Feature

Don’t Sweat the Summer

Diagnosing
Nissan
HVAC
Issues

As Summer arrives, we must be prepared for increased demand for air

conditioning repairs. We’ll focus on getting the necessary information
from Nissan’s TechInfo website, using the CONSULT III plus and
addressing
18 | compressor
Nissan TechNews issues.
 Potentially complicated for capture/recharging. larger the difference between
air conditioning problems Refrigerant R134a still two temperatures, the
should not be a reason to contributes to environmental faster the heat moves from
be apprehensive about degradation. Also, be mindful the hotter into the colder.
offering HVAC repairs. A quick that most fluorescent leak Both air conditioning and
search online will support detection dyes will damage radiator cooling systems
two important statements: painted surfaces. are engineered around the
2015 was the hottest year movement of heat energy.
on record; and, consumers Where to Start? Both use a medium to hold
highly rate the importance of A customer may ask for you the heat (refrigerant / radiator
working air conditioning for to recharge their AC because fluid), a method to flow the
their cars. We can all expect they know it doesn’t blow medium (compressor / water
that more customers will cold air. Don’t skip asking pump), or a way to dissipate
need help figuring out why them for more information. heat stored in the medium
their AC doesn’t work this Does the AC start cold and (condenser / radiator).
summer. Here we’ll discuss get warm later, or vice-versa?
logical diagnostic tips, and If so, you might need to spend The Medium
how to use the Nissan more time investigating The lifeblood of the air
TechInfo website to find all the symptom than a simple conditioning is the refrigerant
needed information. recharge. Does it blow cold that facilitates the transfer
some days and not others? of heat from one part of
Getting Prepared for Does the heater work? By the AC into another. R134a
Anything HVAC asking these few additional is the most common
If your shop is expanding AC questions, you could give refrigerant used in vehicles
repairs to the Nissan brand, yourself a valuable lead as to at this time, but new, more
look at any vehicle’s service where to check first. environmentally friendly
manual section called “HA – refrigerant chemicals are
As with fuel injection or
Heating and Air Conditioning” beginning to appear. R134a
ignition timing, having a
and you’ll find the will change from liquid to
general understanding
“Preparation” portion outlines gas around -19°F, but this
of what the AC system is
all the recommended service vaporization point will shift
designed to do will help you
tools, including their Nissan one degree higher for every
tremendously when trying
Tech-Mate part numbers. increased pound of pressure
to figure out where to start
Pricing and availability for per square inch. This 1:1
or what went wrong. We’ll
these recommended service temperature to pressure
address the components that
tools are excellent. relationship, and the ability
create cold air through heat
Take a moment to exchange, but be well aware to absorb heat, makes R134a
remember it is our that there may be no point in excellent at moving heat from
responsibility as professional looking for refrigerant leakage one location to another within
technicians to take proper if the blend is stuck too hot. air conditioning systems.
precautions in handling This diagram is a brief
It is a universal law that
refrigerant. Do not evacuate reminder of the AC flow. The
heat energy only ever moves
to the atmosphere, and compressor pushes high-
in one direction: from higher
use approved service tools pressure gas (A) into the
to lower temperature. The
Summer 2016 | 19
Diagnosing Nissan HVAC Issues

