Caravan a/c is howling

[360duster]

Helo Dean or Keith,my 97 caravan 2.4L a/c is making a howling or whineing noise.It gets louder when the engine rpm gets above idle,but you can`t hear it after you get above 70 mph.I found a tsb about it on alldata but i figured you guys knew what it was and i could save the 20 bucks. it`s tsb #241395 dated sept 95. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

[brun064]

My '94 Concorde did the same thing last summer. It worked then but now it spits out hot air. I think it might need a recharge, but hopefully for you and me the noise isn't related to a major malfunction. I'm getting it checked in a few days, I'll tell ya how it goes.

[OE812]

If you changed your compressor belt lately, check the torque specifications on the pulley. Prior to knowing about how sensitive these compressor bearing are, I didn't torque mine and more than likely burned the bearing on my 89 Voyager. I would check the belt torque first.

Jeff

[Dean Stillie]

you may need a compressor.
The only bulletin I remember was for a surge while locked up when the compressor engages it was a PCM flash

[six pack]

If the system is a little low it could make a howling sound. Does it do this only when the compressor is running?
If system charge is ok and only makes noise when compressor running, you probably have a bad compressor.
Warranty or extended warranty?


my 02

[360duster]

It only does it when the compressor is running.It sounds like a dog howling & you can`t hear it with the hood raised because of engine noise.It`s loudest when the engine is decelerating & at a low rpm below 3000.AT 70 mph on the interstate it is barley noticeable.it is loudest when you are around town starting & stopping.It is related to engine rpm.It was barley cooling when i got it 6 mos. ago so i added 1 can of freon so it could still be a little low.Is there anyway to check it to see if it`s low,i don`t see a sight glass on it.

[brun064]

Hey, I got my AC recharged, it still makes the howling sound but its cold. They found a leak in the compressor and on the return pipe going from the back of the AC unit.

[six pack]

No sight glass on these systems anymore so the only accurate way to charge them is to evacuate the system and re-charge with the specified amount of refigerant.
Does sound like you have a bad compressor though, but you know the old saying, bring your van a little closer to the phone so I can diagnose it. LOL
Sometimes(I did say sometimes) adding a little extra oil on a re-charge can quiet a noisey compressor, not too much, couple of ounces at the very most.

Hope this is of some help.

[360duster]

Thanks Six Pack, you have give me some ideas.

[brun064]

Hey, I think the howling sound on my car is coming from my leaking condenser. It has a dark spot like an oil stain where it is leaking, do you have any similar spots?

[OE812]

Brun064:

The condensor may be leaking on your car but I doubt that it is making a howling noise since it has no moving parts. Maybe you are hearing the refrigerant flow through the condensor, especially immediately after stopping the engine. I here the same noise on my 98 Voyager and 00 Ford F150.

Jeff

[brun064]

I think the sound is actually refrigerant leaking from the condenser. I have two leaks now and it could be the sound of the gas squeaking through the cracks and going through the cooling fins.

[360duster]

I have about figured out that my howling is a bad compressor bearing since you can`t hear it above 70 mph.It only does it at low rpm.