2107 Battery Changed, Now A/C Doesnt't Work?

[lavaleaf]

I just had a remanufactured battery installed in my 2017 Leaf (under warranty, waited 9 months). I picked up the car from the dealer and drove it home and the A/C is not blowing cold. The dealer claims it was that way when dropped off -- but the best thing about the car has always been its near instant cold air, and it was that way when we gave it to them. Dealer also said the A/C is not touched in a battery install, and that it is a closed system located in a different section of the car. They offered to run a diagnostic without charging me, but at this point if they find something wrong, I have to pay.

Does anyone here know whether there is a possibility of somehow damaging the A/C system when installing a battery? Thank you.

 

[nlspace]

The wiring from the battery pack runs up from under the car to the Power Distribution Module, PDM, located on top of the motor, it's the large box you see when you lift the hood.

Inside the PDM are some fuses and copper buss bars to make connection to the terminal lugs for the wiring to the AC compressor.

The lid to the PDM had to be opened to remove the terminal lugs for the battery pack harness. It's possible that they also removed the AC harness and forgot to put it back; it's possible that the AC fuses have blown.

Seems like there should be some check engine or HV caution and warning indicator lamps or DTCs thrown for an issue with the AC. With a DTC there are troubleshooting steps in the FSM that could help find the culprit.

 

[lavaleaf]

Thank you for taking the time to reply. I will check the PDM box. I refreshed the DTC codes and there were no errors, and also no check engine or warning lamps.

I appreciate your suggestions.

 

[Bombastinator2]

I just had a remanufactured battery installed in my 2017 Leaf (under warranty, waited 9 months). I picked up the car from the dealer and drove it home and the A/C is not blowing cold. The dealer claims it was that way when dropped off -- but the best thing about the car has always been its near instant cold air, and it was that way when we gave it to them. Dealer also said the A/C is not touched in a battery install, and that it is a closed system located in a different section of the car. They offered to run a diagnostic without charging me, but at this point if they find something wrong, I have to pay.

Does anyone here know whether there is a possibility of somehow damaging the A/C system when installing a battery? Thank you.

I had a guy rip the top of the shift knob off doing body work, (it caught on a pants loop. I guess he needed to crawl through the opposite door or something) so I wouldn’t rule anything out. AC has to be kept pressurized and any little crack in the brazing can do that so banging a tool against it or something can do that. I’ve got a 2019sv and I did the backup camera recall. Then my trunk wouldn’t open. At all. Even manually. Turns out the tech forgot to plug something back in. It was fixed without charge.

 

[lavaleaf]

I hope my issue is something simple like that. Thanks for the input.

 

[Bombastinator2]

I hope my issue is something simple like that. Thanks for the input.

Rewelding a crack isn’t simple. They might just replace the entire thing since that’s how they do stuff with cars. It would imply a depressurization which would mean the thing has to be fixed and then refilled. Hopefully it’s NOT that and just some plug was pulled out or something the diagnosis for finding cracks is spray stuff down with soapy water and then look for bubbles. Whether there is any pressure in the system tells you if there is a crack present. If there is it all leaks out.

 

[cornbinder89]

How long between when you dropped it off (with working AC) and when you picked it up? 9 months, could be enough to leak out, but not one week.
Make sure you document the fact with Nissan, that it worked before and now doesn't. A quick pressure test should show if it is refrigerant that is the problem.
If it is electrical, then they did work on the electrical part of the system and are likely to blame.

 

[BillAinCT]

If the dealer said it didn't work before they started work then isn't that worth a call while they have the car: "Hey do you want the AC diagnosed, it's not working?" My gut is they didn't use the AC and don't know if it worked or not. Or are they are that bad a dealer to not ask to look at something they can profit from.

 

[knightmb]

Dealer also said the A/C is not touched in a battery install, and that it is a closed system located in a different section of the car. They offered to run a diagnostic without charging me, but at this point if they find something wrong, I have to pay.

Does anyone here know whether there is a possibility of somehow damaging the A/C system when installing a battery? Thank you

As others have already mentioned, the AC/Heat has a separate power plug from the battery. If they did something silly like forgot to plug it in, that would be one possible issue.

Easy test, park your Leaf, open the Hood, start in Drive mode, turn on the A/C, set the blower to the lowest speed so the cabin fan is as quiet as possible, set the temperature to the lowest setting to make sure the compressor has to come on. Then walk around to the front and listen for two things. Two radiator fans in the front blowing air and the sound of the compressor running.

If the compressor is running, but A/C is not working, it's a possible refrigerant issue. If you don't hear any compressor running, it's possible that no refrigerant is in the system, so it shuts off as a safety precaution. Have the system checked. If the refrigerant levels are good, either the compressor died (rare, but possible) or it is not getting power from the battery pack because they forgot to plug it in.