condenser, where it cools

and becomes high-pressure
liquid (B). The high-pressure
liquid is metered into the
low-pressure region inside
the evaporator by the
expansion valve. The drop
in pressure also drops the
refrigerant boiling point
down to about 32°F (C).
Drawing in heat from the
cabin airflow passing over
the evaporator fins, the low-
pressure refrigerant liquid
vaporizes and becomes low-
pressure gas again (D).
With too little or too
much refrigerant, the
system pressures will be
too low or high, and this
prevents the system from
operating correctly. For every
Nissan vehicle, the service
manual includes details
about specific operating
pressures, including altitude
and ambient humidity
considerations for AC cooling
performance. This can be
found under the “HAC – AC
Control” section.
More often than not, an air This 2004 Frontier lost its refrigerant recharge over the course of a week.
Thankfully, this leaking high pressure hose was easy to identify.
conditioning system stops
performing up to specifica- pected evaporator leaks, use fundamental understanding
tion when the refrigerant a refrigerant “sniffer” (Nissan of the transition between
leaks out. Be systematic in SST J-41995) in the evaporator the high-pressure and
your approach to finding plenum drain hose. In some low-pressure sides of air
the source of a refrigerant models, you can remove the conditioning will help logically
leak. Check the high-flow glove box and cabin filter to identify potential problems.
Schrader valves of the high/ visually inspect the evapora-
low pressure service connec- tor for leak detection dye. It is Moving the Medium:
tions. Visually inspect every sometimes necessary to have
under-hood component for Compressor Operation
a customer return to the shop For the following, we are
evidence of leak detection later for a follow-up investiga-
dye or residual refrigerant oil considering the 2010 Altima.
tion if no leaks are found on According to the service
that may indicate a slow leak. the service appointment.
A small amount of residual manual, for 86°F ambient
What if the system temperature, normal high-
near the compressor pressure
was not discharged, but side pressure range is 177-217
relief valve is normal. For sus-
still malfunctioning? A psi and low-side pressure
20 | Nissan TechNews
range is 35-43 psi. These this operating range is indi- - If also: evaporator is
figures are found in the “HAC cated on the dial face. frosting over; Possible
– AC Control” section of the • High- and low-sides cause: expansion valve
service manual. On each too high is stuck (partially) open
pressure gauge diagram, - Possible cause: at all times.
overcharged system. • High-side too high, low-
- If also: the low-pressure side too low
line is NOT cold; Possible - Possible cause: expan-
cause: restriction in sion valve stuck closed.
condenser or poor heat - If also: condenser is
exchange (because hot, but receiver/drier
the condenser fan is is NOT hot; Possible
inoperative). cause: condenser
- If also: high-side restriction or receiver/
pressure drops drier restriction.
immediately when • High-side too low,
compressor stops its low-side too high
cycle; Possible cause: - If also: high- and low-
High- and low-sides too high. air trapped within the side pressures are
system. equal; Possible cause:
compressor is not
operating
- If also: high- and low-
side pressures equalize
soon after compressor
stops cycling; Possible
cause: compressor
internals are defective
• High- and low-sides
too low
- Possible cause: system
is partially discharged
High-side too low, low-side due to leak.
too high. - If also: pipe
High- and low-sides too low. temperature near
expansion valve is
very low, or high-side
pipe is cold to touch
elsewhere; Possible
cause: restriction at
expansion valve or
high-side pipe.
- If also: temperature
is different on inlet
versus outlet sides of
receiver/drier; Possible
cause: deteriorated or
saturated desiccant
High-side too high, low-side inside receiver/drier.
too low. Low-side goes to vacuum
Summer 2016 | 21
Diagnosing Nissan HVAC Issues

• Low-side goes to vacuum consideration. Let’s walk manual “HAC” section.

- If also: the system through how to evaluate On non-hybrid vehicles,
keeps cooling even each of these circuit the compressor is still belt-
after compressor stops components next. driven, so be sure to check
cycling; Possible cause: whether the belt is in good
water contaminating Diagnosing Compressor health, in proper tension,
the refrigerant charge, Circuit Failure and not misaligned to the
icing the expansion Before breaking out tools compressor pulley.
valve, for example. and going hands-on, check for
- Possible cause: appropriate technical service Does the Magnet Clutch
expansion valve bulletins. All TSBs are avail- Not Engage?
stuck closed. able on Nissan-techinfo.com • Check the electrical
Control the Flow: up-to-the-minute, and may circuit at the compressor
point you in the right direc- connector first for power
Compressor Command
tion immediately. Specific and ground. At this point,
Considerations information below pertains you can provide a 12v
If air conditioning perfor- to a 2010 Altima, and can power source directly
mance is spotty or intermit- be referenced in the service to the magnet clutch
tent, a customer’s car may
have a control malfunction.
For most Nissan vehicles,
when the AC or defroster
switch is depressed on the
instrument panel board, the
front air control unit will out-
put a COMPRESSOR ON signal
to the BCM. Then, the BCM
will transmit the COMPRES-
SOR ON signal to the ECM via
CAN communications. The
ECM determines whether the
COMPRESSOR ON conditions
are good. If the ECM judges
the conditions acceptable, the
ECM will command the IPDM
E/R (Intelligent Power Distri-
bution Module Engine Room
– under-hood fuse and relay
box) via CAN to turn on the AC
compressor relay and provide
power to the compressor.
Be sure to look up Each quick reference test diagram uses symbols to expedite
your vehicle’s specific diagnosis. The multimeter icon will show where to put the probe
implementation of leads, and what to check for (voltage, amperage, resistance). The
first icon along the top tells you how to orient yourself with the
the command circuit
connector needed for testing: whether to look at it Terminal Side
components. For example, (TS), or from the Harness Side (HS) for back-probing. The second
the 2014 370Z uses data icon confirms you must disconnect the connector for testing.
from the combination meter This third icon means Key on, Engine off. There is a separate icon
to determine necessary data for engine running, and all icons are found in the service manual
for its compressor cut-off “GI – General Information” section.

