QuestionQUESTION: i have a 2002 dodge grand caravan es. my ac works well in the back, a little bit in the front passenger side and only blows fan in the driver's side. what might be the cause of this problem and is there anything i can do to fix it myself? note: the car has a digital three way control. thanks in advance for your advice.
ANSWER: Hi Josef,
The first thing to do is ask the control to do a calibration which may straighten things out.
Put the ignition switch in the 'on' position. Press and hold simultaneously the Power and Recirculation buttons for at least five seconds, then release them. The graphic Delay and Recirculation graphics will flash when the calibration begins. In about a half minute the calibration will be completed, and the graphics will stop flashing. If they continue to flash beyond that time, then there is a trouble code indicating what is wrong stored in the body computer. A diagnostic readout with a plug-in code reader will need to be done. You could see if a free readout at an Autozone parts store gives you the code, or ask at at an independent shop if their reader can readout the body computer which if so should cost less than $40, or go to a dealer where they will charge more to give you the fault readouts. Let me know what you learn and we can go from there. Chances are there is a problem with the air distribution door in the under-dash unit which involves changing out a small door actuation motor, but let us see first if the calibration will solve it.
Roland
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QUESTION: thank you for your quick response! i did what you suggested and and it did stop flashing. the problem is still there however. what can i do next?
Josef
AnswerHi Josef,
I am not sure whether the problem is with the blend air doors (which mix air from the outside that is heated with air that has passed over the cooling coils to get the desired temperature, or if there is some problem with the refrigerant not reaching the cooling coils up front. This is beyond my expertise. Are you certain that you have sufficient refrigerant in the system? The system might not be pressurized sufficiently such that it would be marginal in the front though apparently successful in the rear. I would verify that to begin with, now that it apparently 'passes' the calibration test.
If the refrigerant is at an acceptable level I believe that the cause is something that will have to be found out by an experienced AC technician who is familiar with the vehicle. The entire section on the heater/ac covers 108 pages in the '02 manual. I could xerox them and postal mail them to you if you would cover the copy and mailing costs. Let me know if you would like me to do that. I can probably get it done for under $10. That would give you something to work with.
Roland
