> > The dual air conditioning in my 2001 town & country works on the right
> side
> > but hot air on the left side. If I turn it to defrost 1/2 is cold and the
> > other hot. The rear a/c works great. Any help?
>
> Take it to the dealer and have it diagnosed
Agreed - you'll probably find it is low on R134a. Mine exhibited that
exact symptom. The first time I took it in to be checked they could not
find a leak with either a sniffer or UV light (and dye). Six months
later it had leaked down again and this time they found a leak in the
condensor (a hissing noise in the passenger compartment is a good
clue). That has been replaced and now all is fine - even through
the 100 degree days we've had here recently.
Good luck,
Jeff

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Jeff Singleton
WVU 84
Newport News Rugby #5
Ted Mittelstaedt - 02 Aug 2005 05:53 GMT
> > > The dual air conditioning in my 2001 town & country works on the right
> > side
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
> condensor (a hissing noise in the passenger compartment is a good
> clue).
The evaporator is in the passenger compartment, the condensor is
in front of the radiator.
Ted
Jeff Singleton - 03 Aug 2005 01:53 GMT
> The evaporator is in the passenger compartment, the condensor is
> in front of the radiator.
Thanks - you are correct. I knew when I typed it it did not sound
correct and I didn't feel like tracking down the work order.
Jeff

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Jeff Singleton
WVU 84
Newport News Rugby #5
Bob - 03 Aug 2005 01:00 GMT
>> > The dual air conditioning in my 2001 town & country works on the right
>> side
[quoted text clipped - 15 lines]
>
> Jeff
Bzzzzzzztttt.... Wrong answer. 2001 Caravans have a problem with the damper
door. I had one with the problem. This is from NHTSA, and it talks about the
right side having no heat, but the left side screws up too. There's a shaft
that goes into a stepper motor that was too short. If your description is
accurate - hot air on one side, and cold on the other - it's a damper
problem. There's no switching of anything to do with refrigerant when you
adjust the temp between the sides. It's all done with baffles and air flow.
With the key on and the engine off, and the fan on low, try adjusting
temperature on one side at a time. You should here the little motors
running. If one side makes noise, and the other doesn't. that side is stuck.
You said the back works, and that it's cold on one side. That kinda rules
out that it's really really low on gas, so don't go there first.
Make: DODGE
Model: CARAVAN
Year: 2001
Type: ANY
Service Bulletin Number: 2400601
NHTSA Item Number: 620069
Summary Description:
SOME VEHICLE OPERATORS MAY COMPLAIN OF NO HEAT IN ANY MODE, FROM THE
FRONT RIGHT SIDE OF THE VEHICLE. THIS BULLETIN INVOLVES REPLACING THE BLEND
AIR DOOR SHAFT WITH A NEW PART. *TT
Jeff Singleton - 03 Aug 2005 02:03 GMT
> > In article <bd2dndZYIOrwKHPfRVn-hg@comcast.com>,
> Bzzzzzzztttt.... Wrong answer.
Bzzzzzzzzttt - right answer for my van - twice in fact. I know about
the blend door issue and as I said, it wasn't the problem for my van.
Fixing (replacing) the leaking evaporator and recharging the system
finally did fix the issue. My understanding of the TSB on the blend door
is that it is a heating issue - not cooling. Yeah - it's a subtle
difference.

Signature
Jeff Singleton
WVU 84
Newport News Rugby #5
Bob - 03 Aug 2005 04:22 GMT
>> > In article <bd2dndZYIOrwKHPfRVn-hg@comcast.com>,
>
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> is that it is a heating issue - not cooling. Yeah - it's a subtle
> difference.
I'll need to refer back to the OP's given symptoms, because I in no way
meant to contradict your experience with your vehicle:
"The dual air conditioning in my 2001 town & country works on the right side
but hot air on the left side. If I turn it to defrost 1/2 is cold and the
other hot. The rear a/c works great. Any help?"
Low on gas does not make it hot - more likely, not cool - on one side, and
cold on the other. Nor does it allow the rear a/c to "work great". Stuck
blend doors do cause the above symptoms - and either side can stick in
either mode. Yours apparently had the famous evap. leak. Mine actually did
have a condensor leak whick did also require multiple trips in. I actually
found the leak for them by crawling around under the vehicle at night with
the black light. Bad weld at the very bottom right of the condensor. I still
think that he's got a stuck blend door based on his symptoms, which he can
verify himself just by listening to it.
tim bur - 05 Aug 2005 02:53 GMT
if there is a issue with the blend air door it would show up in a fault code
either thru the hvac head or with a scantool
> >> > In article <bd2dndZYIOrwKHPfRVn-hg@comcast.com>,
> >
[quoted text clipped - 28 lines]
> think that he's got a stuck blend door based on his symptoms, which he can
> verify himself just by listening to it.
Bob - 05 Aug 2005 03:15 GMT
> if there is a issue with the blend air door it would show up in a fault
> code
> either thru the hvac head or with a scantool
If the either of the blend doors stick, there is no indication of any fault
anywhere until you invoke a calibration cycle - it's done with some button
magic at the hvac control head. Even then, the only indication is a
flashing light that the calibration has failed. The OP needs to go get the
problem looked at, and hopefully he'll report back what the problem was.
tim bur - 06 Aug 2005 00:38 GMT
you are right about one thing and thats to have it looked at by soemone who has
a scantool that can access the bcm,fcm and hvac modules so they can get the
codes that are involved with the issue. this is not your mothers van there is
no flashing lites anymore
> > if there is a issue with the blend air door it would show up in a fault
> > code
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> flashing light that the calibration has failed. The OP needs to go get the
> problem looked at, and hopefully he'll report back what the problem was.
> The dual air conditioning in my 2001 town & country works on the right side
> but hot air on the left side. If I turn it to defrost 1/2 is cold and the
> other hot. The rear a/c works great. Any help?
I'm way over my head on this one but...
Is this by any chance one of the systems that have separate temp
settings for the driver and passenger? I have heard of the doors
sticking or mechnaism failing on the GM version of those systems and
cuasing this problem. There is a way to do a diagnostic of the HVAC
system from the control panel on the dash but I don't know how to
start it or interpret the flashing lights.
Steve B.