[sojudrinker]

The A/C of my brand new Giulia Ti started to malfunction in Day 1.
A/C supplies hot air even with the lowest possible temperature setup. Also, the temperature sensor says it is -4 F. Yesterday it was -14 F with the same hot air. The sensor occasionally shows a valid number like 74 F but mostly a negative number.

https://youtu.be/gfBRI4ad0ig

The dealership said that it's temperature sensor problem and they ordered the mirror which contains the temperature sensor. Anyone had the same issue?

 

[AlfaRomeoCares]

The A/C of my brand new Giulia Ti started to malfunction in Day 1.
A/C supplies hot air even with the lowest possible temperature setup. Also, the temperature sensor says it is -4 F. Yesterday it was -14 F with the same hot air. The sensor occasionally shows a valid number like 74 F but mostly a negative number.

https://youtu.be/gfBRI4ad0ig

The dealership said that it's temperature sensor problem and they ordered the mirror which contains the temperature sensor. Anyone had the same issue?

Hi sojudrinker,

Sorry to hear about your concerns with your Giulia. Please don't hesitate to send us a PM with any questions or concerns that may arise during your dealership appointment, we're happy to assist if needed!

Andrea
Alfa Romeo Social Care Specialist

 

[FNM]

that sucks, hopefully it'll be solved at speed. Let us know

 

[aenima396]

I think I am about to find out my car has the same issue. I drove into work today and the temp read 46 degrees. It is like 90 outside. Thought it was odd. I will see if my car fixes itself after sitting for awhile.

 

[aenima396]

Issue corrected itself. Car worked fine last night and this morning. Good deal!

 

[Lowflyer]

Issue corrected itself. Car worked fine last night and this morning. Good deal!

Interesting....I wonder if temp sensor under the right mirroe is termistor or an IR sensor...IR is basically optical and would have to be clean to work properly

 

[Giovanni Dicesare]

I suffer from various climate control issues... lately ac blows even if temp is set to 73-75

 

[tachman]

I have the exact same issue - glad to hear I'm not alone! I've had my Giulia about 2 months and it's been sporadic - about once every couple weeks and it never lasts more than a day. I'm curious to see if the temperature sensor does the trick.

 

[lockem]

Interesting....I wonder if temp sensor under the right mirroe is termistor or an IR sensor...IR is basically optical and would have to be clean to work properly

I thought the temperature sensor in the outside mirror is just for measuring the outside temperature. You usually want air temperature for the outside measurement, although "road surface" temperature might be useful if rather tricky to meaningfully measure. There should be a separate sensor for inside temperature. Determining what the people inside the car are experiencing is also tricky since the sun can be shining in a window making a person hot while the car's interior remains cool and the A/C vents can be directed at a person make them cool while the rest of the car is hot. A directional far IR sensor might work for that but far IR sensors are really tricky because 1) almost everything is opaque to far IR (including glass) and 2) the temperature of the sensor changes the reading. I have a plug-in far IR camera for my phone but the absolute temperature reading it produces is pretty much meaningless. It is useful for determining is this-or-that is warmer or cooler than the stuff next to it. It might be useful for determining if my tires are properly inflated (I haven't tried that yet). Another complication is that when pointed as a reflective item (such as glass or metal) it reads the temperature of the object in the reflection rather than the temperature of the object doing the reflecting.

My far IR camera has a focus-able lens, which is made from some exotic but inexpensive compound (not glass) that has a yellow-ish color to it. Silicon (elemental) is clear to far IR and is traditionally used for high-end far IR camera lenses (silicon is pitch black to optical light), but it is notoriously difficult to work with and expensive as a result. There are a few plastics that are translucent to far IR; these are translucent white to optical light. I don't think exposing a far IR sensor directly to the interior of the car would work since it would get damaged by cleaning chemicals and such too easily.

The point here being "what to look for" if the interior mirror has an IR temperature sensor built into it.

Maybe MacGeek knows how the interior temperature is sensed, rather than all of this conjecture.

 

[MacGeek]

Exterior temperature sensor is a thermistor.

Interior cabin temperature sensor is a thermistor as well, and it's on the left of the HVAC control panel, behind a small grille. It has a fan so it can suck air from the cabin.

There's also a solar sensor on the dashboard (that little nub right in the middle, next to the defrost vent), containing two photodiodes, looking left and right.

The HVAC unit also contains four NTC temperature sensors in the air vents, to provide feedback to the control unit, and another "anti-frost" NTC sensor for the A/C evaporator.

There's also a humidity sensor, and, if equipped, an air quality sensor.

 

[Lowflyer]

Thanks for info on thermistor Mac.
Interior sensor arrangement sounds like a pretty standard luxury car automatic A/C setup. In VA our state and local tax stickers in bottom center of the windshield mess a bit with sensors on the dash hence I moved them slightly to the right....if somebody in VA or state with similar arrangement has problems with cooling when sun hits the windshield, that might be a partial cause of the issue

 

[SFG46]

I seem to have come across the AC issue where left middle vent will blow warmer air that the right and the 2 vents in the back of the car, i was told by dealer in the uk its the Ac sensor monitoring the heat, so i test this by lowing do temp dials to low and this did work it was blowing cold air in the vents that were blowing warm air! again this has not happened since may just being a one off issue or it could come back again which i hope it does not!! has anyone else come across this issue?

