We're having a heck of a blizard today in Metro New York. Had to make a few erands before the snow got too high and was driving in aobut 4" of powder snow. The 'low traction' light was on for a good portion of the trip and it was certainly no speed demon as the system cut the throttle to keep traction. Even made it up a pretty steep hill slow and steady. My son, with his silverado 2500, was having more handling issues than I was.
I did see something new on my '01 lw300, The hvac blower stopped working on high for about 5 minutes after a start. Lower speeds were all working. Got to look into that one. Don't know if it was something loose in the right side passenger compartment fuse panel. Noticed this right after a passenger gettin in. Might have kicked something? The AC must have been out too since the windows fogged up terribly.
City is doing a good job of keeping the streets clear but we now have about
6" on the ground with a predicted accumulation of up to two feet. I'm in for the night now...
I thought the AC cuts off (turns off) when outside temps drop to very cold? I had mine shut off going over the Grapevine (a piece of Interstate 5 north of Los Angeles) in the winter once - had the same probs with the fogging windows (of course I wasn't smart enough to slow down).
About a foot in my driveway (about 200 yards). I got it plowed out about an hour ago. I'm betting it will be filled back in when I get home from work in the morning.
Don't have traction control(don't know if it would have worked on the unplowed hills we have), but have spider-spikes. My SL2 rammed throught even plowed up snow like it wasn't there. Traveling even felt better in deeper snow.
I love em, and I didn't even get my hands dirty putting them on.
At WOT the ac kicks off and when the engine is about to stall it kicks off. Theory: Since the computer reduces engine rpm's when the traction control comes on it may also turn the ac compressor off.
This was real easy to figure out looking at the schematics of your car. On high your powers sent through a relay and on any other setting its sent through your resistor pack. If your relay is cutting out that would be your problem. Check your left instrument panel fuse block for this relay.
I thought about getting studded snow tires but I spend most of my driving on the highway. For the few times I would need them, the noise wasn't worth it.
Thanks, I thought I remembered seeing a relay in the service manual that only worked on blower High. Was out on the road a few times today and the blower was working properly on all speeds. Will see if the problem comes back and trace it out then.
City did a great job of clearing the roads. We had about 14"(hard to say with all the wind drifts). Hardest part was getting out of the driveway after being plowed in. Oppie
Are you sure your fresh air intake wasn't clogged with snow or you didn't have the RECIRC button on? That'll make 'er fog up and possibly overheat the fan.
The A/C seems to work in any temperature. When I get in the car with wet clothes and the windows fog, just turning on the A/C with the heat clears them right up - just like the MAX DEFROST setting clears the windshield..
A/C doesn't work when outside temperature is below 40 degrees or so. The refrigerant is so cold that it never vaporizes and therefore the A/C can't work. For this reason, the A/C compressor is disabled. I have a Ford (in addition to my Saturn). Driving along the other day in cold temperatures, the A/C compressor finally kicked in after about 30 minutes of driving. I think the under hood temperature finally got warm enough to allow the compressor to run.
If you are having problems with fogging windows, be sure you are not using the recirculate mode. Bringing in cool outside air and heating it should still drop the humidity enough to help keep the windows clear.
Interesting product though not as inexpensive as chains. I doubt that chains would fit the L series either... Will put this on the wish list for things to buy after all the taxes get paid. Regards, Oppie
Don't know what's going on but the AC doesn't seem to do squat to de-humidify in cold weather. I usually wind up keeping a window open a crack to keep the air flowing. This is the first vehicle I've had that uses R134a refrigerant so wasn't sure if this is peculiar to this type. Other vehicles with R12 would clear the humidity almost instantly. One of these days, I have to get a gauge set and check the pressures. Too low a pressure and the system shuts down to prevent evaporator freeze-up. Fogged windows is practically the only complaint that I've had with the lw300. Oppie
Something must be amiss because mine rarely fogs and if it does, clears up almost instantly when I kick in the A/C - even in sub-zero weather, contrary to other poster's claims that it doesn't work under 40 degrees. Possibly there is enough heat/moisture exchange just in the interior coil alone to drop the dewpoint enough to clear the windows.
