2010 A/C issues - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums

c/sa z28 · 09-18-2018, 10:54 AM

Starting out AC is fine, nice cold air.after a few miles the compressor starts to get loud. Sort of a rattling whining sound that varies in pitch with RPM you can hear it very well inside the car eventually it will stop blowing thru the front dash vents.turn off the compressor with the snowflake button, and wait for air to return to front dash vents,hit the snowflake button and have cold air again. So obviously it's freezing up for some reason.would this cause the noisy compressor? So before I go spend a fortune,are there any TSB,s that address this?

craigd853 · 09-18-2018, 02:15 PM

You may need to have a qalified A/C mechanic look at this, unless u know what u r doing. Need to get a set of gauges on this and see what the pressures are and if the compressor is cycling on and off like it’s suppose to. Rattling and making noises is never a good thing. If pressures look good it’s quite possible it could be the clutch assembly making the noise. Hope this helps you some.

Thelegendl23 · 09-18-2018, 03:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by craigd853

You may need to have a qalified A/C mechanic look at this, unless u know what u r doing. Need to get a set of gauges on this and see what the pressures are and if the compressor is cycling on and off like it’s suppose to. Rattling and making noises is never a good thing. If pressures look good it’s quite possible it could be the clutch assembly making the noise. Hope this helps you some.

Just curious how does a qualified mechanic suggestion help!? If they are asking its because they have at least decided to look into it themselves.

Anyways, open hood with car idling and turn ac max and listen.. If you hear the noise coming from the compressor internally you found your issue and it needs replaced. Amazon has discharge cans for freon and you can get a compressor on Amazon or local your choice.

craigd853 · 09-19-2018, 12:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thelegendl23

Just curious how does a qualified mechanic suggestion help!? If they are asking its because they have at least decided to look into it themselves.

Anyways, open hood with car idling and turn ac max and listen.. If you hear the noise coming from the compressor internally you found your issue and it needs replaced. Amazon has discharge cans for freon and you can get a compressor on Amazon or local your choice.

Your so right what was i thinking. I'm sure you are fully certified to help answer the question. Why do so many people on this site feel the need to be sarcastic asses when we are all here to try and help one another. I just don't get it. By the way the compressor is on the bottom of the car and will not help him to open the hood and listen to a noise that coming from the bottom of the motor, nor will buying a new compressor or discharge cans as you call them help him if he has a compressor failure as anyone with any knowledge of A/C systems knows that there is a lot more to it than that but i guess with 12 posts and just joining you knew that too.

c/sa z28 · 09-19-2018, 08:25 AM

Just to clarify a bit. From initial start up the compressor is not excessively noisy the further you drive or the longer it stays on,the worse it gets,,as if it is struggling against the pressure till eventually it will stop cooling.turn it off a little while,and start the whole process over.

craigd853 · 09-19-2018, 12:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by c/sa z28

Just to clarify a bit. From initial start up the compressor is not excessively noisy the further you drive or the longer it stays on,the worse it gets,,as if it is struggling against the pressure till eventually it will stop cooling.turn it off a little while,and start the whole process over.

Sounds like a bad compressor my friend. Still u need to put a set of gauges on it to see what they are reading. If it is the compressor there are special tools you are going to need and there are parts that are going to need to be changed before you put a new one back on. This is why I suggested having someone look at it that knows about A/C systems as these are contained systems and will need to be evacuated, flushed and new filter along with an expansion valve and then needs to be pumped down into a vacuum to remove any moisture in the system before adding any new Freon. Good luck

c/sa z28 · 09-24-2018, 05:52 PM

So. .took the Camaro to the A/C shop told the man what my symptoms we're it was another hot Texas day and both fans were running,so you could not hear the compressor.i told him it's actually louder in the car.he put the gauges on it and said the pressures we're fine.said it would be $1100 to replace compressor condenser exp valve etc.told me just drive it till it stops cooling. So...today...hop in at work to head home...no cooling! So I'm thinking OK here we go.about 5 miles down the road,comes on and starts cooling! Now if I have to spend 1100 I won't be happy about it,but what you going to do? Right? I just don't want to find out later... just needed a flash update,or a little $59 switch or something...

craigd853 · 09-26-2018, 11:27 AM

Sorry to hear the technician did not diagnose your issue. I know it must be upsetting to have an intermittent issue. My suggestion is to take the car to another shop and have them completely trouble shoot your issue. Explain to the technician that the issue happens when you are driving your vehicle not while it’s sitting still. It’s quite possible that it’s still the compressor because of the noise but until it is properly diagnosed I would not spend any money without it being properly diagnosed. There are sensors on the A/C system that will shut the compressor off if the pressures are to high or too low. If the compressor is coming apart inside the system it’s quite possible that while driving the vehicle that the pressures are not where they need to be and the high and low pressure switches are shutting the system down hence why it cools again after the system has shut down while driving. Sorry about not being able to give you more information but a qualified A/C mechanic will figure this out and steer you in the right direction. Also something to consider is the blower motor inside the car. If this is going bad it could be causing the systems to pull too many amps and shutting the A/C system down.These are not complex systems but who you take it too will be dependent on rather you get the correct diagnosis and spend the least amount of money to fix. Hope this helps and feel free to post again with an update. Good luck sir, and I hope you get the answers you are looking for.

hrpiii · 09-26-2018, 12:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by craigd853