Also what do you guys in the US mean by the Giulia TI?

Thanks

 

[Sfourza1]

The A/C on my 6-month old Giulia recently stopped cooling twice. Both times were after driving about 2 hours in 90+ heat, and the problem resolved after I stopped, then restarted the engine. And after doing this, in both cases I got the Stop/Start warning symbol, which also resolved after stopping, then restarting the engine. (The Stop/Start function was still working, however.) I haven't driven that long since, and it goes into the dealer Wednesday, I hope. I'll keep you posted.
Don

 

[ibehardnock2001]

I seem to have come across the AC issue where left middle vent will blow warmer air that the right and the 2 vents in the back of the car, i was told by dealer in the uk its the Ac sensor monitoring the heat, so i test this by lowing do temp dials to low and this did work it was blowing cold air in the vents that were blowing warm air! again this has not happened since may just being a one off issue or it could come back again which i hope it does not!! has anyone else come across this issue?

Also what do you guys in the US mean by the Giulia TI?

Thanks

My car has been doing that since day 1!!. If the temperature is set to 70 Fahrenheit all my vents (front left and rear vents) blow hot air with the exception of my right passenger vent. Its never worked and the Dealer cannot find a reason why. I am at a loss.

 

[KCnDCMetro]

The A/C on my 6-month old Giulia recently stopped cooling twice. Both times were after driving about 2 hours in 90+ heat, and the problem resolved after I stopped, then restarted the engine. And after doing this, in both cases I got the Stop/Start warning symbol, which also resolved after stopping, then restarting the engine. (The Stop/Start function was still working, however.) I haven't driven that long since, and it goes into the dealer Wednesday, I hope. I'll keep you posted.
Don

Mine has done this as well. After about 3+ hours of driving in 90+ the interior directional baffles(?) all decide to close and warmer air begins to 'seep' out of the vents despite the fan being on high still. Same solution to get back up and running.

The guy at my dealership said it was due to the AC freezing up... because it was "such an efficient system." If it was so efficient why is it freezing up in the first place? lol! Did you get resolution on this? Our guys don't seem to have a clue how to fix it because they can't replicate it (I am assuming.)

 

[riparke]

Had it quit cooling (fan still blew) once after driving 3hr of a 4 hr trip in 102 degree outside temp. Pulled over on interstate turned off and restarted, no help. Sweating and continuing my trip started to work after about 30 minutes, on its own. Had a bunch of updates done so far has not happened again.

 

[lockem]

Mine has done this as well. After about 3+ hours of driving in 90+ the interior directional baffles(?) all decide to close and warmer air begins to 'seep' out of the vents despite the fan being on high still. Same solution to get back up and running.

The guy at my dealership said it was due to the AC freezing up... because it was "such an efficient system." If it was so efficient why is it freezing up in the first place? lol! Did you get resolution on this? Our guys don't seem to have a clue how to fix it because they can't replicate it (I am assuming.)

OK, so the first big question is if everyone who is having problems had the problem in hot, humid weather?

Evaporator freezing is a problem if the fan is not moving enough air allowing the evaporator to reach freezing temperatures. Some systems have a defrost cycle to avoid extended issues with a freeze up. If the evaporator is frozen and the system is "blend air" (most likely) you will get hot air. If there is no defrost cycle, it will stay frozen for a long time.

In an attempt to improve fuel economy by reducing loading on the Air conditioner Giulia might have a fresh air heat exchanger. This would use the cooled air being exhausted from the cabin to pre-cool the fresh air coming into the cabin. If there is such a unit on the car the pre-cooled air will have an increased chance of reaching freezing temperatures. I have no idea if Giulia has such a system.

 

[riparke]

Mine has done this as well. After about 3+ hours of driving in 90+ the interior directional baffles(?) all decide to close and warmer air begins to 'seep' out of the vents despite the fan being on high still. Same solution to get back up and running.

The guy at my dealership said it was due to the AC freezing up... because it was "such an efficient system." If it was so efficient why is it freezing up in the first place? lol! Did you get resolution on this? Our guys don't seem to have a clue how to fix it because they can't replicate it (I am assuming.)

I been thinking for awhile it was AC freezing up.

 

[SFG46]

My car has been doing that since day 1!!. If the temperature is set to 70 Fahrenheit all my vents (front left and rear vents) blow hot air with the exception of my right passenger vent. Its never worked and the Dealer cannot find a reason why. I am at a loss.

My dealer have told me the same thing, saying its normal! there is clearly and issue here again maybe its software my in going to the dealer next week, i will bring this up again with them and see what say

 

[KCnDCMetro]

After some fiddling I found a workaround: simply set the Air Recirculation button to manual (no indicator light.) Haven't had an issue since. It's a PITA to do this every time I get in the car (along with the Auto Stop/Start button.)

This got me thinking, if the air recirculation has to stay closed for so long to keep the car cool is the A/C even up to the task? ...or is it just never switching open after reaching the set temperature.

Here's to hoping it's a fixable software issue.