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P0171, No AC, No engine fan, runs rough higher engine temps
Problems/Service/RepairsIf you have a problem with your HHR, want a tip on repairing or performing a particular service to you HHR here is the place to post!
Which one are you ordering? Your ‘06 should be the 400 version.
There should be a VIN sticker on the timing chain end of the valve cover.
it calls for the 400, it seemed extremely tight, tighter then I ever remember on any vehicle with an automatic tensioner. The tensioner has 0 play when car is running.
Originally Posted by donbrew
In the remote chance the paper tag is still on the end of the head with the broadcast numbers on it. Most references claim a partial VIN is stamped near the oil filter housing or the starter flange, on a 2006 the partial number should be 16S then the sequence number of the VIN. A valve on the upper coolant hose housing would indicate from a different model (most HHR comes with a bolt in the hole, or no hole).
Most junkyards leave yellow marker numbers.
Looked and I didnt see the markings on the oil filter area bor the starter. Starter one may be present but cant access it right this moment.
My timing cover/valve cover did have the sticker and says its from 2/21/2006 if im reading that right. Side of my door says 03/06 which I imagine is close enough as these companys usually round up or down.
the place I got the car from had a spare used starter when I needed one and it was tbe later model year that had the connector for the signal wire, not the nut. So it just made me start thinking if they transplanted a later year motor and used parts off of the old one.
I remember reading something about the clutch compressor being either a triangle or square pattern. Would that indicate a year of the compressor/clutch? I seen a post on here, someone had the wrong belt and ended up needing a 405 belt.
Rebuilding my Alternator and seen these numbers on the alt. I rebuild them and starters for fun and turning alternators into motors. Number shows it fit a 2006 but that doesnt satisfy me. Going to remove fan tommorow and get a clear view of starter and oil housing.
reading through this post I realize the car and some of it's issues sounds just like mine - but mine with slightly fewer miles. For others who happen to be reading through this post years later like me and might have similar issues with their AC not working. I learned with mine that it stopped working when the cooling fan failed. Scrolling through the dash menu button while at a light i'd see that ruh-oh! the engine is now at 198 or 203 or something and realized that the cooling fan was not running. The analog temperature gauge is very vague compared to the digital readout.
If the cooling fan isn't running, the AC compresor won't kick on either. Later after replacing the cooling fan i had working ac again for a while, then not. Turned out after trouble shooting many of the same things he did it came down to a simple short in the connector to the cooling fan. Well, actually the old cooling fan was dead too. Intermittent problems caused by broken electrical connections has to be one of the most frustrating things on modern cars.
I ended up cutting off the old connector and soldering in a new one from the harness to the cooling fan connection and that solved it for about a year. and no more overheating while the car wasn't moving either. Turned out that someone had put a 2 foot extension wire to the cooling fan and the original connection - say what? and apparently that wasn't where the actual short was, just through vibrations from driving the real short was at the original connection point so that job had to be redone. Why a mechanic would do that and not charge or tell me is beyond me.
