The requested URL /showthread.php?t=242699 was not found on this server. Every AC unit is designed differently and some AC units are not compatible with the smartAC kit. Approximately 90% of our customers report that their AC unit is compatible with the smartAC kit, but there are some incompatible ACs. In some cases, the AC does not turn on when you press the power button on the thermostat remote. In some AC models, the AC lights will turn on, but the compressor and fan will not turn on after power is lost and then restored. In some cases, the compressor powers on after a few minutes, so make sure to wait a few minutes before deciding that your AC is not compatible. You can also call the manufacturer and ask them whether the compressor restores or the air conditioner turns on after a power outage or you can look it up in the owner's manual. This is the feature that determines if the smartAC kit is compatible with the AC. This question seems to be attracting a lot of views, so I guess a lot of people are having the same problem.

Just to be clear, the problem with MY fans specifically seemed to be caused by my new temp sensor being faulty. This isn't likely to be your problem, but don't rule it out. There are some other great diagnostics suggested below for other possible reasons the fans aren't running. There was a bigger problem with overheating with this car, even after the fans were running correctly. The stock engine comes with a plastic intake manifold gasket, which is prone to failure. It leaks coolant into the cylinders and causes inefficiency in the cooling system, leading to low coolant and overheating. You can replace this gasket with a metal one, the repair is a little involved but I managed with a Haynes manual. My 2000 Pontiac Grand Am GT (6 cy/3.4L) has been having cooling issues. I started by replacing the thermostat and performing a flush & fill on the radiator. This didn't seem to resolve the issue -- the engine still overheats when at a stop. This lead me to suspect the fans, so I tested the fans themselves (independent dual electric cooling fans).

They do not start when the engine is warm... this is the problem. I wired each fan directly to the battery, both function correctly. Next, I checked the relays, both tested operational. If I disconnect the temperature sensor, both fans come on immediately. So, I replaced the temperature sensor.the engine will reach 200, the thermostat opens (determined by watching the temp. gauge), but the fans do not start. If I disconnect the (new!) temperature sensor, both fans start. I have read that turning the air conditioning on should also cause the fans to turn on, this does not happen (with the temp. sensor plugged in), not when then engine is cool or hot. I am at my wits end as to what to check next. I am prepared instead to hardwire the fans to the ignition switch. Can anyone give me any ideas of any further diagnostic steps before I give up and take the "duct tape solution"? This is my wife's daily driver, so the pressure is on! Don't be discouraged by a new part not working.

My family runs a shop, and we get defective parts all the time. There is a table located here that shows diagnostic steps you can take. cost of moving ac unitIt's for a 1999 model, but 1999-2001 are virtually the same (I own a 2001 G/T model).prices for central ac unit Hook your temp sender up to a meter and drop it in some boiling water. ac unit power boxThis should tell you if it's working or not. Personally, I'd just disconnect it until you get the issue figured out -- running the fans continuously isn't going to hurt anything, it'll just be loud. your issue is with the temp switch not the temp sensor. the sensor will only operate the fans when it fails to avoid a possible overheating issue ,where as the switch is the fans main controller via ecm.

the switch should be on the radiator itself or near the water pump. The problem might be with the body control module (BCM). The PCM sends the signal to the BCM, which turns the fans on. Or you can buy a separate temperature fan relay system with a temp probe and bypass the system. It will work as normal cooling when needed only. Its the connecter that you unplug from the temp sensor. That connection is usually bad and can be fixed by directly putting the wires together or cleaning each connector. Had the same problem on 1998 grand prix gt 3800 series 2Browse other questions tagged pontiac cooling-system grand-am or ask your own question. FAN DOESN’T RUN - The furnace fires, but the blower does not start. After the burners have ignited, the next step in the heating cycle is starting of the blower motor.  This will be done either by a heat-activated switch or internal timing of a control board.  In either instance, the blower motor should start within 30 - 90 seconds after burner ignition.

If the fan motor does not start, the furnace will overheat and the high-temperature limit switch should cause the burners to shut-off. POSSIBLE PROBLEM & DESCRIPTION Bad Blower Motor - Qualified Technician Recommended Bad Capacitor - Qualified Technician Recommended Heat-Activated Fan Switch - Qualified Technician Recommended Control Board - Qualified Technician Recommended < Prev Next > We are excited to have you become a member of the General Heating & Air Conditioning family. To schedule an appointment all you need to do is Call Today or Click Here for online chatDon’t let the dog days of summer make you swelter. Here’s how to troubleshoot that air-conditioning system. It’s July, and a skipper’s thoughts turn to his air-conditioning system—especially if the darn thing stops working and his family moves into the Holiday Inn next door to the marina. But here’s the good news—if your system conks out, getting it going again will often be pretty simple.

As with virtually every other maintenance project onboard, step one of just about any fix will entail finding and reading the owner’s manual: Everything you can do yourself is explained in there; for everything else, call a pro and join mom and the kids at the hotel pool. While you’re looking for the manual, by the way, here are a few things that may come in handy at some point in the near future. Air-conditioning systems come in different configurations, but all share three major components: The evaporator, where boiling refrigerant absorbs heat from the surrounding air; the compressor, which pushes the refrigerant through the system; and the condenser, where the refrigerant is cooled and liquefied before being pumped back to the evaporator. Most air-conditioning systems are “direct expansion”: they pump refrigerant directly to air handlers in the boat’s living spaces. A chilled-water system, on the other hand, cools fresh water that, in turn, circulates through the air handlers.

