Hello, I have a problem with my A/C clutch.

I've gone through these forums to try and figure out whats wrong with it, but my knowledge of A/C is very very little and I keep getting confused, so I'll lay down whats going on with it.

My A/C clutch seems to pick and choose when it turns on and off. Sometimes when I start up my Jeep and I have the A/C on, you can hear a whiny, screeching sound that increases as your rev it up, then cuts out about 30 seconds later. It'll blow cold air, however. Other times, nothing happens, and you have no A/C.

I mess around with it just to see what happens, and sometimes I'll get the clutch to engage (I'll hear the click and the clutch is turning), but as soon as I switch off the A/C, I can't get it to re-engage. I honestly have no clue where to start to try and fix this. Is it a bad clutch, relay, low pressure switch?

My Jeep is a '98 XJ Sport 4.0L.

Any help with this is greatly appreciated.

 

If clutch is not engaged and you tap the outer clutch what happens? Screeching sounds like loose or bad belt.

 

This you symptoms...

 

So I took the advice here and tried pushing on the clutch while the A/C was turned on, and it engaged. As well, while the A/C is running, I pulled the relay and put in back in while watching the clutch, and I can see the clutch trying to engage, it's just not pushing in far enough. So all I need to do is remove a shim?

Edit: As well, when I push in the clutch to engage it, it'll screech for a bit then stop. As well, it'll blow cold air for a bit then quit (I noticed this on my drive home today)

 

Ok, so I followed the advice in that video and took out a shim, and boy, she's ice cold now. That was a lot simpler than I thought it was going to be. Thanks for the help everyone

 

Cool beans

 

I'll have to investigate this. I recently recharged my AC after jumping the compressor at the low pressure switch and it was ice cold. Now, the compressor has had terrible belt squeal intermittently, and it also makes a really loud and scary vibration/sound. I haven't tinkered with it much, but I'm hoping it's just a belt issue..

 

Nice find on the video. I will be doing this soon. Have the same symptoms, blows cold but when it gets too hot like sitting in traffic or a drive thru, it'll die out but then somehow come back on again a ways up the road.

 

I did this to my renix been going strong for about two months now.