AC and now Heater have gone on capricious AWOL

[iletric]

AC breakdown happened in summer. It wouldn't come on. We brought the car in the next day it worked. The "automechanic" wrote: "user might not now how to operate AC". Very funny. Not appreciated.

This morning it was around 40s. Heater would not come on. I told my wife to take it straight to Chevy to pull the code. She turned car off at her destination. When she turned the car back on to head home, heater came on. Little bugger.

So now we're stuck in Murphy's Law land: "The broken appliance shown to repairman will work perfectly". Will have to wait for another breakdown and run Sparky to dealer for a code read.

Anyone experienced similar problem? Know of fixes applied by the dealer?

 

[Bilmat]

AC breakdown happened in summer. It wouldn't come on. We brought the car in the next day it worked. The "automechanic" wrote: "user might not now how to operate AC". Very funny. Not appreciated.

This morning it was around 40s. Heater would not come on. I told my wife to take it straight to Chevy to pull the code. She turned car off at her destination. When she turned the car back on to head home, heater came on. Little bugger.

So now we're stuck in Murphy's Law land: "The broken appliance shown to repairman will work perfectly". Will have to wait for another breakdown and run Sparky to dealer for a code read.

Anyone experienced similar problem? Know of fixes applied by the dealer?[/quote

I have noticed that when the weather is warm, it takes a few minutes for the A/C in my Spark to begin dispensing cold air from the vents if the temperature is 80 or above, noticeably longer than the A/C in my Acura MDX. And it takes even longer for heat to come out of the vents when I turn on the heater if the outside temperature is in the 60s or lower. I can understand the latter since the Spark has to convert electricity to heat through a coil or something similar, instead of using direct heat from the engine in the MDX. Perhaps the reason the A/C takes longer to provide cold air longer in the Spark than my Acura is because the A/C compressor is less effective because it was designed to use as little electricity as possible instead of having a more powerful gas engine to turn it. Whatever the case, I have learned to be a little patient when I turn on the heat or the A/C in my Spark.

 

[iletric]

I would be happy to wait for cold or hot air. However, this is not the case for no AC or no heat.

The heat or cold would not come on. Period. You blow it minutes and nothing happens. I am talking about a real failure.

So I am hoping someone out there has had a similar situation, has the knowledge of what was replaced, so we can pass it on to the dealer so they can replace whatever part is intermittently failing. Electronics are known to fail on again off again for a time until they fail completely.

Today the heat worked again and we had not have AC failure for a month now. Just waiting now for either one to fail so we can run it to the dealer and pull the stupid code.

Tesla, speed it up already! (The model L that is).

 

[Pegasus]

If both are affected, perhaps the temperature sensor on the heating/cooling elements (or air intake) is failing? (i.e. it tells the computer that it's already too hot/cold so the climate control does nothing.) Not sure that would generate a code, but it would be the first thing I'd check.

You could try this: next time it fails, immediately switch to the other mode (A/C instead of heat & vice-versa) and see if that too doesn't work. If so, then that really suggests a sensor problem.

 

[iletric]

next time it fails, immediately switch to the other mode (A/C instead of heat & vice-versa) and see if that too doesn't work. If so, then that really suggests a sensor problem.

I had the same idea just this morning.
At first no heat came out. Switched to AC and it seemed to work.

I turned car off, back on again, drove the car for a minute, tried heat again. The heat came on but it was nowhere near what a Hi mode would ordinarily deliver. I kept it plugged in to the wall while doing that.

I'll just have to keep on trying. AC is much more important to me than heat, even though the winter is almost upon us. If I was in Minnesota I'd be pissed. I'll just keep on monitoring it.

Hopefully AC will die someday again, and it's going to the dealer the next minute to figure out what's wrong.

So happy I leased. Leaf most certainly did not give me this kind of trouble at all. It just tells my -- screams -- it's a compliance car. My last American car was a Dodge Caravan. I swore then I will never buy American. Not even paint worked on that one. Awful.

 

[tarmactrr]

Hi there,

This morning I had a similar issue. The heater just stopped working. Oustide temp was 42 deg, and the car has 520miles on it. I'll check and see if it works once I restart it later today, but hopefully this won't be a lingering issue.

 

[Theo]

Maybe it's an expectation thing. I noticed that the heater on Hi is nowhere near as hot as what comes out of my Subaru's heater. Not sure if this is a failure per se of the car, as opposed to just the way heating works when you don't have an ICE pumping out massive amounts of heat for "free".

