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A/C problem figured out!! - See last post.


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I just talked to my resident with the Lemonade LT2. She asked if my Spark makes a high pitched sound every now and then while driving. I said no, she said if she pulls over turns the car off and restarts it goes away. I showed her a video of the high pitch mine produces 10-30 minutes after parking and after the ac has been off. As soon as I played the video she said that's it! While we were talking by our cars her car made the noise while parked and off. But hers only lasted 10 seconds tops. She just got back about 15-20 minutes before this happened. So mine is not the only one with this noise but not while driving.

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No the Internet can give you a valuable tool to combat stupid dealers.

I felt the same way, but up to now, I still have no regrets, I've never had as much fun with a car, as I've been having with the Spark. Although a pain in the ass, this a/c problem will be resolved. I

Our ac generally works great. But im starting to notice everyone in a while it blows not so cold...I wanna say like coming to a stop. However there are other times at idle itll freeze us out.

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maybe its me but ive actually noticed a bit more of an improvement.... its getting cooler now the the point of almost cold... but still spitting of fresh at idle... thankfully its not warm. Now i really dont want the dealership to touch it if its actually improving

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ok I registered just to respond to this topic... I purchased a 2013 black 1lt manual spark 2 months ago. I had read about the a/c problems before hand but bought anyways.

I already have had it to the dealer for repair I handed them a printout of the tech bulletin, they performed the metal check, the evacuate and refill procedure...

now heres the kicker.. there was a updated bcm calibration, (body control module) for those not in the gm speak. it was better but not fixed

so its going back in on Saturday.

THESE CARS HAVE WHAT IS CALLED A VARIABLE DISPLACEMENT A/C COMPRESSOR. basically this means under low load the a/c compressor is designed to become "smaller" or less of a load on the engine. I am now convinced that this is a calibration issue with the bcm and it was done to try to get better mileage from these cars for government mpg mandates, and to compete with other cars in the marketplace

this problem all boils down to commanded "duty cycle" of the compressor. duty cycle is a command percentage on a graph type table that dictates how long the compressor clutch stays engaged, and now there is a table for compressor commanded load percentage.

now this could be fixed in 5 min by a gm engineer with a laptop, but....the car would loose mpg because it is actually doing what it is supposed to do freeze me out with a/c!

also for a refrence my wife bought a 2013 2lt cruze manual 6 speed 2 weeks later and I could freeze a steak if I shoved it in the vent!!!

GM... PLEASE LET A QUALIFIED BCM ENGINEER ASSES THIS PROBLEM AND FIX THE CODE!

it would save gm thousands of dollars in wasted repairs, and boost sales of 2014 sparks!

ok rant off....

Edited by workcar
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I believe you're right. All these redundant repairs being done with throwing mechanical parts at the problem have resulted in zero, I haven't heard from one satisfied customer. A qualified engineer could probably fix that code in 5 minutes as you say, but their goes their major selling point, MPG's. I think they are trying to find some sort of a balance between a/c efficiency, and mpg numbers, which is not going to be easy. I don't really know what the implications would be, if they came out with a quick fix, ie. great air, lower mpg's, would there be legal implications because we bought these cars rated at higher advertised mpg's?

They have to be feeling the heat (no pun intended), not knowing what consequences, if any, they are facing, it is a delicate balance. I am pissed off, but remaining patient, waiting for the right "fix".

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errr are we still talking about the A/C problems? XD

i haven't reed al the replies my english isn't all that great.

i thought is was just about a not working A/C?

XD

but indeed government sucks. but that go's for everywhere i think. here they f#*#ing want to make everyting again more expensive by raising taxes, give nothing/ save money by stealing it from the poor, and drain out all of our money, while they are enjoying there luxues life....

but that is a different forum XD

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yeah i didn't expect this to be a fix...

although i did email chevy support since its been past well over 24 hours since the "specialist" was suppose to call me

i gave them the info provided here and they said they forward it to the proper person ...

still waiting ...

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  • 3 weeks later...

Has anyone heard anything more from Chevrolet Customer Service or Engineering concerning follow up on the a/c problems that many people are experiencing in their spark? Seems there has been no comment since 8/17. I have not experienced this problem in my 2014 and I live in lower desert of California where it is 110 degrees daily. Noticed it a bit on my 2013, but not on the 2014. Obviously someone must be doing something to resolve everyone's issues.

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Has anyone heard anything more from Chevrolet Customer Service or Engineering concerning follow up on the a/c problems that many people are experiencing in their spark? Seems there has been no comment since 8/17. I have not experienced this problem in my 2014 and I live in lower desert of California where it is 110 degrees daily. Noticed it a bit on my 2013, but not on the 2014. Obviously someone must be doing something to resolve everyone's issues.

nothing new but i was told that if i left my car today the service dept at the dealer would talk to the engineers back east who would give the techs a step by step guide to figure out if my a/c was working properly or not.

yeah i dont have time to have my car as a guinea pig for GM so i never called them back and i expect a call today around 2.

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positive update

Alright literally got a call about 10 sec ago.

here is the run down... of what the dealer manager told me ...

they checked the compressor.... working fine.

checked for leaks... no leaks...

they took it for a tested it out with a thermometer and at idle it was blowing at 71 degrees . Which he admitted was a bit warm.

they pulled the freon which he told me should have been at almost a pound (roughly .95) and manager told me the car only had .3 ....

after recharging the a/c the temp dropped an extra 20 degrees... now at idle its blowing 51 degrees and while in motion its in the 40s !!!!! THATS more like it

he told me he wanted to keep running a few more tests and keep it until tomorrow that way they can check it the next day.

i did tell him about the recirculation flap issue and if they could possibly take a look at it. He said he would and that would also contribute to the A/C not working.

So its looking good and im happy that they FINALLY admit that its NOT "as good as it gets"

if you are going in to the dealer anytime soon for A/C issues heres a list of things you should mention

First tell them your issue Warm are at Idle , A/C is not blowing cold when in motion either...

print these 2 links out which come from the official GM Techlink documenting the issue...

http://sandyblogs.com/techlink/?p=1951

http://sandyblogs.com/techlink/?p=1036

Print this out aswell which is a document given to a member regarding a software update having to do with the A/C gives detailed instructions to the service dealer on what to do to certain build date models

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B6XvlAXN7F5XRXgzcW1NeE1QeW8/edit

also Let them know about the Recirculating Flap issue which could also screw up your a/c

heres the link with a great video to show the issue

http://chevysparkforum.com/topic/988-ac-recirculate-flap/

ask the to check for compressor leaks. As its been universal that the first "fix" is a new compressor

hope this helps

Edited by Lovgun7
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I went to the dealer to get mylink fixed and they told my ac should cycle every 20 seconds. My ac seems ok.

should I just go to walmart and buy a ac charging kit?

NEGATORY ...

if you feel that your A/C isnt cold enough take it to the dealer ... have them look at it and if there is a problem have them put you in a rental...

if you think the dealer is gonna say its ok just take it to a different dealer

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