Interior Exterior
Q:
I was at Death Valley at 120+ degrees, probably the hottest (granted dry heat) it gets just about anywhere, and the AC is fine with the top on.
A:
When did the service bulletin come out?
I brought my car into the dealer for the initial servcing in November and told them that i read someplace that the sensor had to be repositioned, and they checked the system and said it was fine.
It has been getting in the upper 90s lately and I have been driving with the roof on to avoid the afternoon showers and constant sun and now I have noticed that its not working as good as it should be. Maybe they never repositioned mine.
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Yet another bump, since this continues to be a hot topic.
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My AC went hot overnight, took it to the dealer where they found a leak near the service ports. Now that its fixed and recharged its blowing cold! Cold in houston!
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I had the Service Bulletin done on my car today. The A/C blew cold air all the way home. Not the much since I had the top off, but it kept my feet cooler...
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When did the service bulletin come out?
2005/01 AC Probe
But dealer probably didn't get it until later... It didn't show up online until mid june.
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My friend bypassed his heater core today. Prevents coolant/ hot water from circulating through the heater core in the front of the car. Fairly simple to do.
Remove two hose clamps and re-attach hose to different pipes. I have pix.
We took temperature readings before and after.
Total non-scientific event !!!! Please don't flame. We ran before and after test with same outside air temp, but no exact humidity or planetary alignment stats.
With the AC off and the recirculate button off, the air coming out the vents is definitely cooler than before (7 degrees). Still not cold but definitely a lot better.
With AC "ON" with recirculate "ON" we showed a 4 degree improvement. AC ran same as before at first. The original AC would lose 6 degrees after 30 minutes of city driving. After bypass we only lost 2 degrees after 30 minutes of driving.
Need to do some more driving/testing. The AC has the temp probe in the correct location.
The AC worked okay during the sub 90 degree days. Over 90 and it was warm inside the car.
Now it seems to be better. Need a little more testing before I would suggest doing it.
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Picture, hope it helps. Captions are a little weak.
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I have only had one instance when it was not cool enough to be uncomfortable with the top down, and I live in central Florida. I am thinking it is because I have one of the 2005 Aspen White Eilse's. White does not tend to retain heat
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It's been sweltering here in Ohio the past 3 weeks (as much of the US), low to mid 90s everyday. I've kept my hardtop on most of the time. While I can't see my breath, the A/C has kept the cabin very comfortable...actually turned it down a couple of times. FYI, my VIN is post A/C sensor service bulletin.
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Drove back from the shore today and the ac was a little to be desired. Temp couldn't have been more than 95 and it got a little warm, very humid outside as well. When stopped in traffic I started sweating, it doesn't help the car is all black. I will have to bring this up when I have to go back to get my new dash.
soulman
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Picture, hope it helps. Captions are a little weak.
Hi Jim. Two things:
I can't tell what you did from the captions. They are indeed confusing.
Also, a quote from another thread you might want to consider
Before you block off the heater core, keep two things in mind.
The coolant has to pass through the heater core for the thermostat bypass to work. At the very least, you have to run a new hose connecting the bypass in and out ports on the engine.
Just as importantly, the Elise has an auxiliary coolant pump for use when the engine "heat soaks" when the engine is turned off. If the engine temperature gets too high, an electric pump turns on and circulates coolant via the bypass circuit - basically using the heater core as the radiator. If you block off the heater core, you will be defeating this "engine safety" feature and could potentially cause damage due to overheating the engine (due to heat soaking).
I wonder if the bypass can be done safely? I also wonder if there might be warranty issues.
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Hi Jim. Two things:
I can't tell what you did from the captions. They are indeed confusing.
Also, a quote from another thread you might want to consider
I wonder if the bypass can be done safely? I also wonder if there might be warranty issues.
I'll try to fix my captions. I didn't take a "before" picture so that complicates the how to directions .
The bypass allows the coolant to recirculated back to the engine.
I tested my buddies car yesterday and the bypass definitely made a big deference. Removing 200 degree water from the poorly insulated heater core definitely helps.
As far as warranty, proceed at your own risk. Not a permanent modification. The hose's can be switched back in 20 minutes.
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I'll try to fix my captions. I didn't take a "before" picture so that complicates the how to directions .
The bypass allows the coolant to recirculated back to the engine.
I tested my buddies car yesterday and the bypass definitely made a big deference. Removing 200 degree water from the poorly insulated heater core definitely helps.
As far as warranty, proceed at your own risk. Not a permanent modification. The hose's can be switched back in 20 minutes.
From above "basically using the heater core as the radiator"
If the heater core itself is used to dissipate heat in that situation, then the bypass could cause problems. Perhaps?
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Yet another bump, since this continues to be a hot topic.
Even if they can't get it to work as well as you would like it to, with enough complaints the word will get to Lotus which might inspire a future improvement, and might also include a fix for current models.
Not a chance unless you choose to file a class action.
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Early cars (under 700) had the sensor placed in the wrong spot, and causing the freezing.
I got mine fixed today at the dealer, so far so good, will see this weekend.
I don't know why we have several threads, this one has way less information than the other one, and it's like talking in circles.
not sure if u r gonna see this post... but what the hack
so how has ur a/c perform when its sunny and 90+ outside since the fix?
how exactly do u determine if the a/c needs to be fixed?
my a/c is cold when: 1) in the morning 2) at night. in fact it gets very cold in the mornings and at night.
a/c not cool when: 1) it's 90+ degree outside. 2) parked in a open lot 3) from garage to outside, after awhile temp in car just keep going up instead of staying at comfort level. the other day when i pickup my car from the dealer after the 1000 mile service, i was sweating like a pig in the car during my drive back at 4pm.
on a hot day, by the time the air from the vents passes the steering wheel, its not longer cool and by the time it gets to me face, its warm. air right out of the vents r cool but turns warm from the short distance travel.
so is it a thing or i need to get it fix by the dealer thing? does urs act this way b4 they fixed it? thx.
p.s. it seems to cool faster now that i've tinted the windows. but then again its been cloudy and thunder showers these few days here in dallas.
A:
not sure if u r gonna see this post... but what the hack
so how has ur a/c perform when its sunny and 90+ outside since the fix?
how exactly do u determine if the a/c needs to be fixed?
my a/c is cold when: 1) in the morning 2) at night. in fact it gets very cold in the mornings and at night.
a/c not cool when: 1) it's 90+ degree outside. 2) parked in a open lot 3) from garage to outside, after awhile temp in car just keep going up instead of staying at comfort level. the other day when i pickup my car from the dealer after the 1000 mile service, i was sweating like a pig in the car during my drive back at 4pm.
on a hot day, by the time the air from the vents passes the steering wheel, its not longer cool and by the time it gets to me face, its warm. air right out of the vents r cool but turns warm from the short distance travel.
so is it a thing or i need to get it fix by the dealer thing? does urs act this way b4 they fixed it? thx.
p.s. it seems to cool faster now that i've tinted the windows. but then again its been cloudy and thunder showers these few days here in dallas.
If it doesn't keep you reasonably cool on a hot day, take it to a dealer and complain.
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Took the Elise in to Criswell about a month ago (starts cold then goes warm thing) and they relocated the temp sense probe and now A/C works like a champ...
Michael
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so all u guys w/ good a/c have no problem keeping the inside cool n comfy when its 90+ outside while driving?
hmm... maybe i should just ask them to check it.
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so all u guys w/ good a/c have no problem keeping the inside cool n comfy when its 90+ outside while driving?
No, not everybody, but apparently SOME of them do. That means the design is OK, but it has to be working perfectly to keep up.
Take it in.