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2001Dodge Neon AC won't work after radiator repair
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Jana59
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Jun 8, 2010, 10:22 PM
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2001Dodge Neon AC won't work after radiator repair
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I have a 2001 Dodge Neon, 4 cyl, 2.0, automatic transmission with 100,000. We live in Las Vegas and the temperature is now over 100 degrees. About a month ago, we had the thermostat replaced when they replaced the gasket because of a leak. This car was running great and the air conditioner was running cold and comfortable. Yesterday, when we came home and got out of the car, we could hear the water bubbling under the hood and it smelled hot. The temperature gauge did not go past one-quarter or register hot at all; there was no liquid leaking anywhere. The next morning, we took it to have the radiator checked out at a place that was recommended to us; the radiator company had been in business for over 20 years (family owned).
The radiator company removed the radiator and the bill reads "remove and replace radiator; rod and repair radiator; new radiator cap; antifreeze." They bill also had the following notation:
Please Note: Radiator was plugged 20%, fan is not coming on and temperature gauge is not reading correctly -- vehicle seems to be functioning otherwise it is recommended that the fan operation be checked and fixed; temperature gauge needs to be fixed as well"
The problem is that when we turned the air conditioner on, we now had nothing but hot hot air coming out and the transmission was dropping down in gear almost acting like it slipped. We called the radiator company and they said with the fan not working, the air conditioner wouldn't blow anything but hot air and could cause the compressor to lock up and try to make the car shut down and/or cause it to run rough. They said it would do this because it was so hot out when we drove home. We only drove the car about 2.5 miles from the radiator shop when this happened. We didn't leave the AC on when it blew hot. The radiator people were really nice and certainly seemed competent.
My question is what could cause the air not to work at all when it was working when we took it in. Also, what could cause the transmission hesitation when it was running smooth as anything before. NEED HELP -- DON'T KNOW WHO TO TAKE IT TO NOW. It's apparently an electric fan that goes on when it starts getting hot and also (if I understand correctly) comes on as soon as you turn on the air conditioner. Do we take it a place that does electrical stuff or a regular mechanic.
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Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky
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Jun 9, 2010, 2:41 AM
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Re: 2001Dodge Neon AC won't work after radiator repair
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They have told you correctly. The radiator fan also blows on the A/C condenser which lowers the high pressure. If it's not working in this high temp the A/C pressures will go way too high which will cause poor cooling and extreme load on the compressor. You can't operate that car without a fan.
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We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.
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Sidom
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Jun 9, 2010, 7:57 PM
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Re: 2001Dodge Neon AC won't work after radiator repair
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Most shops should be able to take care of both of those problems for you. The problem with just an electical shop if it turns out you need a/c work as well you might have to go to another shop... Just call them 1st and make sure they work on both areas before going there.
If the fans aren't coming on, that needs to be fix asap.. plus if it's boiling over & the gauge is just reading 1/4, thats a problem as well...
Let us know what you find out..........
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Jana59
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Jun 9, 2010, 10:11 PM
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Re: 2001Dodge Neon AC won't work after radiator repair
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Just an update. Took the car to our regular mechanic. The fan motor was bad and he replaced it. However, the AC was a different problem. Our mechanic immediately saw that a few things were not connected after the radiator was removed. Some bolts were missing and he corrected them. The main problem with the AC was that the compressor was not connected. Apparently, when the radiator company removed the radiator, they disconnected the compressor and in doing so broke a piece off the compressor where the plug (my definition) went in. They fixed this, plugged it back in and the AC works great again.
Prior to leaving the radiator place yesterday, we noticed that the part holding the clip that secures the rod to keep the hood up was reversed with another part and a bolt was missing. They reversed the parts and put a bolt in. However, we did not notice the other parts that were left unconnected.
The radiator company has been in business for a long long time and has a good reputation. They are family owned and really nice people. We called and told them about the things we found out so they could talk to the guy who worked on taking the radiator out of our car. We told them we had everything fixed and merely wanted them to be aware of what happened so they could talk to their employee and keep similar things from happening in the future. They were most appreciative of this information.
Thanks for your responses and I am glad the matter is resolved and it was less painful that we had anticipated.
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Hammer Time
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Jun 10, 2010, 2:59 AM
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I would suspect that one of the previous shops intentionally disconnected the A/C compressor to prevent damage to it while the fan was not working. You should be thankful as not having a fan would have ruined the compressor.
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We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.
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Jana59
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Jun 10, 2010, 1:20 PM
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It wasn't disconnected -- it was broken. Seeing as how it was working the day before and blowing cold air, we can only assume they broke it since no one else touched the car but them. When we told them the AC wasn't working,they said it was because the fan was not working -- they said nothing about it being disconnected or broken. Our regular mechanic opened the hood of our car, looked in and saw the items that were disconnected and/or broken and showed us. He opened the hood immediately when we went there so no one touched the car before he opened the hood and showed it to us.
We would still go back to the radiator shop since we believe it was just an employee's error and not something the owners would do. They were quite upset about the sloppy work done.
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Hammer Time
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Jun 10, 2010, 2:02 PM
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When you get down off your high horse, you can apologize to and thank the tech that saved you $1000 repair by disconnecting the compressor.
Obviously it wasn't broken or you would be replacing a compressor right now.
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We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.
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Sidom
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Jun 10, 2010, 7:50 PM
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Glad to hear you got everthing going......
The only question I had was with the temp gauge...... Did they check that out and make sure it was working ok? If I remember corrrectly, you said when it was overheating the gauge was only showing a 1/4...... If the gauge isn't accurate, it could be a problem down the road if you have anymore overheating issues....
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Jana59
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Jun 11, 2010, 5:57 PM
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Hammer time, I don't know how experienced you are or familiar with Dodge Neons, but a piece of the part was definitely broken. It was a green thing that stuck out of the compressor and into which the other part was plugged in. With part of the green connection broken off, the plug would not stay in. We saw the broken part and our mechanic remedied the situation so that the plug would stay in. The person who broke the part did not save us anything other than worry over the thought of the air conditioner going out. It was sloppy work, but by one employee, not the company and they had already admonished the employee for the part thatwas reversed which we caught before we left the radiator place.
I was not on a high horse and may not be a mechanic, but I know a broken part when I see one. It wasn't us who noticed the broken part, but our mechanic -- and I am sure he can tell a broken part when he sees one.
I think the high horse might be one you are riding.
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Jana59
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Jun 11, 2010, 6:07 PM
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Thanks for your reply and appreciate your help. The temperature gauge was addressed, but thank you for mentioning it. We now have everything working including the temperature gauge. Again, thanks for your kind help.
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