A/C blows cold in rear but warm up front.

[AHenry014]

2006 Mountaineer with auto climate.

Now it may just need a for real recharge, but ill explain the symptoms and see if anyone has any other input. I just inherited my grandfathers 2006 Premier and drove it home from western PA to central CT. I knew it had an issue with the a/c but i wasnt sure exactly what the issue was before i got there. I went straight from his house to advance auto where i picked up a can of r134a. The compressor was kicking on and off before i started, so i knew it had at least enough charge to do that. I was able to get some of the can in the system where the front started to blow a little cooler than ambient air. I then tried the rear a/c and found it to blow nice and cool. We drove it home like this, using the rear to keep the cabin cool with the front vents merely making a light breeze for us.

Now i briefly read up on the blend door actuator issues and have no problem swapping the actuator itself if thats the problem, but i wanted to check here first.

Thanks all.

 

[AHenry014]

Ok so its been a while and now that i have my hands on the vehicle full time, ive had some time to dig into it. The blend door actuator is fine. It cycles from hot to cold and back noticeably and without any noise. I spent about a hour last night with the A/C guages and charged a small can into the system until i was reading approx 40 psi on the low side and 200psi on the high side. The a/c was ice cold it was great!! Now today its back to its old tricks. The rear seems to be a bit cooler than the front but that could just be placebo. Obviously i have a leak somewhere. Is there a common location?

 

[Rcflyer330]

I had a hole in one of the lines going to the rear ac it was near the passenger side rear door. A visual check found it quickly because there was a big oil spot on the frame

 

[AHenry014]

thank for you the insight, i will check it out. I attached my manifold gauges last night and the pressures still seem OK, so i am not sure whats going on. I cant run an EATC self check, correct? I need Forscan?

 

[Rcflyer330]

Yes you would need forscan to run a EATC self check unless you have a really nice professional obd 2 scanner. When I had the hole in the line the front ac was warm the rear o didnt check but what was wierd is with no refrigiant in the system but the compressor clutch still engaged and ran. It also would not accept any refrigerant into the system.

 

[AHenry014]

Hmm strange. I bought an inexpensive 134a leakage tester so i hope that gives me some indication of where the leak is.

 

[AHenry014]

A further update. Checked system pressures again and all was well, just no cold air!! Again i feel like the rear is still a bit cooler than the front. Will confirm with my infrared. I used my new leakage tester and found the results to be inconclusive so far. I did find some information about the orifice being plugged causing my symptoms. Can someone lend some knowledge on that?