I Made My Car’s Air Conditioner Work by Hitting It Frequently
A few weeks ago, the air conditioning in my 12 year old Kia Soul started acting up. Sometimes it worked great. In other cases, the fan did not turn on at all. There was no clear pattern – sometimes it would work right away, sometimes it wouldn’t work at all, sometimes it would suddenly turn on while I was driving. (Not surprisingly, this started happening around the time heat warnings began in New York City.)
Last week I thought I was finally ready (figuratively but also literally): the air conditioning worked on Tuesday, then never worked again. After four scorching days and several long, sweaty weekend drives, I took it to a mechanic, who checked various fuses and relays and decided that I needed a new blower motor, which would cost over $1,000, most of which would have to be labor. (Obviously, the Kia Soul is designed weirdly and is difficult to repair.)
So I went home and did what I should have done in the first place: I started frantically researching the problem to see if others were in the same boat. And it turns out that many people have problems with intermittent air conditioning – not only with the Kia Soul, but also with other makes and models . And the same advice came up again and again: try giving the front center console a good kick. You’d think we’d come out of an era where devices were simple enough that hitting them would make them work, but I had nothing to lose other than a $1,000 repair cost, so I gave it a try. (Well, technically I punched hard; I was stopped at a red light and couldn’t get good leverage to punch.) The fan motor instantly turned on and a blast of cold air filled the car.
The lesson here is twofold: 1) when in doubt, take advice online before spending big bucks on repairs, and 2) sometimes a kick, slap or punch can really solve the problem.
Refer to the collected wisdom of the Internet
I’m not saying that the mechanic who told me I needed a new blower motor was trying to rip me off. Assuming he actually checked all the electrical problems he claimed he checked, then “motor faulty” seems like a logical conclusion. But as someone who drives a 12-year-old car (a cheapskate), I wanted to exhaust my options more thoroughly before spending a ton of money on someone else’s best guess. Because even with experience and knowledge, some mechanics, when faced with a problem that could take hours to properly diagnose, simply rely on their intuition . And sure, maybe fixing them would work, but that doesn’t mean it was the cheapest option or even necessary.
In this case, my research revealed many other Kia owners who had experienced similar problems with the air conditioning: the air was blowing cold, but only sometimes. Our symptoms did not match descriptions of a failed fan motor, which is usually accompanied by strange noises, smells, and a gradual decrease in airflow . And many of these hot and sweaty people commented that giving their car a good spanking would solve the problem. It turned out that the collective wisdom of a group of frustrated people was more helpful than the opinion of one mechanic who didn’t have all day to study my problem and find a solution that would make him the least amount of money.
Typically, in these situations, I seek advice from both experts and non-professionals, and the Internet is full of both. Here are some good tactics to help you find what you’re looking for:
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Find your problem on Google + Reddit, which will take you to any existing communities where people are discussing the problems you’re facing.
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Look for forums designed specifically for owners of what gives you headaches. In my case it was Kia Soul Forums .
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Google your problem +YouTube to find (possibly) helpful repair videos, although finding a truly helpful video can be a challenge.
Just as turning to WebMD every time you have a stomach ache can convince you that you’re dying when you just ate a bad taco, the recovery suggestions you get online won’t always be correct, but if they simple enough to try. You can do it yourself (by crashing into something; by replacing a cheap part). In a worst-case scenario, you can take your research to a certified repair technician to help them more expertly diagnose the problem.
Also: unless your need for repairs is dire, a second opinion or at least a brief cooling-off period (no pun intended) is never a bad idea. (Anyway, the second mechanic quoted me $300 for the same repair, but I’m glad I haven’t spent that much yet.)
Why did the air conditioner start up in my car due to the impact?
So why did hitting the center console damage my air conditioner? I don’t know – and no one on the Internet knows either. Those who suggested this were either following the advice of others (one said the Kia technician at his dealership told him to try it) or are apparently just well versed in a proven method of tinkering with your vehicle until it starts working. .
Possible causes included a loose wire , a melted or otherwise faulty connection , a grounding problem , and, yes, a faulty fan motor , all of which can be temporarily fixed with a small bump. However, without deeper diagnostics it is difficult to say. Many of these forum threads contain suggestions on how to explore the issue further. Maybe I’ll do this someday when just clicking stops working.