 

[lavaleaf]

How long between when you dropped it off (with working AC) and when you picked it up? 9 months, could be enough to leak out, but not one week.
Make sure you document the fact with Nissan, that it worked before and now doesn't. A quick pressure test should show if it is refrigerant that is the problem.
If it is electrical, then they did work on the electrical part of the system and are likely to blame.

We were driving it while waiting for the battery. A/C worked fine on Wednesday; Thursday we had it towed to the dealer because the battery could not safely make the drive. The service notes state the a/c was blowing warm when they received the car, but I find it hard to believe they tested it before fixing it. But who knows. We just brought it back for diagnosis so we will know soon.

 

[lavaleaf]

As others have already mentioned, the AC/Heat has a separate power plug from the battery. If they did something silly like forgot to plug it in, that would be one possible issue.

Easy test, park your Leaf, open the Hood, start in Drive mode, turn on the A/C, set the blower to the lowest speed so the cabin fan is as quiet as possible, set the temperature to the lowest setting to make sure the compressor has to come on. Then walk around to the front and listen for two things. Two radiator fans in the front blowing air and the sound of the compressor running.

If the compressor is running, but A/C is not working, it's a possible refrigerant issue. If you don't hear any compressor running, it's possible that no refrigerant is in the system, so it shuts off as a safety precaution. Have the system checked. If the refrigerant levels are good, either the compressor died (rare, but possible) or it is not getting power from the battery pack because they forgot to plug it in.

This is a great suggestion, thank you. I did not see this in time to try. We have it at the dealer now for a diagnostic and are waiting to see what they say.

 

[lavaleaf]

Not a very happy ending for us. The evaporator core is leaking. Accessing it requires removing the whole dashboard. Total cost is $2,600. I am in Hawaii, so prices are always higher than the US mainland, but this is still a shocker. There were no good options - having a car with working a/c is critical here, and selling the car without functional a/c would not get us enough to then get another car. I called one A/C repair garage, who gave a rough quote of $2,000. I opted for the repair that had a higher probaility of being done right, with OEM parts.

Thanks for all the input.

 

[Bombastinator2]

Not a very happy ending for us. The evaporator core is leaking. Accessing it requires removing the whole dashboard. Total cost is $2,600. I am in Hawaii, so prices are always higher than the US mainland, but this is still a shocker. There were no good options - having a car with working a/c is critical here, and selling the car without functional a/c would not get us enough to then get another car. I called one A/C repair garage, who gave a rough quote of $2,000. I opted for the repair that had a higher probaility of being done right, with OEM parts.

Thanks for all the input.

:/

 

[knightmb]

I am in Hawaii, so prices are always higher than the US mainland, but this is still a shocker.

You would be surprised, the same repair in TN from a dealership for a relative was quoting +$6k because they wont even repair the parts, they wanted to remove and replace the entire HVAC system.

 

[lavaleaf]

You would be surprised, the same repair in TN from a dealership for a relative was quoting +$6k because they wont even repair the parts, they wanted to remove and replace the entire HVAC system.

That is nuts!! Thank you for making me feel better.

 

[Bombastinator2]

Might have to be done. It depends where the leak is. Often they’re at the base of a hardline and a. bit of brazing takes care of the problem. Sometimes they’re not though. You said “evaporator” which makes me worry. As the old saying goes “you pays yer money and you takes yer choice” another issue is brazing like that is done with oxy acetylene. A very old school welding method involving a torch. Even if you use little tiny tips things around it get real hot. If those things are made of plastic you have to remove it first at which point you might as well just put a new one in anyway. Parts are ridiculously cheap compared to labor. That “half parts half labor” thing worked up through the 70’s but doesn’t anymore.

 

[lavaleaf]

Might have to be done. It depends where the leak is. Often they’re at the base of a hardline and a. bit of brazing takes care of the problem. Sometimes they’re not though. You said “evaporator” which makes me worry. As the old saying goes “you pays yer money and you takes yer choice” another issue is brazing like that is done with oxy acetylene. A very old school welding method involving a torch. Even if you use little tiny tips things around it get real hot. If those things are made of plastic you have to remove it first at which point you might as well just put a new one in anyway. Parts are ridiculously cheap compared to labor. That “half parts half labor” thing worked up through the 70’s but doesn’t anymore.

The mechanic notes say: " Removed evaporator housing assembly and disassembled unit. Replaced evaporator core and cleared off ac leak residue from case." So it doesn't sound like they repaired it, which is just as well.

 

[Bombastinator2]

The mechanic notes say: " Removed evaporator housing assembly and disassembled unit. Replaced evaporator core and cleared off ac leak residue from case." So it doesn't sound like they repaired it, which is just as well.

Also means it wasn’t mechanics error. Just coincidence. They didn’t bang on a pipe with a tool and break a connection. If it did go because of the servic it was about to go anyway and you would have had to pay for it anyway. So while unfortunate and expensive it was effectively no one’s fault except maybe the original engineer of the HVAC and even that is doubtful.