Corvette C5 Common Problems

Common C5 Corvette Problems | Southern Car Parts

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Solve Common C5 Corvette Problems

If you own a 1997-2004 Corvette and like to drive it a lot, chances are you are going to run into some common C5 Corvette problems. Like all cars, some problems are self-explanatory, quick fixes and other problems can give you a headache when searching for a solution and parts to fix your problem. Here, Southern Car Parts will explore four common problems you might be experiencing with your C5 Corvette that we can help you fix: climate control problems, electrical problems, power seat problems and automatic transmission problems.

C5 Climate Control Problems

If your C5 Corvette climate control problems consist of not getting cold air when you want, before you do anything else, check and see if your air conditioner needs to be charged.

Here are some common problems you might encounter with your C5 climate control and some solutions that might help.

• A common problem, but a tough problem to find a solution to is one side of your dual climate control works properly and the other side only blows out hot air. If you have changed your head unit recently, you could have a defective head unit or certain connections may not have been connected or connected wrong during installation. Check for proper installation or take your Corvette to whoever installed the head unit, if all is connected properly then the head unit was bad to begin with.

• If you are having inconsistent airflow issues, you could be experiencing out of sync blend door problems. This is a pretty simple fix. Pull the correct fuses (found in the owners manual) and reset the codes. If that doesn’t work you can try this little trick: set the heat on high, shut the car off, discount the battery on the negative side, wait five minutes, reconnect and see if your problem has gone away. If you still have the problem, try setting the air conditioner on high and repeat the same process. (If the problem still doesn’t go away, read below.)

• If your experiencing an air conditioning issue on one side of the cabin, whereas one side works perfectly fine, but the other side only blows out hot air - or you are experiencing an issue where both sides of the cabin can only go to 100% airflow or no airflow at all but nothing in between, it is probably your blend door actuators. The blend door actuators are part of the electrical system that takes commands from the head unit and controls the blend doors/flaps to ensure the proper temp and amount of airflow is being sent to the cabin per your adjustments.

• What if you're not getting any air pressure at all? This could be one of two problems. The one problem is mentioned above, but before you even think about replacing your actuators, you need to check to see and make sure you are getting proper vacuum. It’s common for vacuum hoses to crack, split, fall off their connections, or even during the process of repairing something else, a hose gets taken off but never gets put back on. Without proper vacuum, you won’t get the pressure you need to run your climate control properly.

• The most common of all C5 Corvette climate control problems is compressor failure due to leakage. This is a less harder problem to find for if you can find the compressor, you can visually inspect the compressor for fluid leakage. The compressor is the workhorse of your A/C so it makes sense that it would go bad from time-to-time. How can you tell if it is going bad without looking under the hood? Slowly but surely your A/C just won’t blow out cool air anymore.

C5 Corvette Electrical Problems

When it comes to these common C5 Corvette problems, you’ll find they usually fit into two different categories: small easy fixes and big headaches you don’t want to deal with.

• If your car doesn’t crank, some might think it is an electrical problem, but 95% of the time it is 1 of 3 hardware issues: battery, starter or alternator. Some very simple test can be performed to check and see what part/s are giving you the problem, and all three are very easy replacement projects.

• The most common issues you are going to run across when it comes to C5 Corvette electrical problems are bad grounds. Your C5 Corvette comes with 13 different chassis ground points around the car, all of which are subject to corrosion or coming loose causing a bad connection. If you are having electrical problems that can’t seem to be solved by anything else, you should do a chassis ground clean. It takes about 20 mins to locate and discount each ground around your whole Corvette. Here’s the important part - don’t just clean up the metal and the connector, take apart the whole connector and clean inside and out. This is a straightforward process and a much more thorough way to do the job for a better outcome.

• Another common issue you might notice that has nothing to do with grounds is a faulty fuel gauge reading that gets more faculty as your Corvette gets hot. A lot C5 Vettes that get driven a lot can experience a gummed up fuel sending unit. If you experience this issue, get it cleaned or have it replaced, then use Seafoam or a similar product in your gas tank every 5,000 miles.