Intermittent AC problem

[lliamiskool]

Hi all, 2012 nonturbo Chevy sonic here. I have owned the car for about two years. It was in an accident before I bought it, so the radiator has always been bent in towards the engine. Never been a problem to me, as the car never overheats. Maybe 3 times since I’ve owned it the AC stopped working (often when raining) until I unplug the battery for 5 min then it works just fine. It happened again the other day. I didn’t think anything of it and did the battery trick again. I then flushed the coolant (the reservoir had a lot of gunk in it so it was a preventative measure) and now since then the AC will not work without the battery trick 90% of the time. I took it to my local shop who said it was because the radiator was angled in and the condenser was missing the bracket. They also said they couldn’t get the lower rad support anyway. So I declined repairs because those problems have been there since I’ve had the car so I don’t think that’s why my AC doesn’t work. Does anyone here have any ideas? Thanks

 

[ozonetrooper]

I read that the air sensor in the grill tells the a/c info to let it run at maximum or minimum loads.

Check that your sensor is connected and maybe try replacing it, it is a cheap part.

 

[lliamiskool]

I read that the air sensor in the grill tells the a/c info to let it run at maximum or minimum loads.

Check that your sensor is connected and maybe try replacing it, it is a cheap part.

Thanks for your reply. Will do. I’ll get back to you

 

[lliamiskool]

I read that the air sensor in the grill tells the a/c info to let it run at maximum or minimum loads.

Check that your sensor is connected and maybe try replacing it, it is a cheap part.

Hmm so I got the part, but I can’t find my own temp sensor. It’s not in the hole it should be in on the grill. To be fair, I don’t even know if I have one because I have an aftermarket radio that won’t read the temp. But I did find a plug near where it should be but it won’t fit the part I bought. I attached a picture. I’m wondering if I got the wrong part? I’m not even sure I want to dig into the problem more because my AC suddenly works again!

edit: the pic won’t upload because it’s too big but the connector I found is slightly too big for it. Maybe it’s a fog light wire?

 

[ozonetrooper]

The plug in harness should be real close to the mounting location of the sensor.

​

https://www.amazon.com/Replacement-Ambient-Air-Temperature-Sensor/dp/B097YG5N4Q





https://www.amazon.com/WMAutoPart-T...-1-1-2869--4&vehicleName=2016+Chevrolet+Sonic


And FWIW, I have the factory MYLink radio and it is not showing the temperature with the new sensor either ....

 

[lliamiskool]

The plug in harness should be real close to the mounting location of the sensor.

View attachment 16932​

https://www.amazon.com/Replacement-Ambient-Air-Temperature-Sensor/dp/B097YG5N4Q


View attachment 16933


https://www.amazon.com/WMAutoPart-T...-1-1-2869--4&vehicleName=2016+Chevrolet+Sonic


And FWIW, I have the factory MYLink radio and it is not showing the temperature with the new sensor either ....

Hmm yeah. The plug I found looks just like that but it’s slightly too big.