Let me start off by saying I am new here and have been lurking for sometime. My name is Jimmy and I got my first HHR last year and I am addicted.

Just also want to say Oldblue and Donbrew, you guys are amazing and my time lurking, I have learned a LOT about these cars and looking forward to interacting with you and the knowledgeable people here.

This may be a lengthy post and I appologize but I feel I need to bundle everything in one because of my timeline of owning this car and basically no issues up until a few months ago and I suspect it could all tie in together some how.

I have 2006 2.2 LT and it just hit 200k miles last month. I am looking into getting a complete Cloyes kit in the future as I have no idea about the history of the vehicle. Parts that have been replaced was a battery, tierods, starter, oil pressure sensor, serpentine belt, tensioner and I put a 240amp high output alternator on.

I currently have Dexcool, a GM thermostat and AC Delco plugs I plan on doing as maintenance soon as I can find my issue. I am anal about throwing random new parts on hoping it will fix an issue. I want to know WHY it failed and learn how to prevent it.

I am huge into car audio and feel like I need to give every detail I can and not omit any information as it could be why my issues have started. I have a 40ah lto lithium battery ran parrallel with my stock AGM. I left all the stock wires in place and ran my power and ground as no reason to touch them when electricity takes the least path of resistance. I did remove the stock ground location in the back, ran my ground from battery, through the sense wire and grounded to under the back seat. I am saying this because maybe im missing something about these cars and that ground location needs to be hooked up regardless.

My car never went over 205 degrees until I feel I had the high output Alternator, tensioner and a new belt put on (napa 25-050400 5pk1016). The alternator company said I should put a half inch shorter belt on due to a slightly pully and they told me 050400 for the smaller belt but when I looked up my car and year, it called for the 050400 as stock and I have no idea a way I can tell if my belt is loose or to tight. I will be attaching a picture of the belt as it has lines running all the way around. It seemed like after those parts were put on the tenperature would start going higher and I assumed it was because of the alternator or because it put a crack in my flex pipe causing it to slightly get hotter.


My p0171 code started happening about 2 months ago. I noticed while im sitting, I am getting a exhaust smell which is a sign I a have a cracked flex pipe. I have to figure a better way to diagnose it as I live on dirt so its not possible to always get under. My serpentine belt tensioner is sitting low through the access hole instead of center like ive read it should be. My motor mount is worn out which was most likely the cause and I am working on getting one in soon as I order and get all my parts in order. I will also be inspecting my Evap Purge and return lines for leaks and clean the MAF. That just made me think, is the tensioner bolt supposed to be in the center of the hole while sitting on the ground or when its lifted up?

I noticed my AC and Fan are not coming on the other day, my AC just stopped working. I feel as if something is telling my AC not to work. When I click the AC button, I dont hear the compressor engaging. I checked all relays and fuses and the Diode, they all function. I can jump the relay spot under the hood and turn the fan on and I can jump tbe compressor and it comes on. Fan wise, I have to check if I have the Diode inside the harness by the plug. Ac wise I need to check my compressor pressure switch to see of its getting power. I was looking through hours of diagrams posted by donbew and I was trying to see what conditions need to be met and where it grounds at so I can try to better pinpoint the issue. I read that if it takes X time to reach a certain temp, the AC or fan won't work. My temperature reads and never shows lines so I dont suspect it's the coolant temp sensor. I dont know if my fan will come on at 217 degrees, I am scared to let it sit that long. I noticed I had residue around my coolant cap so replaced as it was probably not pressuring. Coolant level looks good cold except I was assuming and my coolant recovery tank is probably 4 inches from being full. I am going to drain it and put the proper level in when I do this thermostat. I am hoping my thermostat ia being stuck open or something but I dont see why a stuck open thermostat would overheat the car, I figure it would cool it down. On the Hvac control in the waterfall, would there be a reason something is not connecting and causing my compressor not to turn on? I will get the high and low side checked after I rule the basics out.

Ive pressed everyfuse and every relay in the BCM and fuse box under the hood making sure everything is seated properly. I dont know where else to check for potential issues. Ive been beating my head amd things haven't made sense to me. Ive spent countless hours on here looking at threads, post, wiring diagrams and overall things im missing. I am doing my thermostat today as its showing signs of sticking and I am trying to slowly get this car back in order.

