A/C - heat issue 98 Firebird - one for Chris?

[Zoltan]

My 98 Firebird has an interesting issue:

With the air vent switched to screen or screen/feet, the incoming air is cool

with the air vents switched to any of the A/C, it's cool, but not great and...

with the air vents switched to the non- A/C, just fresh air, it's warm air even on a cool day, so I suspect that this warmth is why the A/C cooling isn't great.

Plus, out of the three air ducts that are in the centre, the left one is warmer than the other two.

The RHD conversion means I am not sure if the problem is related to the routing of the ducts or could it be something else?

I really don't want to pull the whole dash apart to investigate the ducting, only to find out that this could be something else...

Is there anything else I should look for first?

I know that sometimes conversions cause all sorts of issues, but I just wanted to look at all possibilities - heater control valve? Computer controls? A/C gas? Anything else I should check before I spend $1000 pulling the dash to pieces? Yes, that's what I've been quoted, well... actually, the quote was "anything between $1000 and $10,000" which was partially joking, partially true. Either way, that's not going to happen, at least not yet.

Any thoughts?

[sms777]

Who?....Me?.....Don't want to know!
Seriously I would not take that quote as a joke. Also I would very careful attempting to pull the dash apart yourself, you will find that every part you touch will fall to pieces or brittle from rock hard glue. If you decide however get a digital camera and take photos step by step as you dismantle.
If you get stuck you can always pay me to do it but my quote won't be far off the one you already have.

Cheers, Chris. 

[Zoltan]

Thanks Chris... I wan't contemplating ripping it all apart, I was just checking to see if there may be other things I should check before I get someone to pull it all apart - I don't want to go fishing for a problem in the dash when it may be not even in the dash...

I wanted to get an idea if there are any other things that might cause it, so the process of elimination starts with the simple things first (like you did with the fuel pump diagnosis on my car)   

Speaking of, I took the car back to the Auto Electrician who seems to have gotten to the bottom of the cutting out problem...

bad earth cable going to the computer ! So far, so good... 

[sms777]

Are you suggesting that the fuel pump issue was just a bad earth? I am sure you have dropped in to my workshop while we had all the fuel system testing equipment hooked up to your car which showed no pressure under cranking. We have tested the wiring under the rear of your vehicle running to the pump and it was showing full 12 volts and was correctly earthed but the pump was not running. Would not that indicate a faulty pump?
At the end of the day I have saved you hundreds of dollars by cutting a hole on the floor( with your permission ) rather than having to remove suspension, exhaust and fuel tank to get to the pump.
I am glad that your "other" problem is sorted......

Cheers, Chris.

[Zoltan]

Chris,

I trust that there was indeed a problem with the fuel pump. 

I am sure that the engine cut out problem was just a bad coincidence and would have reared it's ugly head eventually - I realise it must seem like I was pointing the finger at you, but I was not... trust me when I say this. I trust you completely!    



Oh and the auto electrical guy you took it to also knows his stuff, so double thank you for that  he originally was looking at the cabling going to the computer because every time you touched or bumped the cables, it cut out. Turned out that it was not the cables, but the bath earth! I took it back to him and he sorted it out.

Just letting you know that all is well at the moment and it's sorted.

I'm REALLY hoping I get this job that I applied for at the beginning of the week, because if I do, I think we both know where some of my wages will be going  :roo:

Be prepared Chris, I think you may see a lot more of my car in the future.