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No clue what broke....
Posted: Sun Sep 07, 2008 11:22 pm
by sxt03
So last night i was driving home going about 60 and i hit a larger animal with the front end of my car, it was too big for a dog so im guessing pig or hog. About 1 minnute after i hit it my check engine light came on. So pulled over and took a look at the damage. The thing cracked my front bumper preety badly

but in more than one place, aside from that everythin looked okay at the time. I drive home and call it a night. The next moring i go in for work and my A/C doesnt work. Like it blows air, but its not cold air. I took a look under my car and i didnt see any broken lines or anything of that nature, the fan still turns on so i dont know what the reason is behind it not working. Oh the check engine light is still on btw. Any ideas?
Posted: Sun Sep 07, 2008 11:26 pm
by TheRandom1
I dunno about why the CEL came on, but if your AC doesn't work, you probably broke the AC condenser. It's like a radiator that bolts in front of the radiator, and it's for your AC. If your bumper is busted up, pull some of it away and take a look at it.
And post some pics while you're at it, if you can. It'll help us help you diagnose it.
Posted: Sun Sep 07, 2008 11:30 pm
by LilSparkPlug
Cycle your key three times from off to accessory and get the code out of the odometer. That will solve that issue by you reading us the P 0XXX code that you get. It could be a number of things, but Sean is right...you could have damaged the condensing unit.
Posted: Sun Sep 07, 2008 11:36 pm
by sxt03
Its dark so i cant take pics at the momement, i dont have a digital camera, just my cell phone

.
However i did what spark plug said and turned the key 3x (i didnt know you could do that btw) and 2 codes came up. P0645, and P0073.
Posted: Sun Sep 07, 2008 11:42 pm
by LilSparkPlug
P0073 is the ambient air temperature sensor high. Thats the sensor inside your intake (should just kinda pop in) reading a temperature far too high for multiple reasons.
- Sensor could have failed
- Reading over 4.9 volts
- Circuit could be stuck open
P0645: A/C Clutch Relay Circuit - one trip fault
An open or shorted circuit is detected in the A/C relay circuit
Did it hit the front passenger side of the car?
Posted: Sun Sep 07, 2008 11:45 pm
by TheRandom1
I'd probably check to make sure when you ran over Porky, that a leg or something didn't snag up a wire.
And get some pics tomorrow if you can, maybe someone will catch something you didn't see at first.
Posted: Sun Sep 07, 2008 11:59 pm
by sxt03
Thanks sparkplug
That explains the P0073 code, that little clip-like thing was loose when i looked at it just now.
As for the other code, does that mean that one of the wires connecting the ac is cut or shorting out? Nope, it looks like it hit more towards the drivers side/middle of the car.
yeah, random1 ill try and get some pics tomorrow in the daylight. Btw porky was BIG, i think he may have actually warped my hood a little bit, no lie.
Posted: Mon Sep 08, 2008 12:02 am
by LilSparkPlug
Yes thats kind of what it means. That the relay is recieving a shorted signal. Now that you fixed the ambient air issue, reset your PCM (negative battery cable off for at least ten minutes). If no fluids are leaking and the car is safe to start/drive, do so. See if the code comes back, its a hard code meaning it will come back immediately if its still an issue.
Posted: Mon Sep 08, 2008 11:31 pm
by sxt03
Okay so p0645 isnt showing up anymore, but the ac still isnt working. I plugged the clip back into the black intake, removed the battery cable, but the code p0073 is still showing up. Why does it have to be the negetive battery cable you take off?
Posted: Tue Sep 09, 2008 3:01 am
by 60trim
sxt03 wrote: Why does it have to be the negetive battery cable you take off?
If you touch positive to negative battery post with a piece of metal it will create a circuit (a short--dangerous). As you know the negative cable on the battery is connected to the metal part of your car (body). If you touch the positive post of the battery to a metal section on the car it will be the same as touching the positive terminal of the battery to the negative which will create a short. If you remove the negative cable first, now the metal part of the car is not connected to the battery in any way, so even if you touch any part of the car's body while you're messing with the positive post, it won't short out and do nasty things (best case you'll get some sparks and that would be it). If you're removing the positive cable first and the negative cable hasn't been disconnected from the car body, and you touch the metal of the car with your wrench while you're unscrewing the positive connector, you might get shocked if there's no isolation on the wrench. That's why people recommend removing the negative terminal first. Now if you don't touch any part of the body with your wrench while you're touching the positive terminal, you have nothing to worry about.
Hope this helps.
Josh