Sorry to hear the technician did not diagnose your issue. I know it must be upsetting to have an intermittent issue. My suggestion is to take the car to another shop and have them completely trouble shoot your issue. Explain to the technician that the issue happens when you are driving your vehicle not while it’s sitting still. It’s quite possible that it’s still the compressor because of the noise but until it is properly diagnosed I would not spend any money without it being properly diagnosed. There are sensors on the A/C system that will shut the compressor off if the pressures are to high or too low. If the compressor is coming apart inside the system it’s quite possible that while driving the vehicle that the pressures are not where they need to be and the high and low pressure switches are shutting the system down hence why it cools again after the system has shut down while driving. Sorry about not being able to give you more information but a qualified A/C mechanic will figure this out and steer you in the right direction. Also something to consider is the blower motor inside the car. If this is going bad it could be causing the systems to pull too many amps and shutting the A/C system down.These are not complex systems but who you take it too will be dependent on rather you get the correct diagnosis and spend the least amount of money to fix. Hope this helps and feel free to post again with an update. Good luck sir, and I hope you get the answers you are looking for.

I agree here. Sounds like the other guy was just blowing you off without truly trying to diagnose it. I would be very cautious of that shop moving forward. It "could" be several things going on, without it being the most expensive to start with.

Spurshot · 09-28-2018, 07:13 PM

My novice knowledge of AC systems tells me put some gauges on the system and drive around. When the knocking and shutdown occurs, pay attention to the pressures and outside air temp. Write them down.

If the actual compressor is making noise, the cause could be liquid Freon getting to the compressor. That can happen from overfilling the system. If someone has added Freon to the system, you will never know what the fill is without completely evacuating the system and re-filling with the correct amount.

09-18-2018, 10:54 AM	#1
c/sa z28 Drives: 2010 2SS 96 Z28 NHRA C/SA Join Date: Sep 2018 Location: Texas Posts: 12	2010 A/C issues Starting out AC is fine, nice cold air.after a few miles the compressor starts to get loud. Sort of a rattling whining sound that varies in pitch with RPM you can hear it very well inside the car eventually it will stop blowing thru the front dash vents.turn off the compressor with the snowflake button, and wait for air to return to front dash vents,hit the snowflake button and have cold air again. So obviously it's freezing up for some reason.would this cause the noisy compressor? So before I go spend a fortune,are there any TSB,s that address this?

09-26-2018, 11:27 AM	#8
craigd853 Drives: 2010 SS Camaro Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: MD Posts: 200	Sorry to hear the technician did not diagnose your issue. I know it must be upsetting to have an intermittent issue. My suggestion is to take the car to another shop and have them completely trouble shoot your issue. Explain to the technician that the issue happens when you are driving your vehicle not while it’s sitting still. It’s quite possible that it’s still the compressor because of the noise but until it is properly diagnosed I would not spend any money without it being properly diagnosed. There are sensors on the A/C system that will shut the compressor off if the pressures are to high or too low. If the compressor is coming apart inside the system it’s quite possible that while driving the vehicle that the pressures are not where they need to be and the high and low pressure switches are shutting the system down hence why it cools again after the system has shut down while driving. Sorry about not being able to give you more information but a qualified A/C mechanic will figure this out and steer you in the right direction. Also something to consider is the blower motor inside the car. If this is going bad it could be causing the systems to pull too many amps and shutting the A/C system down.These are not complex systems but who you take it too will be dependent on rather you get the correct diagnosis and spend the least amount of money to fix. Hope this helps and feel free to post again with an update. Good luck sir, and I hope you get the answers you are looking for. Last edited by craigd853; 09-26-2018 at 11:33 AM. Reason: Updating

09-28-2018, 07:13 PM	#10
Spurshot Drives: 2014 2SS blue Join Date: Jun 2016 Location: Socal Posts: 689	My novice knowledge of AC systems tells me put some gauges on the system and drive around. When the knocking and shutdown occurs, pay attention to the pressures and outside air temp. Write them down. If the actual compressor is making noise, the cause could be liquid Freon getting to the compressor. That can happen from overfilling the system. If someone has added Freon to the system, you will never know what the fill is without completely evacuating the system and re-filling with the correct amount. __________________

09-18-2018, 02:15 PM	#2
craigd853 Drives: 2010 SS Camaro Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: MD Posts: 200	You may need to have a qalified A/C mechanic look at this, unless u know what u r doing. Need to get a set of gauges on this and see what the pressures are and if the compressor is cycling on and off like it’s suppose to. Rattling and making noises is never a good thing. If pressures look good it’s quite possible it could be the clutch assembly making the noise. Hope this helps you some.

09-19-2018, 08:25 AM	#5
c/sa z28 Drives: 2010 2SS 96 Z28 NHRA C/SA Join Date: Sep 2018 Location: Texas Posts: 12	Just to clarify a bit. From initial start up the compressor is not excessively noisy the further you drive or the longer it stays on,the worse it gets,,as if it is struggling against the pressure till eventually it will stop cooling.turn it off a little while,and start the whole process over.

09-24-2018, 05:52 PM	#7
c/sa z28 Drives: 2010 2SS 96 Z28 NHRA C/SA Join Date: Sep 2018 Location: Texas Posts: 12	So. .took the Camaro to the A/C shop told the man what my symptoms we're it was another hot Texas day and both fans were running,so you could not hear the compressor.i told him it's actually louder in the car.he put the gauges on it and said the pressures we're fine.said it would be $1100 to replace compressor condenser exp valve etc.told me just drive it till it stops cooling. So...today...hop in at work to head home...no cooling! So I'm thinking OK here we go.about 5 miles down the road,comes on and starts cooling! Now if I have to spend 1100 I won't be happy about it,but what you going to do? Right? I just don't want to find out later... just needed a flash update,or a little $59 switch or something...