BimmerJeeper

I think my AC doesn't work. Seems to just blow regular air. Hard to tell in the winter. What simple steps can I take in troubleshooting this?
Is this a good way to start? *If I find a problem here, great, but I am not going to be doing any big ticket AC repairs for a winter beater.

I turned on the cold engine, put on the blower, and turned it to the blue snowflake and cold air.
The electric fan did not come on. Engine was on for about 10-15 seconds.
I did hear a slight gurgling near the AC compressor after I shut off the motor. What can I deduce from this??

I read somewhere that fuse #10 in the kickpanel is "not used" in the 1998 manual,
yet people have plugged in a 15A fuse and suddenly their AC started working.
Have you heard this? Any truth to this??

Otherwise, here are the other fuses I think are involved with the AC.
Should I just replace the relays? What's the part number for these?

Engine Bay Fuse Box (PDC)
Radiator Fan Relay
AC Compressor Clutch Relay
Fuse #5 (Radiator Fan relay)
Fuse #9 AC Clutch Relay

Engine Bay Fuse Box (PDC)

CCKen

First thing you should do is check the Freon charge in your system It sounds like it may be too low to activate the Low Pressure Cycling Switch, on top of the Accumulator.

You can get a cheapo servicing set up (hose, gauge, connector/valve) at O'reilly or Advance auto parts to check the pressure. The gauge is connected to the low pressure port in the AC tubing near the accumulator. You may have to detach the electrical connector from the LPCW and jumper the two pin sockets in the connector inorder to activate the A/C system.

Once the connector is jumpered, start the engine and select AC and turn your HVAC blower on. The AC clutch should pull in and pressure should resister on the gauge. The Radiator Electric Fan should run.

If the clutch pulls in but no pressure registers on the gauge, immediately shut the AC off. Without Freon in the system the compressor will shell out in short order.

If the system works and the pressure in the system registers in the safe area on the gauge, the LPCW may be defective. Or the high pressure switch is open (rare).

If the clutch doesn't pull in and the fan doesn't run, then you can start looking for defective fuses, relay, or wiring.

CCKen

Pic of the Low Pressure Cycling Switch jumper. The black cap next to the connector is the low pressure port where you would connect your pressure gauge.

BimmerJeeper

Thanks for the photo.
Advice useless without it.
A few questions for you.

"cheapo servicing set up"

1) Do you have a proper name I can search with?
What is the kit called at Autozone/HarborF?

2) What exactly is the low pressure PORT?
Your naming was a bit inconsistent.
You only have low press SWITCH and low press SWITCH CONNECTOR labelled.
Is it the thing on the left or the right, in the photo?

3) How much pressure should I see on the gauge? Just a green "good" area? (Like a battery tester?)

4) What do you mean by "AC clutch should pull in" ?
I have no idea what this is, or what it will look like.
Do the fan belts start spinning? Do you have a photo?
If not, please explain in as much detail as physically possible about what you mean by "AC clutch should pull in" ?


I already know my fan does not run with the AC turned on.
So, all I am testing in your scenario is if the LPCW/LPSC/LPCS (you used all 3 names for the thing on the right) is defective.
If the AC starts working with the jumper, then the switch is defective. If it does not, then it's something else, like the fuses. Right?

This seems like a lot of trouble and expense to do before testing simple fuses and relays.
Are you sure this is that much more common than blown fuses? Seems easier to test them first.

$50 just to test the AC switch? Ugh. For $50, frankly, I'd rather pay a real mechanic $50 to diagnose all this himself.
http://www.harborfreight.com/a-c-man...set-92649.html

CCKen

Just check your fuses then take it to a shop to have the servicing checked.

BimmerJeeper

What do you mean by "AC clutch should pull in" ?

00jeepXJ

the clutch is magnetic. When it's off the pulley spins freely, when it's on the clutch is pulled in and onto the pulley itself starting the a/c compressor.

BimmerJeeper

Wait, so does the serpentine belt actually move along with the pulley that is being pulled in? Doesn't that make the belt askew? How can the belt not slip off if the pulleys are now diagonal from each other?

BimmerJeeper

Anyone have a video of the AC clutch "pulling in"?
I have no idea where it is, or what that means.

RTorrez1

Your ac clutch in in the middle of the ac pulley. When the ac is off the center of the pulley (the Clutch) will not be spun with the belt. If the ac is on and it is working correctly the center of the pulley (again the Clutch) will spin at the same speed an the belt. Hope this helps.

Turbo X_J

Youtube does:

BimmerJeeper

Ok, got it!

So, when I turn on the AC, that inner pulley should engage.
Let me go check that now.

In the video, was the guy turning his AC on and off?
It will engage it immediately?

Turbo X_J

No, system probably had low refrigerant so the compressor clutch was cycling to keep from damaging the compressor.

DieselDaze

let me see if I understand this.... you checked your A/C last winter, went through the whole summer without it and now at the beginning of winter a year later you've decided to start working on it again??

BimmerJeeper

Ok, I finally got around to checking this. My AC clutch does not function like the video. It did not engage when I turned the AC on (by moving the HVAC **** to the blue snowflake on the left) I can see the bolts on the pulley in both settings.

So, the next step is to try to examine the fuses?