1. Home
  2. Chrysler Cars
  3. 97 Caravan Air Conditioner Squeal

97 Caravan Air Conditioner Squeal

I have a 1997 Dodge Caravan with the 3.0 litre engine. A few years ago a problem developed with the air conditioner. Every now and then it would give out a little 'chirp'. The chirp gradually increased to a screech, especially during acceleration.

I expected that this was an isolated case until one day while waiting at a red light the Caravan beside me made the same screeching noise when accelerating after the light turned green. This led me to think that maybe it was a common problem.

I was going to put off fixing it until spring but the other day I started the van to let it idle for a few minutes to warm up. I went outside a few minutes later to find a 'rattling' noise under the hood. I suspected that it was part of the air conditioner problem so I removed the drive belt, which stopped the rattling.

My first thought was that it might be the clutch in the compressor, although I have not ruled out the possibility of the idler pulley.

Has anyone else run across this? And if so, if it was the compressor, can it be repaired on the vehicle or does the compressor have to be removed for repair?

Thanks for all thoughts.

Ed

Reply to
Ed
Loading thread data ...

drive belt? Isn't that a serpentine belt?

Sounds merely like the serpentine belt is loose, which is caused by the tensioner being worn out.

The A/C compressor easily puts the heaviest load on the belt, so if the belt has lost tension the compressor is going to be the first to slip.

Ted

Reply to
Ted Mittelstaedt

No, it's not the serpentine belt. The air compressor has it's own drive belt with an adjustable idler pulley, not a spring-loaded idler. I've tightened the belt as much as I thought it should be tightened and it didn't seem to help. It seems more like a metal screech than a belt screech.

Ed

Reply to
Ed

Ok, thanks for that. It's certainly worth a try.

Ed

Reply to
Ed

You're right about that. I had the same problem on another brand of car. The screech initiated after I got the car back from some service work where the belts were removed and replaced. I though it might be slipping belts and so I used belt dressing and inched up the tension. Turns out that it was the compressor clutch and the act of tensioning the belt made it worse.

Frank

Reply to
Frank Boettcher

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.