coloradoinsane

Hey everyone, new to the forum and figured I'd get some advice. The AC works great for anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes. After that time the AC clutch kicks off and doesn't turn back on for an extended period of time. Checked the freon pressure on the low side when the compressor is running and it says up in the 45-50 psi range so I jumped the low pressure switch to see if it's malfunctioning but it doesn't kick the compressor back on. Where do I go from here? Thanks for the time!

coloradoinsane

Any A/C experts out there?

kennzz05

45 to 50 is pretty high on the low side, my guess is its overcharged and is going off on hi pressure
with a semi cooled down interior and at like 1000 rpm you should be in the 25 psi range
did you just charge it recently? it also helps if you put a good fan in front of the trucks radiator while youre checking pressures that way its more like you driving it down the road

make sure the electric rad. fan is working too

whitefirexj

I just had my ac fixed in my 98 and it was the same symptoms great for a while then it would get warm it ended up being the ground to the compressor

coloradoinsane

The 45 psi is with 100 degree temps outside, and yea I recently vacuumed it down and charged it with the correct amount (I have a digital A/C manifold that has the lbs programed in). I also checked the electric fan, it does stay engaged until the comp. Kicks off.

coloradoinsane

I will take a look at that, I will just run a jumper wire straight from the batt. To the plug and see what happpens

coloradoinsane

No luck with the ground wire

coloradoinsane

Any other things I can check?

coloradoinsane

Anyone?

e30

you have a bad comp clutch ....test to make sure you are getting power at the comp, you can even run a jumper wire to test, if the clutch still wont engauge "test after your clutch has stopped" then you most likely have a bad clutch i had the same exact problem with my xj it would last for the same amount of time and then not work, its cheaper to buy a whole comp with clutch then just buy a new clutch. i got lucky and found a brand new comp at the junk yard for $60

coloradoinsane

I had figured that since the coolin fan turns off at the same time as the a/c compressor that it must have been the computer turning the a/c comp. Off. I will test the hot going to it when it stops working and see if there is any juice going to it then. Thanks for the reply, I will let u know

coloradoinsane

I had tested it once already by jumpering the wire when I was checking the ground and it kicked on right away. I went ahead and tried again and what do ya know, it wouldn't engage this time! Replaced comp. And its back to normal working good! Thanks for the ideas guys, I'm more of a suspension guy than a/c!

neatus

I had the same problem. Many of the solutions on here are possible but if the a/c works ice cold for a little while and then just stops working after the vehicle is up to temp then try this if you have a Sanden A/C compressor. Sometime the cluth gets a little worn and the air gap between it and the magnet gets to big. If your remove the clutch from the compressor and take out one of the shims it may bring it back into spec. Here is a video of how to do it. Best thing is that you dont have to buy any parts.