car trouble question

Jarod

Jarod

Well-known member
Contributor
Anyone here good with cars? My a/c keeps going out and when it does the car overheats.

Only when in traffic, on the innerstate I dont have this problem?
 
Jarod said:
Anyone here good with cars? My a/c keeps going out and when it does the car overheats.

Only when in traffic, on the innerstate I dont have this problem?
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It's most likely your thermostat. It can also be a sensor issue. If the sensors are not recording proper temperatures it can close your thermostat and overheat your vehicle. Speed on the highway will keep your engine air cooled a bit as well. The highway thing is what tells me it is more than likely the thermostat itself.
 
Jarod said:
How do I fix that? Is it expensive?
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It depends on where they put the thing.

I'd go and get it analysed first, find out the issue then decide. If it is only the thermostat it shouldn't be too heavily expensive. If it is sensors, it may be as easy as plugging in one of them that slipped it's sleeve.
 
I never trust mechanics, i am sure they will say it is the most expensive thing they can find.
 
What kind of car is it?

And Damo's the smartest living entity in the universe, I'd listen to him.
 
its a bmw 525. I agree DaMO knows these things.

THanks for the help, I just had the front end repaired a month ago... I was in a bad wreck. Ill take it back there.
 
Jarod said:
WHy would the thermostat affect the AC?
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The AC adds load to the engine, load creates heat. When the engine can not cool itself sufficiently, it cuts off the the non-essential load (AC). This is like your body allowing your fingers and toes to go cold to keep the core warm.

P.S. It's probably expensive.
 
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Jarod said:
Anyone here good with cars? My a/c keeps going out and when it does the car overheats.

Only when in traffic, on the innerstate I dont have this problem?
Click to expand...

Is your battery light on?

My serpentine belt literally fell off. That runs all of your accessories. Including the alternator. The battery kind of recharges if you leave the care off for a while, so you can start it again, but once you hit the road for more than a few minutes with a lot of accessories on they'll all start turning off (including your lights!) And your car will overheat.

Does that sound similar to your symptoms? It seems, though, if your serpentine belt fell off, that it would be somewhat more severe.
 
Jarod said:
Anyone here good with cars? My a/c keeps going out and when it does the car overheats.

Only when in traffic, on the innerstate I dont have this problem?
Click to expand...

I know that the engine is in the front of most cars.

Does that help? I hope so, because I pretty much just exhausted my knowledge of cars.
 
Your cooling fan or the control circuit for it. If the ratiator and condensor air flow stops the AC Quits and the engine overheats.
I am assuming this is a transverse mounted engine with an electric cooling fan.
Not familiar with beamers though.
Not too many hillbillies drive them.
 
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uscitizen said:
Your cooling fan or the control circuit for it. If the ratiator and condensor air flow stops the AC Quits and the engine overheats.
I am assuming this is a transverse mounted engine with an electric cooling fan.
Not familiar with beamers though.
Not too many hillbillies drive them.
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Ahhh... Good catch. Air cooling. However, that would not shut off the A/C.

Watch your heat sensor, if it starts doing weird things like suddenly dropping to zero then your A/C shuts off... That is a sign it is the sensors.

I wish I could see it run, it helps.
 
Watch, he'll take it in and find that he caught a plastic bag that is covering his radiator and causing the air cooling to not work efficiently...

:rolleyes:
 
All I know is that it really sucks if your serpentine belt snaps and suddenly you're car won't start half the time, your power steering don't work, your AC won't turn on, and you have to spend a gajillion hours online looking for schematics cause some dumbass who used to own the car took them out to God knows where along with the manual, and then you have to spend another gajillion hours having to put the damn thing back on.
 
Damocles said:
Ahhh... Good catch. Air cooling. However, that would not shut off the A/C.

Watch your heat sensor, if it starts doing weird things like suddenly dropping to zero then your A/C shuts off... That is a sign it is the sensors.

I wish I could see it run, it helps.
Click to expand...

yep without sufficient air flow on the AC condenser the head pressure on the ac system would climb and kick in the high pressure gas switch...
 
Maybe the obvious is assumed here but
1. how low is your coolant level?
2. If it is the right level, did you recently have it flushed, if so, they may have fucked up the concentration of water to coolant, also they may have used the wrong coolant as some vehicles require higher grade.

That would still jive with the A/C going off and not doing too bad on the highway. This would also be your easiest and least expensive thing to check first. Of course I'm assuming you are just low and don't have a leak. Do you smell anything different or see a puddle under your car before you start in the morning or before going home from work?

My temperature sensor went on my Ford before and it really didn't matter what speed I was going, I had problems.
 
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