The husband was just given a 2000 Saturn and the air conditioning doesn’t work. So when not driving on the highway, it tends to overheat. The temperature indicator swings all the way to H.
Will this cause it to fail? Do we need to find an immoral shop to pass us?
Uh, you left out a rather important tidbit of information. Where do you live?
North Carolina would pass it, Virginia would not.
If the AC doesn’t work, and you don’t care, why not disconnect it? A new, shorter belt is cheap. Besides, overheating unless driving fast is usually a cooling problem not caused by a bad air conditioner (low coolant level, blocked circulation, leaky radiator, or bad water pump).
In New York, at least, AC is not part of the inspection (my AC hasn’t worked in years but I still pass inspection each year). I don’t think the overheating would be a factor, either, unless it affects the emissions.
Here is what is inspected in NY (abridged_:
Seat Belts
Brakes
Steering, Front End, Suspension, Chassis, Frame & Wheel Fasteners
Tires
Lights
Windshield And Other Glass
Windshield Wipers And Blades
Horn
Mirrors
Fuel Leaks
The use of the word “so” here bothers me. The fact that the A/C doesn’t work has no bearing on the fact that it overheats. There is a slight chance that both are symptoms of the same root cause, but there is no way that the A/C malfunction is causing the overheating.
I’d be quite surprised if either condition (A/C inoperative, overheating) figures into any state’ vehicle inspection requirements, VunderBob’s allegation about Virginia notwithstanding. They certainly are non-issues in Missouri. Perhaps the overheating could make it impossible to safely complete an emissions test cycle in states that require that, but in and of itself it’s not the sort of thing I’ve ever known to be part of a state vehicle inspection. I can’t imagine any state gives a rat’s butt whether the A/C works.
There is a real concern for you in the overheating. If it overheats past a certain degree, the result could be expensive engine damage. I would suggest you can’t afford to not have this fixed ASAP. Overheating at town speeds or while stopped, but not at highway speeds, is most commonly caused by an inoperative electric radiator fan. Have the fan operation tested.
I had a car that overheated once. Turned out to be a warped head. Expensive to fix.
My first '66 MGB and my current one would overheat on hot days, especially in stop-and-go traffic. I’d have to turn the heater on to keep it in check. Even up here near Canada, where Summer temperatures rarely get into the 90s, it can be a problem. This town is full of old people, so they lower the speed limit along the beach to 20 mph during the summer. (And as I’ve said in the past, people here tend to drive below the speed limit.) So if I want to drive along the beach on a hot Summer’s day I have to watch the temperature gauge. (NB: It’s a like-new engine – and my first one had a rebuilt engine too – with correct coolant. But only the engine-driven fan; not an electric one.)
Virginia DOES fail cars for lack of working climate control. I can sorta see the heat issue, but IMAO, AC is a luxury.
Yeah, I can see the case for a working defroster, but I am indeed surprised. Ah well, ignorance fought. Thanks.
Pennsylvania specifies (among other things) that the vehicle has to pass a “road test”. It’s worded somewhat vaguely, but I can picture a lot of mechanics failing the vehicle for overheating since the vehicle wouldn’t be road-worthy.
For the A/C, it depends on what is wrong with it. In PA, the defroster has to blow air. It doesn’t necessarily have to be cold air. If the fan is out, it fails. If the A/C system is basically futzed but the fan still blows air, it passes.
Ignoring the air conditioning and inspection issues, it sounds like the car’s electric radiator fan is not coming on. At highway speeds, enough air is rammed through to keep the engine cool, but at slower speeds, there’s no airflow.
OP here. We’re in NY so we may be ok in that aspect. We were given this car and don’t want to spend a lot to fix it. Maybe we can get an estimate for the radiator fan and go from there.
We kind of figured that since it was a gift we’d get as much use out of it with as little input of cash.
Thanks.
While a radiator fan is certainly one possibility, it’s not the only possibility. It could be something as simple as low coolant level, or something more costly like a water pump that is on its way out. I’m sure Gary T and our other car pros here can think of other things as well.
It’s probably not going to be too expensive of a repair, though.
Update: My husband’s cousin offered to have the car fixed and he will pay for it. This is awesome because we’re really strapped for cash right now. I still hope it’s relatively inexpensive anyway.