Imagine, you’ve got a car and it all works so fine. However, when you turn on the air conditioner it only blows warm air. What could be the problem? If suddenly, the AC compressor clutch stops working and doesn’t engage, this could be the reason your AC isn’t functioning properly.
The compressor could have a serious issue or a small one. If the compressor clutch doesn’t engage; that usually means, there’s an electrical or mechanical problem with the compressor.
If the AC is not blowing cool air into the car, you may want to do a visual inspection of the AC compressor clutch and determine if you can see what might be causing the clutch to not engage.
Even if you just filled up the AC system with refrigerant, if the AC compressor can’t operate correctly, you’ll get warm air. You may decide to check the engine coolant and the engine oil as well to rule out other issues, but the clutch if the component that must function in order for the AC to work.
We’ll talk about the possible problems and solutions for a compressor clutch that is not engaging. It could be anything from an obstruction in the refrigerant circuit to a loose wire. Lets make sure your AC is working well, and get started.
Do a Visual Inspection
Set all air conditioning controls to the MAX before kicking off the engine. Check the front side of the clutch to examine its condition. Also, find out whether the clutch and the pulley are spinning. If only the pulley is rotating, the compressor clutch is having an issue, which could be stemming from several sources – a blown fuse, bad clutch oil, low-pressure lockout, or an open wire in the oil.
Or you can, before starting the next step of diagnosis, you should know that a low-pressure switch can create problems with the compressor clutch’s relay in some car models. The system’s computer keeps the relay grounded but it can go on and off due to the bad switch. A careful inspection of the system and its components will help you to pinpoint the source of trouble.
In this step, you have to detach the connector cable from clutch oil. Keep it safely away from all other components. Use a digital voltmeter to measure the ground and voltage of the battery at the detached connector cable. Go on to check the fuse if you cannot read the voltage readings. Move on to the clutch relay if the fuse turns out fine
If you have more questions about you’re A/C compressor clutch give us a call at Callahan Automotive.