A/C Colder One Side

My a/c on my 98 is colder on the passenger side then the drivers side. I thought I read somewhere here that is normal. Anyway of correcting it for the drivers side short of raising the passenger side.

could also be one of the air mixer doors is stuck in a position allowing cold and ambient air to mix on the driver side. there is a thread for that too. check for HVAC in this forum and on regalgs.org

Just charged my system and it worked great for 30 minutes or so. Now the passengers side is freezing and the drivers side is HOT. Yesterday it got cold but went back to hot again. Anybody experienced this?

We just had this problem in the GTP. Something about an actuator being messed up. Cost around $400 to get fixed at the dealer.

Usually the problem is related to bad soldering in the HVAC head unit, or a bad actuator. They both happen to these cars. Mine will put hot out the pass. side unless I turn the pass. side down about 3 lights, then it's pretty balanced.

I had this problem and my friend pulled out the control module for the passenger comfort zone. This is behind the glove box under the dash.
This made my display flash for about thirty seconds every time I started the car but it fixed the problem. It also eliminated the passenger comfort control. If your concern is cost, this is much cheaper than $400 dollars.

I had that issue on a car I test drove the other day. It was a big reason I didn't get it.

With my Jeep, it was the blend doors or recirc doors.

Probably something to do with one of these actuators:



There is a write-up here:
Write-Up: HVAC Assembly

Thanks to all of you. I will check all of these things starting with the least expensive first.

1995Riviera wrote:

Thanks to all of you. I will check all of these things starting with the least expensive first.

If you are mechanically inclined these actuators are not hard to fix. They have a 5.5 volt motor in them that make them work. In the case of mine I just took it off and took it apart and used a battery pack of three AAA batteries and gave the motor juice directly and it started working, and it has worked ever since. Could work for you, you never know.

On my 98 the A/C is cold on the passenger side & also on the vent in back of the console but the 2 center vents & the 2 vents on the driver door is just cool not cold. After a while those cool a little more but not as cold as the 4 on the passenger side & the vent on the back of the console. Could it be the activators & if so which ones. Are they a GM part that has to be gotten from the dealer if needed or can the A/C shop I use replace them if that is what it is.

Just had it to the mechanic, they checked the actuators. The blender one moved from high to low & back. But still the drivers side is warmer then the passenger side. He suggested it could be the heater box door not fully closing since the actuator is working properly. Any ideas of a simple fix.

My mechanic took off the actuator & turn the part the actuator turns which was quite stiff & the drivers side got 15 degrees colder. He beieves something is binding as the actuator he took apart all gears were okay but it could not put up enough pressure to turn the part. He left the actuator off. Will it do anything wrong by leaving it off & also how hard is it to find what is binding.

You can get an actuator from Ed Morad for around $25. It is really easy to change the actuator out. These parts just get worn out and need to be replaced. Usually the big white gear will crack, but the little motor could just be weak. You could also try to put some new lubrication on the gears and maybe it will help it operate more smoothly. The temperature on the climate control with flash at you when you have the actuator disconnected. I don't think It should make anything go wrong with it removed.

Also see if you can move the little metal rod on the car to make sure that it can be moved smoothly. You will see what I am talking about where the actuator used to be. Try to move it back to the same spot, otherwise when you put the actuator back on, it might not work correctly.

I had the same problem last year.
I replaced the drivers side actuator with a new one and it solved the problem, still working fine.

so my ac crapped out on me. it only works on the passenger side, nice and cold. on the driver side its blows hot azz air. next problem my driver side hid went out. imma test the ballistic when i go to work tomorrow to see if thats the problem. if so i have to contact the people i bought it from off of ebay.

has anyone had the same problem with their ac? i didnt see any topics about it in the search

'96reese wrote:

so my ac crapped out on me. it only works on the passenger side, nice and cold. on the driver side its blows hot azz air. has anyone had the same problem with their ac? i didnt see any topics about it in the search

Did you read this thread from the beginning???????????
It's one of the actuators not working properly.!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have the same prob with my 99. It behaves exactly like Steve's, I checked all the actuators on both sides of the car but they all move and seem to be working properly. can anyone tell me exactly which one of the actuators is the one responsible for the side-to-side blend? Perhaps it's weak and just not moveing enough.

If the AC is cold on the passenger side but hot air coming out the drivers side then it is more than likely one of the 2 actuators located on the passenger side of the HVAC box. There are two on the pass. side and 3 on the drivers side. They control the various blend doors.
I had to replace one of them a couple of years ago for the same problem.
Can't tell you which one of the two it was though.
They are easy to access and the part numbers are the same. Try swapping one for the other and see if the problem changes to the other side, then you'll know which one is bad.
The OEM P/N's are:
Actuator Valve, Right (2 of) = P/N 89018365
Actuator Valve, Left (3 of) = P/N 89018375
The part numbers are the same for all years and are used in different cars as well.
Can probably find at a junk yard or order new from www.monsterpartsonline.com

ok, i just got ambitious and went out to determine which actuator is bad on my car. I pulled off the passenger side kick panel, pulled the pcm out, and removed the only actuator i could see.
1. where is the second actuator on the passenger side?
2. what does it control?

My symptom is warm/neutral air on the driver side and cold air on passenger side.

The one i removed controls if the passenger side is hot or cold. it does not control air level or anything on the driver side.
i plan on diving into the driver side tomorrow to try those out.

I don't know what you are looking at but it doesn't require the removal of the PCM or anything it that area.

You don't have to remove the kick panel either. Look toward the center console and you'll see them attached to the HVAC plenum.

maybe my 96 is different, but one of the actuators on the passenger side is up behind the glove box, and it makes it easier to access the scews with the pcm out.
here is a pic of the actuators on the driver side.(pic courtesy of 99rivman)

The one your looking at up in the glove box area is for the passenger's seperate climate control from the door.
The 2 you are looking for, are stacked just like the picture above, on the HVAC plenum in the center console area. Just look forward of the ash tray area, no need to remove any panels. Look and ye shall find.