RE: AC not working- Afect on Heater ?

John,

When the AC died on my '87 Lincoln Town Car with Automatic Temperature Control, the compressor did cycle on and off when on the MAX AC, Floor / Defrost Mix and Defrost, but that was it. I simply disconnected the wire at the compressor to keep it from cycling on and off.

The heater portion of it worked fine, I am sure that there may be some differences but nothing that should be major. I did not however, have a rough idle or varied RPM, so you may want to have it looked at if the problem persists, if you choose to disconnect the compressor.

Additionally once I had the money to repair the AC, it was simply a couple of O Rings (make sure that the shop changes ALL of them) and a fill of Freon and I was good to go for less money about $200 (if I remember correctly),

I also had some issues with my '92 Explorer, the dealer quoted me about $2200 when I finally decided to have it looked at. Everything worked except it didn't blow cold. The tech took the compressor apart and found it deteriorated inside. They wanted to put everything all brand new inside. I spoke to them about what really needed to be replaced and what could get by and still be covered by their repair warranty.

The dealership was very helpful in assisting me, especially since I was out of work, by allowing me to perform most of the labor. I ended up replacing most of the parts myself; the condenser (NEW), AC pump (NEW), cycling switch (NEW), the tech flushed all of the lines and the evaporator, changed O Rings and charged the compressor. I have been good to go since, final cost was about $900 jobber cost (shop price) for all parts and labor, but it sure beats $2200!!! Also remember that R12 Freon is a lot more expensive than R134a Freon ('94 and newer).

I hope that this has been helpful.

Pat