo-thru ventilation that GM purposely used. On '95+ cars if you put the climate on face, it DOES actually flow thru there. Your car shouldnt lose any ventilation under heavy load, thats a sign of a failing vacuum resevoir.

[joey b]

at 70%+ throttle, it shouldn't blow because the computer turns the AC compressor off to gain more power.

[god910]

at 70%+ throttle, it shouldn't blow because the computer turns the AC compressor off to gain more power.

It'll still blow, it just won't be as cold because the comp. is off.

 

People, people, people. Must I bring this back up:

Just because we all have leaking dist. O-Rings, doesn't mean it's normal.

 

It's not. You're vac. res. should have enough capacity to feed the mode door while under WOT. (Depending on the duration anyhow) If as soon as you go WO, you lose it, there is a vac. leak. Fix it.

[joey b]

my fan completely stops blowing when I get up on it. Its not just the compressor turning off.

[god910]

my fan completely stops blowing when I get up on it. Its not just the compressor turning off.

Oh, OKay. [backs away from the keyboard]

[digitaloutsider]

[rubs temples] It is NOT normal for the vents to close and revert to non-vacuum position just because you're accelerating. It means there's a leak somewhere, probably in the exact place Brian said.. the check valve under the cruise control unit. As for the blower turning COMPLETELY off.. I have no idea.

[93GTP]

Can someone with the pre-'94 vacuum operated cruise control tell me how theirs behaves? I am curious as to whether or not the vacuum c/c system is supposed to kick down? (i.e. under load on hills on the highway, or when holding the switch on "accelerate") Thanks for any response.