Working on my youth ministers Cherokee Sport. Replaced a window regulator and aux. cooling fan. He mentioned that the air conditioning hasn't worked for quite some time. After washing off the motor, I turned the a/c on with the motor running and it worked fine. I turned it off and it sat for about an hour. I went inside to boast to my wife that I fixed the a/c. (Probably my mistake) Upon returning to the Jeep and trying out the a/c, it will not work. I jumped out the low pressure switch to get the compressor to cycle but the clutch will not engage. The compressor turns over by hand so it is not seized. I jumped 12 volts to the clutch and it still will not engage. I checked resistance through the clutch and read about 6.oo meg ohms. Can a person replace just the clutch? Thanks for any help.

 

Is ground present ?

 

You can replace just the clutch, though a new one costs nearly the same as a new compressor. You can also just replace the clutch faceplate (or remove a few shims) if you suspect the airgap has grown too large between the faceplate and compressor. If it's too large the magnet won't "catch" the clutch and allow it to engage.