A/C in my car just stopped working...help?

[Quake1028]

My car is a 2001, never been to the shop for anything other than a series of bad radios, which was a Mitsubishi problem at the time. A few days ago I noticed a faint high pitched whine when I turned on the a/c. Today I get out of my car to get lunch, and when I get back in, the a/c is dead, won't even turn on or blow any air. The fan won't work either. What could cause this? I've never had a problem with the a/c. It always had a very faint rattling sound at lower fan speeds, but I took it to be looked at a few years ago and they said there was nothing they could do about it. The car is paid off, but I still have warranty on it, so I'm not too worried, but no a/c in the Florida summer for even a few days is death. Help!

[VinVega]

It's been hot as balls in Tampa this summer too. All the rain is hanging out on the east coast of the state, so the sun is just baking down all day.

Today's rain was nice though.

Anyway, take your freakin' car in and stop posting about it.

[crazyronin]

[captain obvious]The high pitched whine was probably your fan shitting the bed.[/captain obvious]

[JoeyOhhhh]

Thats alright, my AC likes to deposit water into my car when I make a turn:
http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/6017/dscn0385wu9.jpg

Fun times,

[deadlax]

my a/c stopped working about 2 years ago. thermostat broke. fans still work, but a/c won't come on. I decided i'd just wait until i bought a new car (sometime this fall) to fix it.

tons of fun in the atlanta heat.

[crazyronin]

[captain obvious] JoeyOhhh has a plugged condensation drain, which is easy enough to fix.[/captain obvious]

[movielib]

My car just turned 18 this week (1989 Toyota Camry). AC still works fine although it gets a little warm when I'm idling.

[OldDude]

Originally Posted by Quake1028

the a/c is dead, won't even turn on or blow any air. The fan won't work either.

What does this mean? I understand the fan not working. If it was making noise, the motor might be burned out. However, you might be lucky and just have a blown fuse. There may be a guide in owners manual that diagrams the fuse box, so you can see which one and check it.

As to the a/c, do you have an indicator light than should turn on when you push the a/c button? Might be a fuse issue too. Electrically, the compressor clutch has to engage, so the compressor actually turns. Do you know if the clutch is engaging? If it is, then the next question is whether you are getting cold refrigerant, but with the fan out, I don't know how you can check that.

At any rate, if it is more than an electrical fuse, you probably need professional service.

[Quake1028]

Sorry I wasn't more concise. What I mean is, when I turn the fan on, the a/c light comes on, and I can "hear" the a/c coming on, but nothing physically comes out of the vents. It happened again last night. When I left work, it was fine. Stopped for gas on the way home, boom, no air. We went out last night, and halfway through I tried the a/c again and it worked fine. Worked fine this morning also. Very odd.

[jrobinson]

Same thing happened in my car this morning.

[OldDude]

Originally Posted by Quake1028

Sorry I wasn't more concise. What I mean is, when I turn the fan on, the a/c light comes on, and I can "hear" the a/c coming on, but nothing physically comes out of the vents. It happened again last night. When I left work, it was fine. Stopped for gas on the way home, boom, no air. We went out last night, and halfway through I tried the a/c again and it worked fine. Worked fine this morning also. Very odd.

Ok, it's electrical. Could be a bad connection that cuts in and out. Or, your fan could be wearing out and drawing too much power. If it is on a circuit breaker, not a fuse, the breaker may be tripping and resetting. Try it on a fan speed one less than the max. It will reduce the current draw. But you need to get it serviced at some point.

[Quake1028]

Originally Posted by OldDude

Ok, it's electrical. Could be a bad connection that cuts in and out. Or, your fan could be wearing out and drawing too much power. If it is on a circuit breaker, not a fuse, the breaker may be tripping and resetting. Try it on a fan speed one less than the max. It will reduce the current draw. But you need to get it serviced at some point.

Yesterday the passenger side back window's motor went out. Any chance this is a part of a bigger electrical problem? Seems odd two things like this would happen so close to each other after having 0 problems for over 6 years.

[cdollaz]

Originally Posted by Quake1028

Any chance this is a part of a bigger electrical problem?

The big stuff doesn't happen until after the warranty runs out.

[rw2516]

Sounds like the fan motor. Does the heater work? Had one go out once, it would make noises like feedback from Ted Nugent's guitar. Just take it in.

[Quake1028]

Turns out it was the blower motor for the a/c that was shot, and the motor for the back window that was gone as well. Both covered under extended waranty, total cost to me: $25 .