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Cold Air On Passenger Floor?

B

BgBlkAvalanche

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Full Member
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Mar 15, 2002
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113
Location
Michigan
I remember reading a post a while back about a TSB ( I think) that explained how to fix a problem with cold air coming from the dash onto the passenger side floor. Does anyone have this info or link? This week we took our AV for a trip, and in 15 degree temperatures, with the heater on hot, there is a numbing cold draft on the passenger feet!
Thanks...
 
I'm interested in this too. ?With this extreme cold weather, I noticed a a cold draft around the console/passenger area. ?

This is all a search came up with:

url cleaned up by wrchism

A/C Vent Leak


This doesn't seem to be a big attention getter?!

Truckman :B:
 
This is a minor annoyance with our Av too. When we were travelling through western Nebraska going 80 mph in 0 degree weather, that cold air got REALLY cold!

I haven't felt this happen too much other than on the interstate.
 
This appears to be a design defect. Behind the Glovebox door (you have to release the stop and drop it all the way down) there is a duct about 1 1/2" square. If you stuff a rag in there, it helps, but does not totally eliminate the cold air.

Also, I have found if you crack the drivers window about a half inch, the incoming air apparently is directed to the interior temperature sensor. Your left ear gets cold, but there is a ton of HOT air on your feet.
 
When this happens to me I cycle the air control through all posistions and then the recirculate vs. fresh air buttons and it seems to correct the problem. I think it is one of the little damper doors within the duct system that gets hung up or stuck in the fresh air position and doesnt get routed through the heater core.
 
I have a similar problem. ?Mine puts out plenty of heat but the blower doesn't seem to be moving much air. ?There is a hot area in front of the console at the floor. ?When air is directed out the dash vents or the defroster it blows like mad.

Could this also be a stuck door or are others seeing the same condition.

Thanks in advance,
Mike
 
Mike

You might have a problem with a stuck door, however, when heat is directed towards the floor, you are also blowing air to the back seat. There is ductwork under your front seats directing airflow to the back. With all the additional vents it just feels like less air blowing.

As for the cold air on the feet on the passengers side, most likely the recirc door is stuck. The door is designed to pull air from outside or inside but not both. If the door is stuck midway it will allow air to travel around the door from the outside to the inside. Thats why when mdmull plays with the recirc button several times his problem goes away. :B:
 
The problem with hitting the recirc button is that after 8 minutes it goes back to blending outside air. That's what the small duct behind the glovebox is. I guess it is a safety feature to prevent CO buildup.
 
My idea was if you go back and forth between the recirc and fresh air button several times you might be able to free the stuck door. What farmguy said is true. You can't leave the recirc on too long. But once the recirc door returns to its closed position, it must return all the way. :B:
 
i will have to check this out. no one ever really ride there, so i do not know. i will however check that vent door behind the glovebox to see if it binds at all. thanx guys. :B:
 
farmguy said:
Also, I have found if you crack the drivers window about a half inch, the incoming air apparently is directed to the interior temperature sensor. Your left ear gets cold, but there is a ton of HOT air on your feet.
Click to expand...

Do I hear a mod in the works - like a cold air duct for the auto temp sensor? Maybe a minature fan to circulate cool air in? Or a winter/summer switch with resistor in line with the sensor that biases its readings to fool the ac control unit?
 
The door are controlled by electric motors and if they stick it will store a code as they have posion sensors built in. It will result in the AC control head to blink one of the lights depending on which motor stuck (this is an unlikely situation in my opinion) All GM trucks have flow thru air when controls are set to off - thats the cold air you feel - you must turn on either the ac or the heat and set your controls for temp, air flow direction and fresh or recirc settings and this should allow you to eliminate the cold air on your feet.
 
:eek: I have the same problem. Wife is complaining about cold air coming in at feet, no matter what the setting. Dealer says it performing as designed. Don't think so. I'll check the hole behind the glove box door. I bought a set of A/C filters and will change them. :0: Maybe that will help as haven't noticed it until lately.
 
I experienced exactly this condition last weekend in below zero weather at 65 mph. A very cold draft drops down from behind the glove compartment to passengers feet. The metal parts behind the dash are also freezing cold to the touch. I made an appointment at dealer, as my passenger could not tolerate the cold for any extended trip. Please notify if anyone has had this condition successfully repaired. :C:
 
My girlfriend mentioned this to me last week. I told her she was crazy! I haven't felt it because the only time I'm in my passenger seat, I'm too drunk to notice any cold air on my feet! :D:

I will keep an eye on this thread to see if there is any resolution to this...

