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Chevrolet Blazer Heating and Air Conditioning

154 messages,  Last post on Jan 29, 2013 at 3:06 PM

You are in the Chevrolet Blazer Forum.

What is this discussion about? Chevrolet, Heating / Cooling, SUV

    

Messages Page 14 of 16

#126 of 154 Re: 1998 Chevrolet Blazer A/C [yourangellady] by Stever@Edmunds HOST

Jun 06, 2010 (8:02 pm)

Replying to: yourangellady (Jun 06, 2010 2:01 pm)
In the old days, you were supposed to run the AC a few minutes a month all year round. As I recall, this was to keep the seals flexible (in the compressor I guess).
 
Nowadays the AC will kick on when you run the defroster to dehumidify the air, so you shouldn't find anything in your manual about running the AC. And I don't see why never running the AC would hurt anything.

#127 of 154 Re: 1998 Chevrolet Blazer A/C [yourangellady] by jlflemmons

Jun 06, 2010 (9:20 pm)

Replying to: yourangellady (Jun 06, 2010 2:01 pm)
Has nothing to do with harming the engine. But you should run the ac or defroster at least once a month for a minute or so to keep the seals lubricated and the oil moving across the moving parts of the compressor.

#128 of 154 Re: 98 Blazer a/c drip pan drain line [rjmac] by dulinaa

Jun 24, 2010 (6:23 pm)

Replying to: rjmac (Jun 05, 2009 5:37 pm)
Try looking straight down the firewall from where the a/c lines enter it. Do you have any condensation on the ground at all? Is the front floor carpet wet? There isn't much room for any kind of sloshing around. I have had heater cores with trapped air make that sound, especially the chevy trucks. And on my in-laws Jeep Cherokee, that drain was plugged bad, but it was inside the square tube subframe that extends from the firewall, couldn't get to it to blow shop air up to clear it.

#130 of 154 Re: 1998 Chevrolet Blazer A/C [yourangellady] by dulinaa

Jun 24, 2010 (6:30 pm)

Replying to: yourangellady (Jun 06, 2010 2:01 pm)
It will not harm your engine, BUT it can ruin you a/c by not running often. Its got the Use it or lose it policy. Your a/c system has lubrication oil mixed with and circulated by the refrigerant. The seals can dry up and crack, especially the front shaft seal on the a/c compressor, causing all the refrigerant to leak out.

#131 of 154 Re: 1998 Chevrolet Blazer A/C [dulinaa] by Stever@Edmunds HOST

Jun 25, 2010 (11:29 pm)

Replying to: dulinaa (Jun 24, 2010 6:30 pm)
I just downloaded a '98 Blazer owner's manual and I don't see anything in there from GM advising owners to run their AC at any time. It may have been an issue in the old days but I don't think it must be a problem now; otherwise the manual would say something.
 
How To Find Your Car Owner's Manual Online

#132 of 154 Re: 1998 Chevrolet Blazer A/C [steve_] by jlflemmons

Jun 26, 2010 (9:27 pm)

Replying to: Stever@Edmunds (Jun 25, 2010 11:29 pm)
Steve,
Running the compressor is an issue in any automotive system. It may not be mentioned as most folks will use there defroster/defogger during the winter, and thus run the compressor.
 
It may not be as big an issue with R134A, but was definitely an R12 issue. Most systems now days use very, very little refrigerant. As an example, the S10 series Blazer/pickup uses less than 28oz of R134A!

#133 of 154 Re: 1998 Chevrolet Blazer A/C [jlflemmons] by Stever@Edmunds HOST

Jun 28, 2010 (9:48 am)

Replying to: jlflemmons (Jun 26, 2010 9:27 pm)
I think the long term trend in cars is to lessen required maintenance as much as possible. So my feeling is that the engineers have improved the seals so that there is little risk of failure by not using the AC. Plus as you say, the AC comes on with the defrost.
 
Then again, I suppose the manufacturers know that most people trade cars every 3 to 5 years and so they don't mention maintenance for marketing reasons, since many (most?) of us don't want to maintain things. But both my cars are over 10 years old and I just use the AC or defrost as needed, not on some "monthly" schedule.

#134 of 154 More Heat Issues by ncastor

Jan 04, 2011 (4:24 am)

I own an 04 Blazer LT with 4WD and the heat was blowing cold. The mechanic received a code indicating the thermostat needed to be replaced. They also replaced and winterized the antifreeze, etc. That was on Thursday. On Sunday it was again blowing cold.
 
I felt it was a partially clogged heater core but they replaced the thermostat which seemed to resolve the issue for about 2-3 days.
 
Any suggestions and should the dealer do the repair free of charge for not fixing it initially?

#135 of 154 Re: More Heat Issues [ncastor] by dfhltd

Jan 07, 2011 (6:21 pm)

Replying to: ncastor (Jan 04, 2011 4:24 am)
To tell if the thermostat is bad, look at the temp gage on the dash. It shoulkd be in the middle. If it's way in the cold zone it's no good. Assuming the coolant in the engine is hot according to the gage then the heater should be getting hot coolant. Find the two hoses that connect the heater to the engine and wrap your hand around them to see if hot coolant is flowing in them or not. If they are hot you have a problem with the air doors inside the heater and the control that adjusts how much hot and cold air to mix. Yours could be stuck sending all outside cold air and no warm air. I don't know about your model but some have a water control valve that controls the volume of hot water the heater gets. It might be stuck shut. find it and test it to see if it opens and closes when you apply 12v to the terminals. If it works it is still possible the signal from the heater controls is bad and telling it to shut off. Then you would have to find out why there is no signal when you turn the controlls to max heat.
 
Good Luck

Messages Page 14 of 16

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