Dallas02ozRally

I recently purchased a 2002 Lancer OZ Rally and the A/C was only blowing cold when the car was driving. I was told that it probably needs Freon, so I went out purchased some Freon and it didn't help. My blower motor was also making a horrible noise when I first started it up so I found a replacement online, ordered, and installed it. It did not fix the problem.

So I took it up to a shop and had someone look at it and was told the two fans in the front should be coming on which I did notice weren't coming on after I purchased the blower motor. That being said, they couldn't diagnose the problem without getting in and "doing a bunch of work" to see if it was the Fan, Relay, or something else.

They told me the Freon is out because it is leaving through the safety valve or something similar and they think it could be anything from a Relay to the Fans.

With that being said, I am pretty big handyman but I don't know where to start. Can anyone give me a quick write up on the AC on this car and IF this can even be diagnosed by hand.

Thanks again!

lil' jeff

iTrader: (5)

i bet its just the fan switch...get it from the dealer like $60, i'll look at my manual and post what i can.

02-Lancer-Es

iTrader: (21)

Always check fuses first . Then test the power/ ground and trigger going to the fan controller mounted on the fan .

Dallas02ozRally

Thanks both of you.

When I first got the car I did check the fuses since my lighter plug isn't working and I couldn't find anything blown but I will take a closer look tonight.

As for the switch, I read you can easily test the relay by switching on the A/C and testing the wires for power. Should be easy to do but I don't know exactly where the relay is. (I'm guessing I can just follow the wires back from the fans to find it).

Thanks again for both of your inputs.

lil' jeff

iTrader: (5)

the fan switch is on the fans..big black box with 3 plugs on it,,,and as far as the cig lighter mine didnt work when i bought it and i finally took both consoles out and seen it wasnt pluged in, down by the e-brake.

burner67

iTrader: (9)

cigarette lighters just burn out. you have to replace the darn thing.

and my fans werent coming on either so i bought a used fan control on ebay from an outlander (same part) for $25 works great now

Dallas02ozRally

Thanks for helping me find the switch. As for the lighter plug, I don't smoke but I'd love to charge my phone so not too big of a deal but glad to know it could just be unplugged. Should be a simple fix to replace if needed. Thanks again!

Dallas02ozRally

You guys are great, glad to see people are still active on this portion of the forum. Thanks for the help on the fan control, would love to steal one if it's faulty. I got my blower motor for $20 shipped which normally run north of $50.

Checked out eBay for that control switch, currently priced at $95 Shipped so great buy! I'm sure I could find one at a near by salvage yard that works for less than $95.

lil' jeff

iTrader: (5)

the dealership is cheaper than that.....i bought one but didnt help my issue and it was only like $60,,,wow cant believe the dealership is cheaper lol and yea i just use my lighter for the radar.

Dallas02ozRally

So I unplugged the three wires going into the switch, turned on the Car and tested each incoming socket with a 6-24V tester and couldn't get a reading. I could be wrong but I assume this means my relay is needing to be replaced(since there is no power going into the switch when A/C is turned on).

Any thoughts on how I would test the fans or switch to see if they are faulty?

burner67

iTrader: (9)

take 2 wires and directly wire them from each fan one at a time to the main fan control relay connector.

the connector that powers and controls the relay from the car has 3 prongs on it, and i think u use the 2 outside ones or whichever the larger wire ones are.

they should just come on full power showing that you have power. When my control relay went out I just hardwired one fan like that until i got a replacement.

rtekc

iTrader: (2)

There's a recall by Mitsubishi for some kind of radiator fan control sensor. I believe the radiator fan only turns on when the car is running real hot.

Also poke a stick in the A/C drain tube which is a rubber tube bending downwards from the firewall under the intake. That will cause water to build up in the A/C blower motor and cause it to fry up again. You'll notice water leaking out of the blower motor and spilling all over the passenger carpet if this is happening.

Dallas02ozRally

Do you think they would do a recall on a 9 year old car? I'm sure I could check by calling in but that would be great.

I just ordered a Relay to see if that is the problem. It cost me $25 shipped so it's not too big of a risk if it isn't, besides all things point at the relay at this point.

Thank you for the drain tube fix, I totally forgot to mention I tried that at first. I got a pretty long drain brush and fit the whole thing down the pipe and didn't get anything to come out so I don't think mine is clogged at all. There hasn't been any leakage, that I know of, yet my last blower motor was going out on me. The new one doesn't have a horrible screeching sound when I turn it on anymore.

If the relay doesn't work, I'm pretty much down the the fans or compressor

Dallas02ozRally

The fans only come on when the engine temp reaches a certain point? If I remember correctly it was around 300 degrees. If so, do we know what temp?

Assuming they do at a certain temperature, what signals that the temperature is high and the fans need to come on? Is it a signal sent from the thermostat or is it read by the ECU which then creates a signal to the relay or switch? Just wondering as it may help me diagnose this problem.

Thanks for everyone's help.

burner67

iTrader: (9)

i think its 200 degrees not sure tho