A/C off for engine protection

**tcullums** · 07-22-2009

My wife pulled up to our mailbox this evening, and a light came on that said "A/C off for engine protection".

Any ideas why this happened?

Any advice would be welcome.

**silverstreak** · 07-22-2009

Originally Posted by tcullums

My wife pulled up to our mailbox this evening, and a light came on that said "A/C off for engine protection".

Any ideas why this happened?

Any advice would be welcome.

Sounds like the car was getting to hot. Never heard of such a light.

TDCRacing · 07-22-2009

Me either.

**LSXHP** · 07-22-2009

Overheating would be my guess. Most cars when they overheat the pcm shuts off the ac.

**tcullums** · 07-23-2009

OK, here is an update...

It was on the display, not a light (sorry about that).

After checking a few things, and letting the car cool off, I discovered that the coolant level was low (not sure why).

I topped it off, and then took it for a drive. Everything seems to be fine for now (at least as far as the overheating anyway).

I need to find where the coolant is going, but at least I got to the root of the overheating.

**Liquifire** · 07-23-2009

Did you check what the oil looks like? I hope it is OK for your sake. What year and model do you have? How many miles?

**tcullums** · 07-23-2009

Originally Posted by Liquifire

Did you check what the oil looks like? I hope it is OK for your sake. What year and model do you have? How many miles?

Oil looks fine (not milky or over full indicating leakage into the oil).

It is a 2006 Grand Prix GT (3.8L Supercharged engine) with ~86,000 miles.

So far this is the only major issue I have had with this car. The coolant was low, and I am going to inspect very closely this weekend to see if I can find any external leakage in the cooling system.

I will post back if I find anything of note.

**Liquifire** · 07-26-2009

if your oil is OK and your not blowing white smoke, external leak or water pump would be where I started looking for leaks..........not sure if your model is prone to leaks like the earlier models near the water pump in the coolant elbows but It wouldnt hurt to start there.........obviously check all hose lines..........etc.

**tcullums** · 08-12-2009

OK, update time.

There was an external leak (water pump seal) which was causing all of this trouble. It progressively got worse to the point I was able to pinpoint the leak location, and I am tearing into it this weekend.

Any threads on replacing the waterpump for the 3.8L Supercharged engine? It looks simple enough, but not sure if there is something I should know that is not easily apparent.

Any help or link would be appreciated.

**Liquifire** · 08-12-2009

I am not sure of a link, but it is not that difficult. Assuming that you have the coolant elbows, replace them while you are in there.

**Liquifire** · 08-12-2009

there are no write ups on this in the how to section........someone will have to chime in who has done this..

**Jleggions** · 01-06-2017

Originally Posted by Liquifire

if your oil is OK and your not blowing white smoke, external leak or water pump would be where I started looking for leaks..........not sure if your model is prone to leaks like the earlier models near the water pump in the coolant elbows but It wouldnt hurt to start there.........obviously check all hose lines..........etc.

Mines just started doing all that would you know what that will be that's causing it?

**DRP92TA** · 09-20-2017

My a/c off for engine protection came on right after had a tune up, and my temp gauge isn't working.

**Swiggles** · 09-21-2017

Perhaps the coolant sensor isn't plug in or broke during the tune up

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