 

[tarmactrr]

Maybe it's an expectation thing. I noticed that the heater on Hi is nowhere near as hot as what comes out of my Subaru's heater. Not sure if this is a failure per se of the car, as opposed to just the way heating works when you don't have an ICE pumping out massive amounts of heat for "free".

Not with mine. Mine was literally one minute the car was warm inside, and the next the wife and I noticed it was cold. Climate control showed 100% energy usage on the setting, Temp set at 74, fan was blowing, but nothing but cold air was coming out no matter what temp you set it to.

Should add, got in the car and drove it for lunch, and everything was fine again. I'll just keep my eye out and see if this is a recurring issue.

 

[iletric]

Someone please try to take it to the dealer if and when it happens again. Don't turn the car off and ask them to pull the code right there and then. Note that as soon someone turns it off and on again it may pull Murphy's Law on you and you'll end up with "nothing's wrong with your car" on the repair statement. And if they want to rub it in, you'll get that demeaning "owner does not know how to use the heater" on top of that.

Please post what transpires so we can all get a fix on it.

 

[tarmactrr]

Happened again in mine. Dealer was too booked up to look at it today. Will take it in next time. Car has 700 miles on it now, and it was 33deg outside when it happened.

Was a rather cold ride to work this morning to say the least.

 

[xylhim]

Happened again in mine. Dealer was too booked up to look at it today. Will take it in next time. Car has 700 miles on it now, and it was 33deg outside when it happened.

Was a rather cold ride to work this morning to say the least.

That sucks that the heating system went out with so few miles. Did it also affect the heated seats?

 

[tarmactrr]

Happened again in mine. Dealer was too booked up to look at it today. Will take it in next time. Car has 700 miles on it now, and it was 33deg outside when it happened.

Was a rather cold ride to work this morning to say the least.

That sucks that the heating system went out with so few miles. Did it also affect the heated seats?

No seats still work.

BTW happened again today and car went into service. Heater unit is being replaced. Will pick it up tomorrow and hopefully that will be it for my heater issues.

 

[iletric]

Could you please list the details of what was replaced, part names, or numbers, etc.?
Thanks...

 

[tarmactrr]

Could you please list the details of what was replaced, part names, or numbers, etc.?
Thanks...

Ok, sofar the fix seems to have worked. No issues with the heating and the temps have been down into the 20's.

So this is what they replaced

176 WC
22851153 Heater

Here's the notes:

878 Faulty Electronic Control Unit Hardware 11111.11 Verified. Customer concern and used GDS 2 and found DTC B101D in Coolant Heater control module, check SI and found no PI's or bulletins for this concern. Checked SI Heater ac system and found no DTC B101D in Diag. charts. Did a updated program for coolant heater module and vehicle start to heat correctly. Checked SI for DTC D101D and found it in data communication electronic control unit hardware document ID: 2778727 in diagnostic aids it states that if DTCB101D is set as current, replace the appropriate device. Code is Current, replaced heater coolant heater and did vac and fill for coolant.

Hope that helps others having the same issues.

 

[iletric]

Big thanks, tarmactrr...

Perfect timing. I'm bringing the car in tomorrow at 0800. So this info will help me to get the message across. It works 1 out of 10 times, so that complicates matters a lot. I am hoping it won't work tomorrow.

Will post how I fared.

An update 12/6:

Service ordered new "heater unit" that's coming from Reno by truck on Saturday. If it can make it through Sierra. Based on what I see unfolding outside tonight I have some doubts. But then again...if Dumbo stork could deliver the precious pacakage, Chevy man can, right?

Through the snow
And sleet and hail
Through the blizzard
Through the gale
Through the wind
And through the rain
Over mountain, over plain
Through the blinding lightning flash
And the mighty thunder crash
Ever faithful, ever true
Nothing stops him
He’ll get through!

...with my heater unit...

Another update 12/9:

Heater unit delivered by the stork and replaced by Chevy man. Not a minute too late - even here in California. It's cooooold! Let's blast that heat now.

 

[iletric]

Well it ain't over until the fat lady sings...

This is 12/10 update:

Unit put in 12/9. Worked when pulled out of Novato Chevy with new heater unit on board.
Same night - failed again. This morning, failed again. Later the same morning upon driving heat works. Maddening!

I was told by service that if I bring it in on Friday and it works there is nothing they can do. I know what I can do. Invoke lemon law. So we'll see.

Deep down I knew it was not the heater unit. You can't tell them of course, they're in charge. But between you and me, it's the software as described 2 posts above. I did print it out in big letters and brought it along. Obviously all for naught. Who knows, maybe they'll look at it when I bring the car in on Friday.