22 | Nissan TechNews
 and confirm compressor IPDM assembly. • Check for continuity
operation. • Check fuse in IPDM (exact between front air control
• Check circuit continuity location and amperage and BCM harness
between AC relay in IPDM rating specified in service connections.
and AC compressor. manual). If everything checks
Be aware that in some • Check for COMPRESSOR out OK up to this point,
models, individual relays ON signal leaving the front there may be a CAN
are not sold separately, air control connector communications error.
and are intrinsic to the when AC button is cycled. The CONSULT III plus can
perform Local Area Network
(LAN) testing. Perform an
all-systems check, then
click the CAN support
monitor tab. Check for
communications between
BCM to ECM, and between
ECM to IPDM.
It may seem heavy-handed
to do all the testing outlined
above, but it would be a
real bummer to mistakenly
replace a compressor
assembly when the
problem is control-related.
The purpose of the above
testing is to ensure that
Testing the AC Compressor relay. Meter set to resistance. the compressor ON signal
Check for continuity from AC compressor connector terminal 1 is capable of reaching the
(TS) to terminal 48 of the IPDM harness connector viewed from compressor magnet clutch,
harness side (HS). and once there, the clutch
can cycle on.

Does the Magnet Clutch

Circuit Test Good, but
Still Not Engage?
The ECM may have judged
the operating circumstances
such that the compressor
cannot be turned on, and
therefore it does not send the
signal at all. We should check
for the activation of safety or
self-protection components:
• Check the refrigerant
pressure sensor. For the
Testing whether the compressor ON signal is leaving the front 2010 Altima, compressor
air control unit. Check the manual because the expected OFF signal will be
test results may not be obvious: Compressor ON signal = 0v; transmitted if data from
compressor OFF signal = 9-12v. pressure sensor is less
Summer 2016 | 23
Diagnosing Nissan HVAC Issues

than 17.4 psi, or greater than

398 psi. Note: this sensor test
procedure is found in the
service manual’s “EC – Engine
Control” section.
• Check the ambient cabin
temperature sensor (for
systems with automatic AC).
Compressor OFF signal is sent
when ambient temperature
sensor data is < 23°F.
The ECM will also deny
compressor ON signal if the vehicle
is driven wide-open-throttle, if
the engine coolant temperature is
excessively high, while the engine
is cranking, at excessively high or
low engine speeds, or based on CAN support monitor screen shows whether a control
power steering demands while at module is not responding, or has not responded recently.
low speeds.
At the end of the line, if a magnet
clutch is determined to be faulty,
Nissan offers complete rebuilt
compressor assemblies at reasonable
pricing. On most applications,
individual clutch or coil components
are not available separately.

Hybrid Vehicle Air Conditioning

It is worth mentioning that Nissan
hybrid vehicles have different
implementations for air conditioning. Testing the
First, the engine is not always running, refrigerant sensor.
and therefore a belt-driven compressor
would not operate unless the engine was (August 2011, High Voltage Air Conditioning)
started back up. Second, using the HV battery at NissanTechNews.com for more details.
pack to power the compressor reduces
engine load and increases fuel efficiency. Finishing the Job with Confidence
Electric AC compressors are three-phase Customers and technicians sometimes fear
motors and the refrigerant is suspended in air conditioning repairs for the same reason:
non-conductive oil, different than standard they may not succeed the first time. Properly
vehicles’ PAG oil. The two oils are not educated, customers can be prepared for
compatible, and using standard PAG or even an initial recharge and then a follow-up
normal fluorescent leak detection dyes can leak check for repairs. Nissan Genuine Parts
contaminate entire hybrid AC systems. Be are priced competitively, and are perfect fit
sure to consult the specifics of the service replacements to finish the job confidently.
manual before working on hybrid AC With support from Nissan’s TechInfo website,
systems, and reference the previous Nissan nissan-techinfo.com, and their quality parts,
TechNews article on hybrid compressors you can tackle any AC problem – no sweat! |
24 | Nissan TechNews