I have a 2001 Alero 2.4 with a little over 113k miles and when i drive it without the A/C on the temperature gauge tends to increase above the halfway mark making me a little nervous. Ive noticed that my fans are not coming on to cool it down. However, when Im using my a/c it stays a little below the halfway mark. Any idea as to what the issue is?


2. When my car is idling I have an issue with it misfiring. It can be described as hiccups I guess. When in motion I have no issues but when i come to a complete stop...here comes the hiccups. The sounds made can be heard from the exhaust as well.


3. My air conditioning only works when on high. If i turn the switch on any other level I can hear the compressor kick on but nothing blows until on high. Any idea whats going on with this?


Im a 22yr old college student who is trying to get things done in a very cost efficient way. Ive been going through the different threads and the advise here is just amazing. I wanted to get in on it.


Thanks,


Nick

 

1. How far above halfway? As long as it doesn't go into the red, it is probably ok. My Alero with the 3.4 runs 2 needle widths above half all the time. When the A/C is on, I think one fan runs most of the time, because of the extra load on the engine. The other fan should turn on when the temp gets high (around 3/4 of the way up).


2. Do you have a check engine light on? The computer should detect a misfire and set a code. How old are your spark plugs and wires? They are not very expensive, and you could probably change them yourself. Mine had a misfire, new plugs and wires fixed it.


3. Sounds like a blower motoer resistor. This is pretty common. Water will leak from the base of the windshield inside onto the blower motor and resistor, and it will eventually go out. They are not expensive either. Search for "blower motor resistor". I hear the change is moderately hard, but only because of the tight area under the glove box.


BTW, Welcome to OF!

 

1. I'd say the same as yours, 2 needles. But it only happens when the car is running without the a/c on. Otherwise the fan will come on and the car stays at normal operating temperature.


2. the check engine light has come on and I went to AutoZone and they ran a diagnostics which came back that it could be either my fuel cap, or a vacuum leak, and it named something about an evaporator. I have no clue how old the spark plugs are, I just got the car about 3 weeks ago from a friend. Ill have those changed.


3. I will have that checked as well.


Thanks for the help and advice. I appreciate it. I have to ask about this car bc all ive driven since i was 16 was a '94 honda accord ex and the temp gauge never fluctuated the way this one does and its worrying the crap outta me.