The heater saga thus continues...

 

[iletric]

And here is where my heater story may just end...

So I'm sitting in my Spark at night, dash all lit up, pondering my next step as cold air blows from the vents. And this cold/hot knob I've been turning left and right earlier to no avail draws my attention. It has power sign on it and the word TEMP.

Temp. That for me, being in med field, means only one thing. Fever. Heat.

And all of a sudden the genius in me woke up. Good Lord! You have to power up the AC button (as I call it in a normal car :roll to also power up the HEAT?! Are you f***ing kidding me, Chevrolet?

So I pushed the power button. First I saw 10 then 7 then 5 kW draw. Ohmigod! I'm drawing electricity, I'm generating heat! Turned the sucker off, zero kW, turn it back on, 5 kW. So they actually gave me a working heat module. The other one was indeed faulty, because Chevy man knows his car, right? He knows ya gotta power up "AC" if ya wanna heat that veeecle.

Now. I have an Accord. I control AC with a dedicated AC button. If I want to defog I use both, heat and AC. AC conditions air, i.e. removes moisture from cabin besides cooling it if needed. On a dry night I defog, then keep the heat on but turn AC off. On a dark and stormy night I keep both, heat and AC running to keep the windshield dry.

So here are my Spark questions.

1-When I run heat, is the AC on as well?
2-Is there a way to run heat without AC?
3-If the AC/TEMP is in OFF position what happens to temp control, i.e. does it become a joke?

The knob itself is ok, even though it requires too many turns to take it from LOW to HI. Fine. But the powering heat and AC together is dumb. If Spark powers heat off and on, it should have a dedicated power switch that functions apart from the "AC switch". Now that would make sense.

In other words, the knob is counterintuitive if it pretend-works in OFF position and really works only in ON position while not allowing you to control AC. You obviously cannot run AC off-heat on. AC therefore has to be on at all times. Weird.

This is why I don't drive Chevys. I don't really care for mind-bender cars, honestly.

 

[EVlearner]

@ilectric
(full disclosure, I am FIT EV owner but like to peruse other forums to learn about EVs.)

So, the FIT EV has the same counterintuitive (to most humans) set up also… the AC button controls the heat. I don't usually turn on heat or AC but the few times I use the heat, it seems very weird to have to turn on AC then adjust the "heat" temp. Why call it AC, I guess "air condition" can go either way, condition it hot or cold!

I suspect the designers/engineers for this heat system graduated from same class or maybe it is the least expensive module that all the carmakers decided to use. It would be interesting to see what the FIAT 500e'rs, the Imiev'ers, Rav4'ersand Focus EV'ers say. I'm sure the Leaf'ers don't have this problem, I'll have to ask my co-worker! I saw the BMW i3 and I'm pretty sure the heating system looked like ICE type system.

 

[jsca72]

It took me a few tries to get use to the climate control on the Spark, but I've got it worked out for me. In a way, it is like my Accord. When I first get in the Accord on a cold day, the heater will just blow out cold air until the engine has had a chance to warm up. The Spark is similar in that heat is not immediate. What I can do with the Accord that I can't do with the Spark is turn off the fan until the engine is warm so the cold air isn't blowing on me. Maybe I'm wrong, but the Spark seems to need to have its fan blowing for the heater to start up. So if I'm at home and have time, I preheat the car before I leave the house. That way the air has time to heat up before I get in. If I get into my car in a cold parking lot, I just close the vents while the heater is warming up at the beginning of the drive and open the vents when the air is warm.

Also, I never use "Auto." I set the temperature where I'm comfortable, 78 degrees on real cold mornings, 74 degrees most the time, cooler on hot days. I then use the fan to control the amount of air flow and if the system is off or on. The only other thing I adjust is the air flow direction.

So I don't think of the system as heating and AC. I just think what temperature I want and how much fan I want and let the car take care of the rest.

 

[markcmann]

I'm really surprised the Service Manager did not make sure that you fully understood the operation of the 'Climate Control
Systems' (although I do agree it's counter-intuitive)?

As noted in the Owner Manual (Section 8-1):

"TEMP (Air Conditioning/Heater Power): Press the TEMP button or on the touch screen to turn the air conditioning or heater on and off. An indicator light comes on when it is in use. The air conditioning and heater does not operate when the fan control knob is at 0. Turning TEMP off reduces the electric power usage and extends the driving range."

http://www.chevrolet.com/content/da...ip/Manuals and Videos/02_pdf/2k14spark_ev.pdf

I'm just glad your mystery has been solved!