-=A.J.
 
We have an '01 3/4 Sub. 4x4 (8.1 liter) with the same issue. We spoke to the dealer Albuquerque and he immediately knew what the problem was. Supposed to be an access panel below the front cowling that "leaks" air. There is no seal/weatherstripping from the factory and unless you travel in very cold weather and have someone on the pass. side, you'd never know there was a problem. We couldn't wait the 24 hours they wanted to "Let the sealant dry" as we had to get back to Austin.

Since it's not as cold here, we still haven't had the issue taken care of. We'll post if we have the dealer here take care of it.
I know it's not an Avalanche but, it's what we needed! :B:
 
Is this related?

In colder (60's) weather, if I tried to "recirc" my A/C, it would just blink at me and go out....

Anything below 60 causes my A/C light to just blink at me if I try to turn on the AC and then it goes out... (hot sun.... cold outside... need some cold air)

Thoughts on my 2 blinking buttons?
 
bmontini said:
Is this related?

In colder (60's) weather, ...
Click to expand...

With temperatures hitting 0 degrees last night, I'm not even going to answer that!

:eek: ;D

If I lived where 60's was cold, I wouldn't mind a little breeze on my feet! ;-)
 
well, as for the two issues that have been hit in this thread:

The recirc vs outside air button - it is inherent in the design that you cannot get recirc in the floor (some call it heat), windshield (defrost) or blend settings on the "mode knob" (GM's words). Consult owner's manual (page 3-3 for the '02, 3-23 in the '03). This design is, according to legend, due to concerns over exhaust gas infiltration into the cabin when driving with the gate & glass open. This also means that when I am cranking the heat first thing in the morning while stuck behind a school bus, I get a cabin full of diesel fumes ?:8: The manual claims this recirc lock out feature is to prevent fogging. yeah right. :p

The cold air on the passenger floor problem: heard about this myself,don't ride over there myself. Actually, the delivery of heated air to the driver's floor is my biggest complaint, my front seat passengers get much more heat than I (the driver) does.
 
not real sure what to think anymore. i put the selector on floor for now. all the heat comes from there. feels good on the feet too. when the windows start to fog i switch to the floor/defog position. still feels good on the feet. not real sure why the vent/floor does not work the same. i am happy with the temp fix until i get it in. :B:
 
My wife has also complained of a lack of heat on her side. I looked all over for a vent door, etc. and eventually just shut the vents for the rear seat. This just about rectified the problem. I don't know the layout of the ducts, but the passenger side footwell must be at the end of the line.
 
Well I got mine back from the Dealer and they said that Chevrolet did NOT approve fixing the ice cold air draft because there was 1 (one) setting in which the cold air dump could be avoided. ?Heat to Both floor and upper vents in recirculate air position. ?Tried it. ?NO! ?Still cold air dump on passenger's feet. ?Clear and simple they lied, and they will not fix. ?Besides, what would I do if I needed to use the defroster? In order to stay warm I would have to allow my windows to ICE up or fog up. ? This is innovation?This does not sound reasonable to me. ? ?Very disappointed, and I will be writing Chevrolet. ? Does anyone have the Midwest District Service Managers address? ?I live in Wisconsin. ?For the time being I will attempt to plug the fresh air duct. ?Any suggestions on a way to do that. ? Thanks. ? :8:
 
newbie here, on a related issue does anyone have a problem with the control for floor heat where air comes out of the defrost or vent?

thanks,
rickshaw
 
Resealing the fresh air does not work. I think the problem is the fresh air door does not shut. It is open all of the way. If the door is shut there is no problem. We need to find out why the are bringing so much fresh air in when it is cold. I am supposed to be meeting with a GM factory man to find out what the problem is. I have had the fresh air resealed, new air sensor, and new control head none of the fixed the problem. I will let you know when or how I get the problem fixed.
 
Hi all,

What got me on this thread is when it got a little cold the other day (-30C/-22F) I noticed my feet got a little cold even after my Av had warmed up.

The vents seemed to be pumping out lots of heat to the windshield or main vents, but not much to the floor.

I then went and felt around and there seemed to be a cold draft originating from under the drivers seat. Has anyone else noticed this?

I might just be experiencing the problems as described in this thread, but feeling the draft as it circulates around. I'll have to wait for another cold day and try it again. (maybe tomorrow)

Max
 
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