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Hey guys, my wifes 2012 cruze has been great for her and just over 100k now so out of warranty. Only stuff I have had to do since out of warranty is the thermo housing and coolant reservoir.

Yesterday she was taking her mom to a chemo and we had very heavy storms here in NC. During her trip AC stopped. I hooked my Ethos edge up, and found a bunch of electronics codes which leads me to think the rain may have done something. Codes below. Where should i start troubleshooting?

P0533 - AC Pres sensor
B3125 - Driver door unlock circuit short to gnd
B3130 - ALL door unlock circuit fault to gnd
B393B - ac compressor valve control circuit current above threshold symptom 0b

 

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Was the negative battery ground cable ever changed?

Negative. These codes were also not here 1k miles ago when I changed the oil. I always scan for codes, and reset service interval properly.


Snowy - I got it at a great price during a promotion from my Snap-On Vendor at work, during xmas.. and paid for it out of pocket and took it home.


Alright, so some other symptoms I have that may ring a bell for someone that has had or seen this issues in the shop.

• The AC Compressor is running (clutch is engaging)
• The AC Switch is working (enabled with ethos, checked voltage on all AC fuses)
• The Cooling Fan is not running with AC on High, but I can enable the fan manually via the ethos. It rarely heats up to the temperature at which the fan is needed without AC, so I have not found if it will run at a high temp yet.
• Checked all fuses for the AC and the Cooling Fan. Tested Cooling Fan Relays 1,2,3 via ethos.
• AC High Pressure Sensor is not steady; it's jumping around from 87-97 psi with no specific order. I have not located the High pres sensor yet to visually inspect/diagnose it.

 

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Have you tried resetting all of the codes and se if they all return?

Special Coverage #14311: Negative Battery Cable

2013 Cruze A/C off due to high engine temp

Yes, I reset the codes and I have not seen them return. I also haven't spotted a leak anywhere.

The Radiator fan don't work until high pressure gets high enough on the ac. Same manner as it works when your coolant temp gets high enough. Basically only when your sitting at idle. Fan not needed when driving down the road.

Compressor running and high pressure is only 87 - 97. That's your answer right there. You're almost out of freon. High pressure should be around the 250 mark. The reason it's bouncing around is because the low pressure switch is cycling the compressor. Low pressure too low. That be my guess anyways but I'm not there to see what you got going on.

I would slap on some gauges to verify though. Make sure the sensor to the computer is reading accurate.

An accurate diagnosis of the system requires knowing what both the low AND the high are doing. Harbor Freight sells a good gauge kit for $60. I bought my last set on the july 4th sale 25% off. There are adaptors fair cheap at any store that sells freon in those cans. I buy the 30 lb. cylinders. 75% cheaper then buying enough cans to equal 1 cylinder. But I have a NAPA connection.

Since you have a high pressure gauge with your ethos. A kit of gauge and can will work for the low side,.

You'll have to let me know the price of ethos at christmas time this year. I"d like to have a more comprehensive software package over the usual basic stuff commonly available.

I bought toad. It's cheap. And a few happy campers on youtube but I"m not seeing it with the software. See what happens when the obd2 connector arrives. But I have a feeling it was a waste of $130.

Yeah, I have been looking in my garage for my AC gauges but haven't used them in so long and cannot remember if I loaned them out or something... my Z28 doesn't have air and I am used to it that way.. so I suppose I will have to buy a new set of gauges to really continue diagnosis. Going to lift it up and look for leaks again and verify the AC High Pressure sensor is working correctly with the AllData manual I just downloaded.

Any idea if the compressor control valve can stop the AC from working, even if the clutch is turning? Seems like this would cause damage to the compressor since it would be running dry/choked off.



/edit - Oh and if you PM me I will tell you what the price was during the promotion. I can put you in touch with my vendor if you wish.

 

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That's odd. Have you turned on the AC since?

Yeah, the AC off due to engine temp never showed it's face.. It wasn't in the history codes either.

Yes, I have turned the AC on since. The compressor kicks on, the air is running but it's hot and not getting any cooler. Everything cycles and seems to be working. The PCM is also showing it's requested and enabled.. but no error codes are back yet.

 

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The AC High pressure sensor is changing while the car is off, power on. I did all the diagnostics and everything passed up until the "Diagnose/Replace B1 AC High Pres Sensor" So the circuit is good, it's either the sensor or the actual PSI on the system is wrong. Don't get why the pressure would be jumping around while the car is off though.

The P0533 S0 is Sensor Circuit High; yet the sensor is reading low and jumping

 

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So..went and ggauges and theyre reading 0psi... why would the ac high pees sensor see 100psi but none at port.. wtf

 

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Nah, i hit the schrader on hi and lo port with a pin and no pressure. It must have a monster leak somewhere or something.. but why read 100psi?

 

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Yes sir, the compressor is running, clutch engaged. The pressure switch is reading 87-97psi at idle and when running; but the ports are reading 0psi and also not firing off any pressure when the schrader is depressed.

 

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Video coming next.. im leaning toward leak and bad high pres sensor

 

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https://youtu.be/qXSu8vN55Vw

I cannot find fluorescence under UV on anything under the engine bay, except the outer portion of the caps. Im guessing from checking pressure and filling. Not much on the inside of them. The condenser looks fine, I may have to end up sending a vehicle to the shop for first time ever.

I am done for the night, I am pretty stumped and I am going to read into the system more tomorrow. I don't know much about the new style variable ac compressor, I have only worked with older ones. Is it possible for something to block pressure.. or is the High-Pressure switch lying to me. I cannot read the low-pressure switch from the ethos atleast not that I have seen yet. Might be time to trade this **** thing in.

 

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Thanks for all your help snow. Gonna buy a sniffer and a few cans of r134a. I did unplug sensor and read 0psi on ethos.

Once i plugged it in, it spiked to 300 and setlled back to 87-97 again (engine off).

When i added r134a yesterday, i thouhht i hesrd a hissing sound near pump. What about the safety valve? I cant see it from front though.

 

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I got some diagrams from AllData.. gonna go over them today and ask an electrician at work to look at it with the fault areas highlighted.

Sniffer and r134a ordered.

 

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Not sure exactly where because I cannot see it. The vacuum held, but I plan on getting new valves for Hi-Lo and a sniffer and can of freon.

Is there a real schrader valve to upgrade hi side? I see a doorman part on amazon, but it says doesnt fit. The OE ball design sucks.

 

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Amazon isn't the way to go.

Rockauto.com or autozone.

Yeah ordered from rockauto just wondering if there is a part # with an actual schrader valve for the high pressure port that swaps in.

Ordered stock for now, will report back later.

Btw those codes on dash were power steering service and frt windshield wiper relay issue.

 

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Sigh.. yeah she probably does wants to know.

Replacing the sensors shouldnt be an issue.. ill have to locate the evap temp sensor on my diagram.

I dont want to start throwing a bunch of parts at it though and end up with a headache more so than it is now. After looking at the schematic, it seems like all of these sensors are routed to the K30 control module; then to the fuse block underhood by the coolant reservoir. Im wondering if she may have spilled some coolant on it.

Anyway, where I am right now;
Diagnosing the circuits
Borrowed a vacuum pump to see if i can hold vacuum overnight
Ordered the schrader valve and ball valve for hi/lo service ports
Ordered a sniffer / freon with pag 46
Ordering a ground cable today

The hunt continues.