Silverado Airconditioning Clicking

Not to be a smart ass, but are you sure you're not hearing your air conditioner compressor clutch cycling?

If it is indeed doing it every few seconds, you may be low on coolant

- and you're noticing it because it's cyling more frequently as a result.

-= Larry A.

Its not a bad suggestion, but no. It is soft click coming from the vents. Not a change in engine rpms as if the AC clutch was cycling on and off. Also, if it were the clutch it would make no difference which vents were open in the cab.

Hi!

Perhaps there is an actuator that is partially sticking or trying to go too far...that would be the one thing I could think of that would make such a noise in one position of the vent control and not another.

William The Guesser

"William R. Walsh" wrote in message news:cG3ve.87558$_o.85591@attbi_s71...

That is basically my guess too. In fact it kind of sounds like that. Similar to a broken oscilating fan reaching the end of travel and clicking every cycle, but not moving. I was hoping somebody might know for sure what it is and have a quick fix.

Yup, I also hear this click, but only when the gauge is all the way down in the cold (blue)area, but if in the hot(red) area the click goes away,hopefully someone will know something about this

So one shot scot is this anything ti worry about, is it something major or serious, because all I do to stop the clicking is slide the temperature controls all the way up the the (red), by the way I have a 03 silverado

This actuator problem started happening to me about 4 months ago. My 2004 Silverado has dual, sliding temperature controls and the "clicking" and "whirring" problem affected only the left side control. This problem is constant and does not require the AC to be on: Turning the key to the accessory position (with the engine off) is all it takes to get the actuator to start "hunting" for its required resting place. Unfortunately, it is rarely able to find this ideal resting place.

At first, I was able to get the actuator to stop hunting by placing the left temperature slider two clicks up from the bottom position. However, the actuator would continue to periodically start and stop its hunting maneuvers and my guess is that the unit is temperature sensitive. Sometimes, it would only stop clicking when the left control was placed in the bottom position. Finally, it became impossible to get the actuator to stop cycling for an extended period of time. After months of constant cycling, the actuator motor was wearing out.

Yesterday, I finally got around to taking the truck to the dealer. Here is the result of the diagnosis:

Customer reports motor noise from blend door box area with no AC on. Check and advise.

(Cause) Actuator "faulty"

Inspected: (ordered actuator -- 06/27/05)

Fortunately, the truck is under the bumper-to-bumper warranty, so the only expense will be the loss of my time. I hope to have the part delivered on Wednesday and the installation completed on Thursday. This will be perfect timing, since I will be heading into 90 degree territory over the 4th.

Well, first we must assume that my dealer has accurately diagnosed the problem with my truck and that your truck suffers from the same problem as mine.

Having to do a workaround ritual in order to get the actuator to stop hunting for the correct temperature position is not good. Are you having to leave the temperature controls in the red position all the time? Or, after selecting a red position, are you able to then return the controls to a cold position without having the actuator continue its endless hunting routine? If not, you will have your actuator constantly hunting when you are running your air conditioning. After too much of this redundant cycling, the actuator will break down.

I have no idea how much the actuator costs or what the labor charges are to have it installed. I do know that the unit is located under the dash on the right side of the transmission hump and that there is an electrical connection which is visible from the driver's seat.

The actuator is probably a plug-and-play device, but never having seen it, I can't be sure. When the truck was new, I do know that upon turning the key to the accessory position (without starting the engine) the actuator would go through an brief initialization routine before it settled into the selected temperature control setting position. Now, it never seems to settle down. If the actuator is mechanical in nature, there may be a trick to aligning its gears with the vent doors. It may also need to be programmed into the computer system. Again, I don't know.

When the actuator arrives, I will ask the parts man its retail price and I will ask the technician what is involved in the replacement procedure and how much time it takes to complete. If you have had your truck for less than

36 months and less than 36,000 miles, you can have this repair done free of charge.

This won't be the first time that I have had climate control problems with a Chevrolet truck. My 1990 C1500 Scottsdale had constant problems with the AC head unit. There were always problems with the various functions (fan speed, temperature, vent selection, AC operation) of this push button electronic unit. Periodically treating the head unit with contact cleaner would keep it running properly for a few months. I had the head unit replaced once under warranty and two more times at my own expense. These head units were so prone to failure that the dealer had them in stock. The last time I bought one, it was $116.00 after my 25% discount.

My guess is that the actuator is the Achilles Heel of the 2003-2005 Silverados and that I will be having actuator trouble on and off for as long as I own the truck. On the other hand, GM may redesign the part (if they haven't already) and there might never be another problem with the subsequent part. I will ask the parts department if the replacement actuator has a different part number than the original.

Under the GM bumper to bumper warranty, the repair is free. Under the GM extended warranty that I selected, there will be a $200 deductible for the first replacement and after the deductible is paid on the actuator, the subsequent repairs will done be at no charge.

I will post the results as soon as I get my truck back from the dealer.

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