Puny air conditioner - Page 5 - Smart Car of America Forums : Smart Car Forum

dancote · 09-23-2009, 08:44 PM

The A/C now works.

Yesterday I took the car to sc Seattle to get copies of the A/C related repair orders in preparation for submitting a "lemon law" request for arbitration. While I was there, the service manager (BJ) and I spent about a half hour in the car recording interior air temperatures and vent temperatures so he'd have data to discuss with his area manager. During this time, he pulled the duct temp sensor out at one point to see if that would have any effect. It did not so he re-installed it and we shut off the car.

Today, I made a 130 mile round trip to Seattle. On the way over, outside air temps were low enough that I had the heat on. But on the way back it was in the mid-80s all the way. I had the temp control lever set mid-way between 60 and 70 and it never "timed out". I even stopped once for about 10 minutes and the car got pretty hot inside. I didn't change the temp selector and the system automatically went to recirculate and went back to normal when the cabin cooled sufficiently.

I called BJ when I got home and gave him the good news. We don't know why this worked or even if this had been the problem all along. As I reported previously, there were no associated fault codes.

All's well that ends well.

Regards,

Dan

**SmartDigger** · 09-23-2009, 08:59 PM

Great to hear all worked out. Could it have been a poor conection on the sensor?

smartSEATTLE · 09-24-2009, 11:55 AM

That is my only thought.

The sensor is monitored and we had confirmed on a prior visit that it was sending a signal to the HVAC controler. My only idea is that the connector was not "tight" but was on enough to be sending a signal so no fault code was ever set. By moving it around and then plugging it back in the contact was fixed and the sensor was able to communicate correctly with the HVAC.

Again this is all theory but I will take what I can get

CMPVEGAS · 09-24-2009, 09:25 PM

One of the reasons I purchased a used 09 Pure is because all the new 09 Passsions and convertibles I drove had lousy AC. I am in Vegas and need my AC. The used Pure AC has been great, new stereo and passion wheels and I am now loving it. Still think about the convertibles, if the las Vegas dealer was not so gready I might consider trading up

BB Benz · 08-03-2011, 11:57 PM

I too have experienced improvement in my a.c. when I disconnected and reconnected the sensor. I am going to ask that they replace the connector, as it does re-fail again. I've applied a thin coating of dielectric grease, but I won't be comfortable that I've made a permanent repair until I get that connector replaced. It could be that a number of wiring harnesses got a defective connector that is intermittent. I want to move on off this page. Shawn in Louisville told me the infrared sensor was out of calibration on one of the ones he fixed, once he recalibrated the infrared sensor using a hand held infrared thermometer to calibrate to. I may drive to Birmingham to get mine checked out.
It is a shame that there are not better A.C. service guidelines from smart on how to check out and correct these units. Somethings amiss.

HGB · 08-04-2011, 03:55 PM

My current experience with the A/C. We are in FL and the temp is about 91 and the humidity is typically high.
I've tried all kinds of adjustments with the third highest fan speed, pressing the recirculate button, etc.
So I went back to my original settings which I used years ago and these settings are as following.
Temp is one notch above the lowest setting.
Fan speed is on second lowest.
Recirculate button is not on.
Registers are aimed--left on my knuckles and face and left center on my face.
That's it.
Even if I start the car while parked in the heat I leave this setting at all times.
Ok, before you can say that I should be commited-- I just want to say-- it works well for me like this.

I also like to mention the disappointing mileage which I experienced driving around town and it's about 35 mpg. Yet, then I also remembered that in town the smart is expected to get 33 mpg according to EPA ratings. So realizing this, I'm still comfortable with this mileage, even though I'm not delighted. I considered that this is not a hybrid, but just a little 3 cylinder struggling with an air conditioner in this heat. There are no other cars like this on the market which can beat this little smart.

**JPaul** · 08-04-2011, 04:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HGB

...
Temp is one notch above the lowest setting.
Fan speed is on second lowest.
Recirculate button is not on.
Registers are aimed--left on my knuckles and face and left center on my face.
That's it.
Even if I start the car while parked in the heat I leave this setting at all times.
Ok, before you can say that I should be commited-- I just want to say-- it works well for me like this. ...

Ditto.

rchan · 08-04-2011, 05:33 PM

No problem with my A/C in 110F temp.

**jwight** · 08-04-2011, 06:08 PM

Quote:

There are no other cars like this on the market which can beat this little smart.

**SmartDigger** · 08-04-2011, 08:52 PM

there is no free lunch... AC takes power and MPG. when you sit down and think about the cost of running the AC it is not much. for those who think it is not up to the task, all I can say is it works better than the AC in my vibe ( both have black interiors)