by kilroy on Tue Jan 08, 2013 7:37 pm
Thanks for the tips guys. I would expect a reduction in performance when the car is stationary, but not hot air. I'm sure it used to work fine when the ute was new.
I have the car booked in for a service on Monday and I've asked them to look at the AC while it is in. I've also had a problem with the 'check engine' light coming on and staying on.
We picked a good day to travel back from the coast today. It wasn't under 36C the whole 340km. I'm after some more advice on something that may be related. The air conditioner in the car worked fine when we left. Travelling up the Macquarie Pass, the air went completely hot. This is the first time this has happened while driving. I tried turning the AC off and back on a few times, hoping it would kick it into gear. That didn't work.
I don't know why I even thought to do it, but I had the Waeco charger plugged into the 12V plug in the centre console. It wasn't charging the battery as the battery was in the ute tub with the fridge. I pulled the plug out and the air instantly went cold. My wife and I both noticed it and couldn't explain it. I don't know if there is some sort of a short or other issue, but the AC worked for the next 280 odd kilometres without missing a beat.
About 30km from home, the air again went hot as we were going up a hill. I saw the engine was overheating almost up into the red. I turned off the AC, turned on the heater to cool the engine, and it came down after a minute or so to about half way. I nursed the car home with the AC on the lowest setting. The outside temp was 42C so couldn't really go without it with two kids in the back.
On getting home, I let the car cool down as much as it could in the heat. The coolant was at the high mark, and I couldn't see anything obviously out of place in the engine. I had to drive 30km a bit later, and on returning, the engine again started to heat up past the middle mark on the same hill. I nursed the car home again, and the AC worked fine the rest of the way.
I'm certainly no mechanic, but I have a few questions for the mechanically minded.
- Is it likely the 'check engine' light problem is related to the AC problem or the engine overheating? The 'check engine' light hasn't been on for about 4 or 5 days, but it intermittently comes on.
- Could there be something related to the AC with the removal of the plug from the cigarette lighter plug? Seems unlikely, but the AC definitely started working the second I removed the Waeco charger from the 12V plug.
- Could the overheating just be related to the heat of the day and the long trip or is it likely related to the AC problem?
Any advice would be appreciated. The car is going to be serviced on Monday, but it would be good to have some input from the members here about the issues and possible causes.
Cheers
Shane