Air Con - Climate Control Fan Speed / Temperature Issue

[Markjp]

In the last week I have noticed that the climate control fan speed is working overtime. The other day I set the temperature to 20.0c and after a 45 minute drive the fan speed was still on 5. It started at 7 but would go no lower than 5. It has continued to be a problem since. I know it's been very hot recently, but i would expect the fan speed to reduce eventually to 2 or 3.

Is it likely to be a fault with the interior temperature sensor?

Thanks
Mark

 

[malarcy]

Is it getting colder ? - if the a/c isn't working well then the climate will keep trying as hard as it can to hit the target temp. If its colder than target temp then yes - could be interior temp sensor - but it its trying hard to reach a temp and cant then the problem might be elsewhere

also - Is the unit set to "auto" ?

Internet diagnosis is nearly always guesswork - a scan with a a tool with porsche smarts will tell you what the car is seeing and if its noticed anything that could be an issue.

 

[Markjp]

Is it getting colder ? - if the a/c isn't working well then the climate will keep trying as hard as it can to hit the target temp. If its colder than target temp then yes - could be interior temp sensor - but it its trying hard to reach a temp and cant then the problem might be elsewhere

also - Is the unit set to "auto" ?

Internet diagnosis is nearly always guesswork - a scan with a a tool with porsche smarts will tell you what the car is seeing and if its noticed anything that could be an issue.

Yes, it's getting cold. From that respect the cooling seems to be working correctly. Yes, it's set to Auto.

 

[Motorhead]

Hi Mark,

It’s been really hot these past few days and it could just be that the climate control is struggling to maintain the set temperature if the system is marginal and needs a recharge?

However, if it’s struggling to maintain 20 degC it does sound as though there could be a temperature sensor issue, although as Paul says the best - and most cost-effective - bet is to run some Porsche-specific diagnostics to see if any error codes are flagged-up.

Jeff

 

[Markjp]

Update to issue. I drove 350 miles over the weekend and had the Climate control set to 20.0c. I don't know whether it was because the extreme temperatures had reduced but the fan spend eventually settled to 3, sometimes 2, but what I did notice was the cabin continued to get colder, to the point i had to manually turn off the aircon a few times. So it looks like the climate control is not switching the aircon on and off.

Anyway, Cayman is booked into OPC in two weeks time. I will report back findings after this.

Mark

 

[Motorhead]

Hi Mark,

Definitely something amiss there. If not the temperature sensor, a climate control module or air mixing flap issue perhaps, but best left to the dealer to sort it out.

Maybe you can work around the problem in the meantime by turning off the climate control and adjusting the temperature and fan speed manually?

you get it sorted.

Jeff

 

[Scrounger]

Where abouts are you Mark? Maybe someone local to you with a diagnostic tool can scan the car for issues before you take it in.

Dan.

 

[Markjp]

Where abouts are you Mark? Maybe someone local to you with a diagnostic tool can scan the car for issues before you take it in.

Dan.

Worthing, West Sussex.

 

[Markjp]

Update:
After a visit to my local OPC, they couldn't find fault with the Climate Control function and no error codes had been recorded either.

I will monitor the issue and probably try using a bluetooth enabled thermometer on my next longish journey to analyse the temperate fluctuations.

Extended the warranty as well as Cayman is 3 years old now.

 

[malarcy]

Of course I have no idea what OPC checked - but, it wouldn't be the first time that a garage has plugged in and looked for codes and declared - computer says no - codes only get thrown when the car can make a reasoned guess that something isn't right - for example - some cars have two switches in the brake pedal - one normally closed, one normally open - the car will throw a fault if it sees one saying - the pedal is not being pressed, the other saying the pedal is being pressed - but if both say "pedal not pressed" when you have your foot on it the car doesn't know its wrong.,,,,

With climate there are a number of temp sensors, external air temp, internal air temp, a/c "outlet" temp - and the diags will give you live readings of all of those - so the diag skill there is if car doesn't throw a code - then check for all sensors to see if they are "sane" and that things are happening when reading hit certain values - i did a diag on a 987.1 once where the heated seats kept turning themselves off - OPC said no fault found - but it turned out to be the cabin temp sensor going nuts - recording values between -40 and + 50 c over a 30 second period - and the seats were doing their programmed thing - "only operate in window..... x to y deg c".

They may have looked more thoroughly of course - but if you end up back there - ask them to graph the various temp sensors over time and see if the results are "sensible"

 

[Markjp]

Of course I have no idea what OPC checked - but, it wouldn't be the first time that a garage has plugged in and looked for codes and declared - computer says no - codes only get thrown when the car can make a reasoned guess that something isn't right - for example - some cars have two switches in the brake pedal - one normally closed, one normally open - the car will throw a fault if it sees one saying - the pedal is not being pressed, the other saying the pedal is being pressed - but if both say "pedal not pressed" when you have your foot on it the car doesn't know its wrong.,,,,

With climate there are a number of temp sensors, external air temp, internal air temp, a/c "outlet" temp - and the diags will give you live readings of all of those - so the diag skill there is if car doesn't throw a code - then check for all sensors to see if they are "sane" and that things are happening when reading hit certain values - i did a diag on a 987.1 once where the heated seats kept turning themselves off - OPC said no fault found - but it turned out to be the cabin temp sensor going nuts - recording values between -40 and + 50 c over a 30 second period - and the seats were doing their programmed thing - "only operate in window..... x to y deg c".

They may have looked more thoroughly of course - but if you end up back there - ask them to graph the various temp sensors over time and see if the results are "sensible"

Thanks very much for your detailed response. With the right equipment is this something I could check myself?

 

[Scrounger]

Have you tried cleaning the rads out from both sides? If you take the wheel liner out you can access the rad and fan from behind.

Dan

 

[malarcy]

Thanks very much for your detailed response. With the right equipment is this something I could check myself?

Yes - a diag tool with porsche smarts should expose these values - I would recommend a foxwell nt530+ (icarsoft are also good but the foxwell does more)

 

[Markjp]

Have you tried cleaning the rads out from both sides? If you take the wheel liner out you can access the rad and fan from behind.

Dan

No I haven't Dan. Curious to understand how that might help with temperate control issues in the cabin? Thanks Mark

 

[Motorhead]

Hi Mark,

Paul has made some excellent points and suggestions to help you move forward with this. Hopefully you can persuade your dealer to investigate the issue more thoroughly, but if not then it would be worth investing in some diagnostics [or try to locate a local Club Member who has?] to carry out your own investigation and present the results to them. Mind you, Porsche don’t necessarily have a great record in that respect judging by the long-running 718 GPF fiasco reported on these pages!

Good luck!

Jeff

 

[Markjp]

Hi Mark,

Paul has made some excellent points and suggestions to help you move forward with this. Hopefully you can persuade your dealer to investigate the issue more thoroughly, but if not then it would be worth investing in some diagnostics [or try to locate a local Club Member who has?] to carry out your own investigation and present the results to them. Mind you, Porsche don’t necessarily have a great record in that respect judging by the long-running 718 GPF fiasco reported on these pages!

Good luck!

Jeff

Thanks Jeff

 

[Markjp]

Yes - a diag tool with porsche smarts should expose these values - I would recommend a foxwell nt530+ (icarsoft are also good but the foxwell does more)

Many thanks for the suggesting a suitable Diagnostic Tool.