I have an old car: 2000 Chevy and it runs well - low mileage - but when I use the air conditioner it goes off and becomes heat... it never stays cool.

My mechanic tried to fix it; thought he did, but he didn't. I hate to go elsewhere but I need the air. Where do rec I go... i.e. dealer, another mechanic or are
There people who specialize in a/c. I'm in New York.

A dealer would be best equipt to handle your car. This is not something you would want to do yourself. You could take the car in for diagnostics and see what they say. Often times a clogged condenser ends up being the problem because it wont circulate the coolant correctly.

THis is not something Joe Average has the knowledge or the tools to fix. THere are a number of things it could be, all of them need the right tools and knowledge to correct. Speaking as someone who studied for and got a license and bought the equipment to fix my own antiques AND Purchase R-12 freon.

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Originally Posted by smoothy

THis is not something Joe Average has the knowledge or the tools to fix. THere are a number of things it could be, all of them need the right tools and knowledge to correct. Speaking as someone who studied for and got a license and bought the equipment to fix my own antiques AND Purchase R-12 freon.

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But who do I take it to?

I used to be ASE certified in Air Conditioning for cars...That is who I would take it to...someone who is ASE certified. The dealer...a local...doesn't matter other than you just don't want someone that knows nothing doing it. The most common thing I can figure for a car that age is that you have a bad seal somewhere and lost your refrigerant. They will need to do a leak test and find where the problem is.

As was stated... safest bet is someone with an ASE certification... not all mechanics have an ASE certification, also not all shops will deal with A/C problems due to EPA regulations... And not all mechanics are equally skilled. Also not all mechanics are trained for or understand A/C systems and how to repair them.

Dealer is the best place if you don't have people you know well who you can trust their recommendations.

I'm probibly one of the most pessimistic people out there when it comes to repair shops. I base who I like or not off my gut feeling when I ask a few pointed questions that I know the answers to already and a few I don't. Based on how they answer. I however do have plenty enough mechanical skills and knowledge to do that.

I have a couple mechanics I trust (and none of them are close to where I live).....if I run into something I can't handle myself or have the time to do.

Why the not helpful for that answer? Besides an intermittant electrical problem... an A/C problem can be one of the most difficult to locate and fix. And time = Money.

I would focus on the blend door's operation--it may be binding or the blend door actuator may be bad or need recalibration. I'd take it to the dealer and suggest they check the blend door's operation.

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Originally Posted by smoothy

Why the not helpful for that answer? Besides an intermittant electrical problem... an A/C problem can be one of the most difficult to locate and fix. And time = Money.

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Every time I click helpful it disappears... never clicked not helpful, don't even know where that hashtag is

This should be a relatively easy problem to isolate. Open the hood, start the engine, and turn the AC on high. If the AC lines under the hood get cold, the problem is likely blend door related. I've seen this problem many times. On Fords, that I've worked on, I remove the four 8mm mounting bolts to the actuator and gently remove the actuator. I clean the blend door mechanism and then lubricate it with WD-40. With the blend door actuator removed, but still plugged into the electrical connector, turn the ignition switch to ON and then turn it OFF. This should recalibrate the actuator. Reassemble everything and hopefully the problem is solved.