nvirish

I can't take it anymore...too hot outside. Last summer my ac would work great for about 30 min then the volume of air coming through the vents would slow down. I would keep it off for a little and then it would start blowing strong again. Now this summer I have no AC at all and the compressor will not come on. I can spin the clutch on the compressor. Is there a way to force it to come on to narrow it down to maybe a pressure switch or something. Please help this fat man keep cool!

I did take it to a shop to get the refrigerant levels checked and he put a vacuum on the system and recharged it. He mentioned that the pressure seems to be too high even after he filled it with the proper amount.

jhenson

Thats a definite sign of low charge on 134. There's a leak somewhere.

firestorm

Ditto. Probably the evaporator, I just had mine done.

nvirish

what is an indicator of low charge? The shop that tested it said that it was holding the pressure and thinks that there might be a clog in the system somewhere. wouldn't the pressure go down if there was a leak?

1-2-3

If it was fully charged, and has a clogged orifice tube, the compressor would come on, pump for some time, then hit it's high limit switch and turn off. If it were low, the compressor might come on, then cycle of and on rapidly, or not come on at all. A good shop will tell you exactly what's gong on. If someone thinks it might be a problem, get another shop. With a set a gauges on it, and someone reading them that knows what they are doing, they will tell you for sure what it is, especially a clog. Remember, it's a close system so it aint gonna just get some dirt or something in it to clog it. Something has to come apart to become a blockage. It'll either be compressor parts or dryer/accumulator innards.

nvirish

well I just took it to another shop and they said that I need a new compressor. It is getting 12v but it is not coming on so the clutch is bad. They also want to replace the accumulator and orafice tube, is this necessary? total 890.00

Spooler

Accumulator/Dryer is a yes. The orafice tube is a maybe depending on if it has metal in it. All you may need is a clutch assembly. The coil may be bad. Hard to say if you need anything else without seeing the pressures when it was running and making sure you radiaotor and CAC is not clogged full of junk.

zulusafari

I just received a clutch coil and clutch parts kit from a vendor going by Mooon101 on eBay. I read in another thread here that the TIPM sends a certain current to the coil, and if the coil requires over a certain amperage to engage, it throws a code and doesn't pull in the clutch. My coil has a short in it, so it isn't high amp draw causing my issue, but you might want to see if you can get the clutch to engage with 12 volt current direct from the battery. Search for the thread that has details for hooking up a relay to drive the AC Compressor clutch, getting its signal from the TIPM, but only drawing a fraction of the current.

A new coil and parts ran me approx. $60.00 with shipping, and I can change it in my driveway without evacuating the system. If you have a trashed compressor and blockage somewhere, this isn't the fix for you, but if it is just the clutch coil, give it a shot!

jhenson

That's a mighty steep price for those parts. Did my compressor (new Sanden unit from O'Reillys), cold line, and dryer for about $350. Had they system charged for $75. Has blown ice cold now for 2 yrs.