2008 SE Air Conditioning Problems

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PathyRaffy
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2008 SE Air Conditioning Problems

Postby PathyRaffy » Tue Jun 24, 2014 2:13 pm

Was wondering if anyone here might have an idea or experience with my problem.

About a year and a half to two years ago, we bought a used 2008 Pathfinder SE 4x4. The AC worked ok when we purchased it, but slowly, over time, has become useless (blows air, but not cold, regardless of the temp. setting).

Today, I finally took it to a local AC repair place that's been around forever and has very good reviews/recommendations. They advise that the AC coolant is low (no real surprise), but that they don't see any obvious leaks. They tell me they will recharge the system with dyed coolant, then I can drive around for a week or so, then come back to see if there are any leaks and where they are. No problem so far.

Then, they hook the Pathy to their recharging system and turn it on. I notice that they seem to be having problems (they are tapping the gauges, inspecting hoses, etc.). They ask me if I've ever had any problems with the Pathy overheating. I advised them that I had not (in fact, the temp. gauge usually pegs just shy of 50% and stays there, regardless of ambient temp. or driving conditions). They showed me that in the several minutes they've been trying to recharge the AC, the temp gauge has risen well past 50%, at least 75% and rising, which has stopped the AC system and caused them to be unable to charge the coolant. They shut off the motor and say that they think there is an issue with the cooling system, which is preventing them from charging the AC, and recommend I get it checked out before coming back. They tell me not to run the AC before getting the cooling system repaired, for fear of overheating. No cost for the their work.

I drove the Pathy home, and, as usual, the temp. gauge went down to just shy of 50%. I've made an appointment to inspect the cooling system at an indy shop near my workplace for tomorrow.

Before I take it in, I was wondering if anyone has had any problems like this with their Pathys. I don't see anything exactly like this in searching the forums, but was wondering if it could be related to the fan clutch or some other related issue with the fans. (As an aside, I have inspected the AC lines running to the back of the truck and, as far as I can tell, they look ok, with no obvious signs of corrosion or leaking.)


XVTer
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Postby XVTer » Wed Jun 25, 2014 8:56 am

Our 2010 is actually at the dealer right now being looked at for a similar issue. A/C has been getting worse and doesn't even blow cold any longer. The auxiliary fan up front of the radiator also comes on at odd times Got a call from them a few minutes ago and they said that they're going to do a leak test and get back to me.

I'll let you know what the dealer comes up with - I just hope that this is covered under my extended warranty.... need to read through the documentation.

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NmexMAX
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Postby NmexMAX » Wed Jun 25, 2014 9:19 am

My findings with the auxiliary fan.....
That front fan has an odd schedule, not like most cars that turn it on automatically when the AC is on, only at weird times according to the FSM. I had an issue last summer where my Pathy would sit and there was no cold air, just air, and it was terrible in July around town. I bought an auillary fan BEFORE I knew about the weird schedule, it went through the winter fine as I didn't need the AC. But, I changed it about 2 weeks ago, and have yet to experience that terrible parking lot/stop light hottness as of yet. I'll keep an eye on it but so far so good. Also, as a side note, it was real hot the other day and as I parked in a parking lot, I went over to take a look and see if it was on, and it wasn't. Not sure what all that means, maybe I just checked it prematurely.

PathyRaffy
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Postby PathyRaffy » Wed Jun 25, 2014 12:08 pm

Thanks for the feedback! Please post your findings after you know more.

I just dropped off the car with the mechanic. He thinks it likely is a problem with the fan as well, and will let me know after he has had the chance to inspect it. When I find out what the problem is, I will let you all know. Thanks again.

XVTer
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Postby XVTer » Wed Aug 20, 2014 6:28 pm

A late reply, but life has been busy as of late.

Our issue was a lack of refrigerant. Apparently the schrader valve was a little loose and allowed it to leak. The dealer recharged the system and we have had ice cold A/C since. The service tech mentioned that if the pressure in the system is out-of-whack it will cause the fan to cycle randomly as well.

Hope you got yours figured out as well!

