Just had the A/C clutch assembly replaced on a 97 cavalier 2.2L. This included the coil and everything... Now the compressor won't engage.. Mechanic said that he did not lose any freon when the thing was changed, the lines were not disconnected at the compressor. The system did work OK before the clutch was replaced, but made a horrible grinding noise when the A/C was not on (putting it on stopped the noise).
I have a gauge for the low pressure side, it shows that the system is full. I next thought the relay that controls the clutch might be bad, and when I jumper around it, the clutch does come on.. In fact after trying that, and then reinstalling the relay, the clutch did start to work correctly with the dash switch for a bit.. But after shutting off the car and restarting it, it has stopped working again...
What is the next thing to do? Is there a way to jumper around the lo-pressure cutoff switch with the relay in place to see what happens? If that engages/disengages the clutch, then I guess the relay is not defective, and maybe there is a pressure issue.
Appreciate any advice from anyone who has had symptoms like this. A/C cooling is not critical right now (winter coming), but I am afraid the defroster won't work right either...
I think you need a gauge set that reads both sides to do troubleshooting. ackits.com has an excellent forum for a/c problems. Good luck.
you say the clutch was just replaced? try turning on the ac and hitting the front of the clutch with something like a screwdriver (now by hitting i mean TAP it)....if it engages then hes probably got the clutch air gap set wrong...
Now you need to see static pressure, on both high and low sides. Low is normal between 20-40psi, high is 215. Static pressure is part of the factor of wether the compressor turns on.
Let me know more about this, I'm 609 certified and can fix A/C systems very easily.
- 2004 Cavalier - 124k, owned since new
Does temperature affect the pressure of the system? I seem to remember that it does from some long ago physics class... That might explain how it was briefly working with the car inside a garage where it was warmer than outside... Perhaps the system has been low for a long time, and with the cold weather now (11 degrees this morning!) it is just too low to run properly. I guess I have 2 choices, either take it someplace to check the charge, or try to do it myself... How difficult is it to work on these systems, and what kind of tools are needed? For example, how much would a good set of gauges cost that would allow the static pressure (I assume that is with the car off?) to be checked? I don't really need to tear anything apart, possibly just check and recharge the system...
ur compressor will not engage when the temperature is below a certain temp, Bc when u turn ur a/c on ur basically just requesting the pcm to turn on the compressor and it chooses if it will or not by reading the ambient air temp and such, to help prevent compressor damage.
also when he put the new magnetic clutch on it could be an issue that he spaced it too far apart to the point magnetism wont be great enough to grab and turn the compressor. i'm pretty positive the clutch is adjustable bc they do wear down.
rob s i tihnk the highside pressure of 215 is a little low. at school i printed out the pressures and such for my car (from mitchell's on demand) and ur low pressure is right about what they said but high pressure was like 240-260psi @ something like 70*F.
u shouldnt have to worry about compressor not working in the winter as long as the switch of the defroster vents works and ur heatercore works properly then u can melt any frost off windshield and such. but if ur worrying about fogging of windows then u should be worried about compressor not working bc u cant run the system to get ur evaperator to extract the humidity out of the air.
if i'm wrong about anything in regaurds to what i said just say it. i'm hoping to be 609 certified at the end of the month as long as being certified with Ford in working on their HVAC systems. good luck with solving ur problem man.
MY 2003 SUNFIRE 15.6@86mph
"A N/A ecotec is not gonna give Honda's and Mitsu's that much of a run for their
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~1QWKZ24
www.streetracing.org, 08/2001
why dont you replace the relay. if you jumped it and it worked then the relay isBAD
Dark for fear of failure
An inner gloom as wide as an eye and fermenting
Roiling hate
Death gripped my veins
Unveiling rancid petals
Flowering forth foul nectar
The space between a blink and a tear
Death blooms.-mudvayne
