heat & a/c not working

[sharkbyte]

Hoping for some insight or explanation ...

2001 base, over the winter my heat got worse and worse. Effectively blowing outside air in the car. Made for some chilly rides to work. Now that it is getting warm out, I've found that I have no a/c. It seems to blow whatever the ambient temperature is through the vents.

With the 20 year old car, I've had plenty of foam through the vents. I've been blowing the fan on high trying to get it all out.

I assumed that my blend doors had lost all the foam and that was why the climate control wasn't working. But, I don't see that related in many posts and can't quite explain how they would be related. Before I start tearing into my my dash or behind the battery, I was wondering if there was something else I should consider?

Does the loss of foam typically cause both heat and cool to stop? Is putting tape on the blend doors an actual long term repair?

I appreciate any knowledge. I want to start driving it again but at 90+ every day, it's too warm without a/c!

[rexcramer]

Can you hear the compressor engaging? And the radiator fans should be coming on with a call for cooling. If the compressor is not coming on, check for a burnt fuse. Also, a low freon charge could keep the compressor from coming on.

[sharkbyte]

Yes, compressor comes on. Interestingly enough, when it was on auto today, it appeared to cool. Of course, it is only 70. The thing I have noticed is the vents always blow air through them. How much is controlled by the fan speed. But even if I have it on manual and only windshield or feet, it blows air through all of the vents.

Today, it was cool air. But if I don't have vent selected, it shouldn't blow any air, should it?

[Boxstard]

Originally Posted by sharkbyte

Yes, compressor comes on. Interestingly enough, when it was on auto today, it appeared to cool. Of course, it is only 70. The thing I have noticed is the vents always blow air through them. How much is controlled by the fan speed. But even if I have it on manual and only windshield or feet, it blows air through all of the vents.

Today, it was cool air. But if I don't have vent selected, it shouldn't blow any air, should it?

De-foamed doors do affect both heating and cooling, as well as vent selection.

You can fog up the windscreen from inside as it uncontrollably blows cold air and cause condensation.

I gutted out the duct behind the radio and was able to fix 3 doors to address all those issues.

[rexcramer]

I still need to do the 'replace the foam hack' on mine. The air conditioner still blows very cold air in spite of the foam being in tatters.

If you know the foam is gone, then try that DIY fix first. If you still have issues, then it's time to focus on the A/C system. A harder DIY with more expensive tools, but doable. Spend some time and get your YouTube certification.

[CrisZenithBlue]

I lost the foam like most of us and my AC blows nice and cold. I normally keep center and lower vents selected. In the Florida "winter", or the 2 cold days we get in a year, I put the temp up to "HI" and I have to actually turn the AC off from the * button otherwise I get cold air mixed in. With AC off and set to HI im getting pretty toasty in there.

You might also wanna check if your refrigerant gas is low, making the AC a lot less efficient, blowing kinda cold air but not too much..