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daytona675
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Location: North Carolina

Postby daytona675 » Tue Aug 26, 2014 1:05 pm

Another possibility is what may be going on with mine...My heater core started seeping a few months ago, so instead of giving the dealer $1200.00 plus, I added some stop leak. DO NOT EVER USE STOP LEAK IN A NEWER VEHICLE!! So now, I get overheating at stoplights/in traffic, which makes the a/c shut off, and the wife gets really pee-oed! (it cools fine going down the highway)

So when I decide to pull the entire dash & change the heater core I will also flush the whole system, and replace my t-stat which is probably stopped up with the stop leak! The specific brand I used was Bar's Leaks cooling system repair. a 2-part kit I got at Oriellys. (blue liquid/metallic liquid) but it didn't even seal up the leaking heater core...Grrrrr. now I have a bigger mess to straighten out. I may even replace the water pump for S&G.
Do Not Use this stuff in your modern Nissan vehicle!

LessThanZero
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Location: Illinois

Postby LessThanZero » Sat Oct 25, 2014 8:06 pm

XVTer wrote:A late reply, but life has been busy as of late.

Our issue was a lack of refrigerant. Apparently the schrader valve was a little loose and allowed it to leak. The dealer recharged the system and we have had ice cold A/C since. The service tech mentioned that if the pressure in the system is out-of-whack it will cause the fan to cycle randomly as well.

Hope you got yours figured out as well!
My 2008 developed a low refrigerant reading about 2 years ago. Went to Walmart and bought one of those do it yourself kits that comes with the gauge and haven't had a problem sense.

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ThePainClinic
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Postby ThePainClinic » Wed Oct 29, 2014 12:07 pm

Maybe a silly question, but does anyone understand how the AC/Heat works in terms of regulating the inside temperature? Even when I have the "Auto" button in the off position, it seems the heat (or A/C) runs for awhile then shuts off and blows luke warm (or cool air) depending upon whether I have the heat or A/C on. I guess once the set temperature is reached it maintains the temp by shutting off? What if you just want to blow hot or cold air continuously without setting the temp to max?

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smj999smj
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Postby smj999smj » Wed Oct 29, 2014 5:27 pm

" What if you just want to blow hot or cold air continuously without setting the temp to max?"

If you turn the fan speed control, it will put the system in manual mode. To get it back into auto mode, hit the "auto" button.

PathyRaffy
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Postby PathyRaffy » Tue Nov 04, 2014 3:10 pm

Well, I'm back! The dye recharge and fan replacement went fine and were relatively inexpensive, and we've had cold air for a couple of months with no obvious leaks (the notorious aluminum tubes running the right side of the body appear intact and in good shape). However, just a little while ago, I noticed some green substance on the right side floor of the interior of the hatch. The leak (though relatively small) appears to be somewhere in the rear evaporator assembly.

Though I can't pinpoint it exactly, the leak seems to be originating from around the expansion valve. Maybe the o-ring went bad? Anyway, its back to the shop on Monday for a check and an estimate. Hopefully its just the valve and/or the o-ring, and the entire assembly doesn't have to be replaced. I'll bet that would be expensive.

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ThePainClinic
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Postby ThePainClinic » Tue Nov 04, 2014 3:28 pm

That sucks but at least you can better pin point the area in question. Keep us posted.

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Philfinder
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Location: Scotland

Postby Philfinder » Thu Nov 06, 2014 9:43 am

Had my 2012 into garage (luckily under warranty) as Air Con had stopped working and was making a funny noise whenever it was turned on.

Also had separately noticed a fluid leak coming from back box area on undercarriage. Turns out it was a AC pipe leaking somewhere. Was in garage 3 days to sort as apparently it was pretty tricky getting to the pipes. As for overheating that's another question.

Barjrob1972
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Location: Forney, Texas

Postby Barjrob1972 » Mon Dec 01, 2014 9:20 am

I had this issue just the other day. It warmed up quick here in Texas after a cold spell and I turned on the AC only to get no cold air blowing. I was a bit stumped but I noticed, for whatever reason, the outside temp sensor was reading 27*F even though it was in the 60's. As I moved down the road, the outside temp started coming up and the AC started getting cold. I just assumed that somehow the outside temp sensor controls the interior AC temp function.


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