A/C trouble with 1996 Silverado

pmrpete · December 28, 2006

My brother in law is having trouble with his A/C on his 1996 Silverado 4x4. It will not blow cold air. He recharged it but that didn't work. Also, truck was in an accident and the dash popped out, had to be re-connected. A/C never worked since. Could ther be a short somewhere as a result of dash popping out? Blows but no cold. Where is a good place to start looking?

Any help would be appreciated!

ChevyTech007 · December 29, 2006

First thing to do is to check if the compressor is engaging. If it is not the next thing to check is the cycling switch on the accumulator. You can jumper across the terminals but be careful not to spread them so as not to make good contact.

pmrpete · December 29, 2006

First thing to do is to check if the compressor is engaging. If it is not the next thing to check is the cycling switch on the accumulator. You can jumper across the terminals but be careful not to spread them so as not to make good contact.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thanks for the reply. How do I check to see if the compressor is engaging? I don't have much experience with a/c units.

ChevyTech007 · January 1, 2007

When the compressor is off the front hub will not be turning with the pulley. If it is engaging, the very front hub will be spinning at the same speed as the pulley.

ZZ327 · January 1, 2007

you dont have short, just a major leak somewhere.They probably didnt reconnect the lines good enough.

frdfandc · January 2, 2007

When checking for A/C issues, you have to check both the electrical portion of the system and the integrity of the refridgerant part also.

It could be a leak, but not likely if just the dash popped out, because the heater box is mounted seperately from the dash assm (Ya gotta remove the dash to get to the evaporator). So its probably the switch. Either it got disconnected, a short in the system, the pressure switch is bad, or the compressor clutch/field is bad also.

Do as what was stated above and jump the pressure switch. If the compressor comes on, then you have a leak. If not, then you are going to have to check to see if the compressor is getting power to it.