Sorry for the long post, if you are reading this, thank you so much for taking the time. Looking forward to growing with the people who have knowledge, I love learning. I will upload pictures of my belt and the lines im talking about.

 

You are on the right track for the P0171.

Do you mean the blower or the radiator cooling fan

 

Welcome to the site, first off , the code

https://www.obd-codes.com/p0171

as we see in the possible causes, the MAF sensor might need cleaning or replacing.
There might be an exhaust leak before the catalytic converter.
I’m thinking the increase in temperature may be due to the water pump worn out or the balance shaft chain, which drives the pump is broken. Remote possibility.
There might also be low fuel pressure. You can rent a fuel pressure test kit from most parts palaces. 55 to 60 psi is good.
for your HHR I recommend Cloyes 9-4201S and 9-4202S chain kit or if you are replacing the water pump, then order their 9-4201SWP kit

don’t forget the discount code for RockAuto

https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/supp...-2021-a-61707/

 

to the forums!

Fix the P0171, your AC will probably start working again.

Changing the belt did not crack the flex pipe, nor cause the engine to run hotter.

Sitting on the ground, or on a lift, the position of the bolt will not change. Only replacing the mount will help.

Slightly pulley?

 

Radiator fan. Sorry I haven't responded. Just back from the tire well. I guess I have more issues than I thought. I was looking around the crankshaft area with cover off checking to see if anything was rubbing the belt and I noticed the engne below the timing chain was leaking oil and maybe 1/4 inch from I think the frame? I can see telhe transmission mount almost completely gone and it scares me because hitting bumps I may have cracked something. Getting dark now which kinda sucks but tommorows a new day.

Blower moter, heat and all that work except when I hit tje AC button, it lights up but no engagement of the compressor. You posted a diagram before of the control panel and I seen that when you click ac it sends a signal. Looking on the diagram I cant tell if the ac button would light up but not complete the connection?

I am a huge fan of your knowledge bro. If you ever post a wiring schematic, ill follow it to a T.

 

Yes sir! Working on that code as we speak. I am anal when it comes to planning and being prepared. So I do a lot of research. I seen Rockauto had one left last night. Going to snag it.

That's why I am ordering the kit when it comes to the water pump potentially being worn out, no idea what has or hasnt been done. Ill be checking valve train internals and chain tension tommorow. Would do more but MAF is drying and I need good light to examine the rubber hoses and rubber surrounding the intake to check for signs of leaking or cracking.

 

I posted the picture of the belt because with it being brand new with a tensioner, it shouldnt have marks like that unless it was twisted which I verified its correct or there is so much tension the grooves of the pullys are indenting through the bottom. And if that was the case, I feared my clutch got worn out from to much pressure. The AC just stopped working porbably 3 days ago? That's when I noticed fan wasnt on. The cracked flex pipe I believe came from a failing engine mount when the guy put the alternator on. I didnt know he did it from the ground so basically jacked up on the motor and a possibility he caused it to break. I believe I started noticing the fumes right around that time.

 

Having that code can disable the AC.

There is no reason to jack up the engine for a simple alternator change. It comes out the top on my SS, because the charge piping is under it. Not sure if it will go out the bottom on an LS/LT. I just changed mine, it wasn't as easy as I expected, but not too bad.

" I was looking around the crankshaft area with cover off checking to see if anything was rubbing the belt and I noticed the engne below the timing chain was leaking oil and maybe 1/4 inch from I think the frame? I can see telhe transmission mount almost completely gone" What does all this mean? What cover did you remove? What transmission mount are you seeing near the timing chain?

 

First:: does the cooling fan come on at 219F?
Is there a click sound when you push the button? Does the clutch engage?
Did the AC stop working immediately after the alternator install? Check the wiring to the refrigerant pressure switch; it is very near the alternator.

 

Did my post omit information? I only ask because I thought I detailed everything on my post. When I press the AC button, no engine change nor the clutch engaging. Relay and fuses tested good both Underhood and in the BCM. As I said my AC just now started doing this 3 or so days ago. Ive seen the car has to reach a temperature within a time frame or it disables the AC. I honestly do not know if it comes on at 219. I said I was scared to find out because ive never gone over 205 typically so its all newish to me. I was thinking open thermostat but wouldn't I see flow even when cold? I will check the pressure switch in the morning and with it, take cap off and let it run to 219 to check.