Well at sub-zero temperatures, there is no way the A/C is going to kick in. It is clearing the window becasue heating the outside air is lowering the humidity. In the summer, you need the A/C to lower the humidty since you are bringing in warm moist air. Without the A/C you'd never be able to lower the humidity in the summer without baking yourself. in the winter, when the weather is really cold, just heating the outside air with the heater core is enough to lower the humidity. According to the shop manual for my Saturn Vue, the compressor is disabled in the intake air temerpature drops below 36 degrees F and is not enabled again until the temperature goes above 40 degrees F. I believe all cars are similar. There is very little difference between R12 and R134a as far as low temperature operation is concerned.
For the curious, here is the Compressor Clutch Control Parameters for a Saturn Vue (4 cylinder):
Compressor Control Logic
The A/C compressor and engine cooling fan will be controlled by PCM/ECM/BCM control logic under the following conditions:
Coolant Temperature
Disabled if engine coolant temperature exceeds 117°C (242°F) . Enabled when coolant temperature is 114°C (237°F) .
Low Intake Air Temperature
Disabled if intake air temperature goes below 2°C (36°F) Enabled when intake air temperature is above 4°C (40°F) .
A/C System Pressure
High
Disabled if A/C system pressure exceeds 2945 kPa (427 psi) . Enabled when A/C system pressure is 2069 kPa (300 psi) .
Low
Disabled if A/C system pressure goes below 210 kPa (31 psi) . Enabled when A/C system pressure is 259 kPa (38 psi) .
Engine Speed
High
Disabled if engine speed exceeds 6250 rpm . Enabled if engine speed goes below 4750 rpm .
Low
Disabled if engine speed goes below 350 rpm . Enabled if engine speed exceeds 600 rpm .
Throttle Position
Disabled if throttle position exceeds 95% . Enabled when throttle position goes below 89% for 15 seconds .
Battery Voltage
High
Disabled if battery voltage exceeds 18 volts . Enabled when battery voltage is less than 17 volts .
Low
Disabled if battery voltage goes below 10.5 volts . Enabled when battery voltage exceeds 11 volts .
Evaporator Low Ambient Protection (ELAP)
The refrigerant temperature at the temperature sensor in the TXV controls cycling of the compressor clutch to prevent freezing of the evaporator core. The compressor is disabled when the temperature goes below 3°C (37°F) and vehicle speed is greater than 8 km/h (5 mph) . The compressor Is enabled when the temperature exceeds 4°C (40°F) . The minimum time off is 4 seconds .
Compressor Engagement During Engine Crank
The compressor clutch is engaged during engine cranking to cycle oil through the A/C system. The clutch is engaged when the engine speed is above 100 rpm .
Good thing about these things, they go on easy, and really bite into the snow. I was climbing snow packed/icey roades 4x4 were having a hard time on. Now remember they should come off when you don't need them, since on dry payment they feel like driving on rail road ties.
Check ebay. Since saturns couldn't use chains and cables are just a pain, saturn sold/gave-away these items with the saturns. So 'saturn' spider spikes already have the hardward specific to the sl sized tires. Since the spider spikes lasted longer than some sl models, there are people trying to get rid of them.
But you are always heating outside air when the heater is on unless you have recirc on - correct? I never run recirc, just the normal heater. But if the interior fogs, with the heat on, all I do is turn on the A/C button without changing any heater settings and the windows clear very quickly. Keep in mind, this isn't a Vue, so the system may be set up differently. I don't know if the HVAC unit is Opel (Europe) or not. Possibly the air circulating over the evaporator coil alone when you activate the switch takes out the humidity, but I don't know why it would if the A/C wasn't operating.
Thanks Dana for the input. The windows fog in cold weather only when the outside humidity is near 100% and near freezing. I think that I'll monitor the compressor clutch line to see if/when it cuts out. It is running at idle.
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