2016 Yukon - AC Issue

[Dendox 102]

Wife (no pics) drives a 2016 Yukon - Roughly 60k miles.  5.3L two wheel drive

tried to save money  (read: use E85 gas) about 1.5 months ago - didn't go well. Colder temperatures meant lots of cranking before it would start.  Shortly thereafter, battery sounded weak.  Most of her driving is back and forth to school with kids (.2 of a mile) and to the grocery (1.5 miles).  I put a charger on the battery and it was working fine.

Last week when it warmed up, she calls to tell me the AC is not blowing cold.  busy with work, I ignore it.

Went to start the vehicle on Saturday to move it from the garage for some home projects and it barely started - battery.  Charged it again.  Back to normal.

When running, the battery gauge is sitting dead in the middle.  It idles fine.  Runs fine.  No check engine lights.

If the battery is bad, why does it accept a charge from a stand alone charger?  If alternator is working, why is battery gauge seemingly "normal"?  Why would any of this affect the AC?

is it possible I have something else going on that could affect all of this at one time?  Modern engines with the electronic shit confuses me.  I generally understand concepts based on long forgotten knowledge of regular motors.  

Wife is convinced it is all related to the E85 fuel.  I disagree.  

[Nueces River Rat 5539]

8 minutes ago, Dendox said:

Wife (no pics) drives a 2016 Yukon - Roughly 60k miles.  5.3L two wheel drive

tried to save money  (read: use E85 gas) about 1.5 months ago - didn't go well. Colder temperatures meant lots of cranking before it would start.  Shortly thereafter, battery sounded weak.  Most of her driving is back and forth to school with kids (.2 of a mile) and to the grocery (1.5 miles).  I put a charger on the battery and it was working fine.

Last week when it warmed up, she calls to tell me the AC is not blowing cold.  busy with work, I ignore it.

Went to start the vehicle on Saturday to move it from the garage for some home projects and it barely started - battery.  Charged it again.  Back to normal.

When running, the battery gauge is sitting dead in the middle.  It idles fine.  Runs fine.  No check engine lights.

If the battery is bad, why does it accept a charge from a stand alone charger?  If alternator is working, why is battery gauge seemingly "normal"?  Why would any of this affect the AC?

is it possible I have something else going on that could affect all of this at one time?  Modern engines with the electronic shit confuses me.  I generally understand concepts based on long forgotten knowledge of regular motors.  

Wife is convinced it is all related to the E85 fuel.  I disagree.  

My wife (no pics) USED to have one of these POS..... A 2015  to be exact.

At 38k, the A/C went out.  Soon there after the battery died so that had to be replaced.  We had other minor issues pop up that required service visits.   I did buy an extended warranty which took care of most of the costs, but still stuff like this shouldn't occur so soon in a vehicle's life.   Comparing it to other brands I've owned such as Honda, Ford, and Toyota.  

We traded it in for a Honda Pilot a few months later partly because she wanted to get smaller SUV.  I once swore never to buy GM years ago because of crap happening  before or soon after the basic warranty expired on previous vehciles.  Why we bought another one thinking GM got their crap together was a lesson learned.   I

Edited February 12, 2019 by Nueces River Rat

[Lobwedgephil 1139]

E85 gas can definitely lead to issues starting the car in the cold. No clue about AC issues, but they are common on Tahoe's in that year model. 

[Spur08 382]

Where are you located? I have a mobile mechanic who is really good and affordable. Even if it's just to diagnose

[Dendox 102]

Boerne/San Antonio.  

 

[Baboontyme 2813]

There might be a recall on the AC. I have a 15 Tahoe and it stopped blowing cold air this summer. Took it to the dealer and there was a factory recall on a part and they fixed it all up for no charge.

No idea on the other stuff.

[Rip76 4943]

2014 and on Tahoes and Silverados had issues with the condensers cracking.

 

[Jkwellborn 6709]

Take it to someone to check the battery and alternator. That didn’t have anything to do with the ac.

[crash_davis 23113]

Had a 2015 Tahoe (purchased in 2014).  Had same issues with the battery.  It would die, I would charge it to full, it would then die again in a few weeks.  Did that 2 times, then decided to buy a new battery.  Didn't happen again.  I had noticed my AC wasn't blowing cold air during the time with the bitchass battery.  After I replaced the battery, AC was cold as ice, sorta like my wife's heart.

Don't be a cheap ass.  Buy a new battery.

BTW, I had my Tahoe for 4 years.  Replaced battery twice.  Orig OEM replaced after 2 year with Sears DieHard.  DieHard replaced after 2 years.  Looks like 2 years is the run rate for batteries in Tahoes/Yukons.

Edited February 13, 2019 by crash_davis

[Dendox 102]

AC condenser is bad. Being replaced under warranty (yay!)

 

Battery is good. Alternator good. Wonder if there is something slowly draining battery while it's off?

[Rip76 4943]

Ding ding.

 

[solamente73 1132]

Wife (no pics) drives a 2015.5 Tahoe purchased May 2015.  Replaced battery summer 2018; Internet tells me battery life expectancy in Tahoes is ~3 years. 

AC unit won’t blow cold as of December 2018.  Internet also tells me of massive shitfuckery around AC units on Tahoes and Silverados 2015-2017.  Apparently, GM extended warranty repairs on certain vehicles with certain failures, explained here.  I’m taking the Tahoe in this Monday for service.  I’m gonna hammer as hard as I can - no reason at all why AC should fail after 3.5 years.

Still bullshit.  Gonna look at the Ford Expedition next time around.

[Dendox 102]

ours was just covered by warranty repair - no hammering necessary

[Nueces River Rat 5539]

47 minutes ago, solamente73 said:

Wife (no pics) drives a 2015.5 Tahoe purchased May 2015.  Replaced battery summer 2018; Internet tells me battery life expectancy in Tahoes is ~3 years. 

AC unit won’t blow cold as of December 2018.  Internet also tells me of massive shitfuckery around AC units on Tahoes and Silverados 2015-2017.  Apparently, GM extended warranty repairs on certain vehicles with certain failures, explained here.  I’m taking the Tahoe in this Monday for service.  I’m gonna hammer as hard as I can - no reason at all why AC should fail after 3.5 years.

Still bullshit.  Gonna look at the Ford Expedition next time around.

Yep.....  GM is  STILL a clusterfuck......

The pre 2015 Yukons and Tahoes had issues with the dash boards cracking on top of the usual shit that happens with GM vehicles within the standard warranty period or just right after it expires.  

Why the heck we decided on getting one back in 2014 is lesson learned.   If someone gave me a GM vehicle,  I'd probably trade it in because I don't want to be stuck in the middle of nowhere Texas on a Saturday with issues.   Like I was with a truck in 2007 when the fuel pump farted out at  20k miles.   Should  have  learned my lesson from that experience and when I had an  Olds used car back in the 90's while going to school which still had factory warranty.  At 38k, the battery and alternator farted out.....

My Ford 150's since then have had no issues other than the routine maintence stuff.