Maintaining a chilled-water system isn’t much different than a direct-expansion system, except that there’s more plumbing. In all cases, reading and studying the aforementioned manual before opening your toolbox or calling for help is very important. But, if there’s not enough time for that for some reason, just look at the controls—many modern systems include digital panels that display error codes. The best way to understand how to care for whatever type of system you’ve got is to take a trip through the system, starting at the expansion valve, located just upstream of the evaporator. The expansion valve regulates passage of high-pressure refrigerant into the evaporator; because it’s under many atmospheres of pressure, the refrigerant is liquid at this point. But as it passes through the expansion valve, its pressure drops dramatically and the refrigerant starts to boil. When any liquid boils—scientists call this “phase conversion”—it absorbs heat. In this case, “boiling” doesn’t mean “hot”: The boiling point of a common refrigerant, R410A, is around minus 55 degrees F.

At normal temperatures and pressures, it’s a gas. Air conditioners don’t really produce cold, they remove heat. As the phase-converting refrigerant passes through the evaporator coils, it gets colder but more gaseous (because it’s boiling), and absorbs heat from the surrounding air. A fan blows warm air from the cabin across the evaporator and discharges it, now cooler, through ducting back into the cabin. The evaporator/fan/ducting assembly is called an “air handler.” The warm air that’s pulled in from the cabin is called “return” air, while the “supply” air is the cold air coming out of the air handler. Efficient heat exchange at the evaporator demands a free-flowing supply of hot or warm air from the cabin. Behind the return-air grille, there’s a filter to screen out dust and other junk. If the filter gets dirty, the airflow is restricted and it’ll take longer for the cabin to cool off. The first thing you should do if it’s way too hot belowdecks is to clean the filter—vacuum it, wash it, do whatever the owner’s manual tells you.

Even if your air-conditioning system is working great, clean the filter once a month. If you need to clean the filter more often, try cleaning the cabin. Need a way to check whether your air-conditioning system is working up to spec? ), recommends taking the temperatures of the supply and return air with a digital thermometer—it’ll set you back about 20 bucks if you don’t already have one. Put the system’s fan or blower on high speed before testing, Ramirez says. “There should be anywhere from 12 to 20 degrees difference between them,” he adds. If the difference is less, the problem could be a loss of refrigerant charge; although the system is supposed to be a closed loop, sometimes refrigerant leaks out. Checking and recharging the system is a job for a licensed air-conditioning technician. What’s The Deal With Reverse Cycle? Most marine air conditioners have a reverse-cycle mode, which changes the flow of refrigerant and turns the system into a heat pump.

Many skippers never switch to reverse cycle, but they should: There’s a reversing valve in the system that can stick if it’s not activated regularly. If it does stick, when you want heat, you’ll be left out in the cold. Part of your scheduled air-conditioner maintenance, along with cleaning the air filters and raw-water strainer, should be to switch to reverse cycle for a couple of minutes periodically, even if it’s already hot as Hades in the cabin. Eventually the autumn chill will send you reaching for the heat switch, and when you hit it, you want warm air to flow. (If your reverse-cycle valve sticks, by the way, tapping it lightly may free it; listen for a hiss as it activates. Don’t whale on it too hard, though.) Reverse cycle uses the same principle as air conditioning, except the refrigerant flows in the opposite direction. The compressor pumps hot, pressurized refrigerant into the air handler where it transfers its heat to the cabin via the flow of cool cabin air over the coils.

The refrigerant then flows through the expansion valve to the condenser, where the now very cold refrigerant picks up heat from the seawater and carries it through the compressor to the cabin. Reverse-cycle units can produce heat down to seawater temperatures of 40 degrees F or so, but they work better if the water’s warmer. So, although the technology is fine for autumn boating, if you plan on an Arctic exploration, you might want to install a dedicated heating system. While you’re cleaning that filter, incidentally, check the condensate pan under the evaporator for water. Air conditioners remove humidity along with heat, and the water has to go somewhere. In most installations the pan drains into the bilge, but if the drain gets clogged and the pan overflows the water will go somewhere you don’t want it to. Check the drain by blocking it temporarily and filling the pan with fresh water—it should be gone in 30 seconds or less when you unblock the drain. After leaving the evaporator, the refrigerant, now a low-pressure gas, travels to a compressor which once again pumps it up to many times normal atmospheric pressure.

If the system is working properly, you should see condensation on the piping between the air handler and compressor because of the cold refrigerant; dry piping here could mean the system needs recharging. Pressure equals heat, so to cool the gas on the downstream side of the compressor it’s run through a raw-water-cooled condenser, which returns the refrigerant to a liquid state. The colder the water, the more efficient the cooling, but most air conditioners will work fine to water temps into the 80-degree range, sometimes warmer. Then the refrigerant returns to the expansion valve and the cycle begins again. Efficient heat exchange at the condenser demands a free flow of raw water, of course, which means keeping the supply side clear. Clean the relevant sea strainer once a month (or more often in tropical waters), and whenever your air-conditioning system is functioning, keep an eye on its raw-water discharge to ensure the flow is unrestricted. Most systems have a safety switch that shuts off the compressor if the water flow is insufficient, which causes system pressure to increase beyond a preset limit.

If you fire up your system and it runs for a little while and then shuts off, it could be that the safety switch has tripped and you need to check the water supply. If the strainer is clear but an insufficient amount of water seems to be running through the system anyway, the cause could be a bad water-pump impeller, an easy fix for most skippers. Or it could be the condenser coil. “Marine growth and scale builds up and clogs the coil,” says Wayne Wright (www.wrightmarine.net), a Tampa Bay marine air-conditioning specialist. The fix is to flush out the cooling system with a weak acid solution, a job for a technician in most cases. “It should be done every two to five years, depending on where the boat is located,” advises Wright. If you take good care of your air-conditioning system, it’ll take good care of you, maybe for decades, says Wright. “A self-contained marine air conditioner,” he adds, “has a life expectancy of about 15-20 years, depending on how much it is used, with many older units still cooling effectively since the 1980s.”