A/C problems

Lowside is usually stuck to the top of the accumulator (big can) Just follow the wires.

As for removing the clutch, that takes a lot of care not to damage the compressor. Best to let a pro do it, they have the proper tools.

the AC stops. You just ohm out the sensor, they both

you unscrew them with the system charged.

moisture got in the system couldn't adsorb it. (little

very rare, only seen it once.

After the clutch washing yesterday, it ran the whole way home and was so cold on fresh, that I had to turn it off for a minute. It came right back on. I'm going to try to clean the clutch a bit more this weekend. It's a FWD vehicle and the compressor is right in the front on the bottom where it gets a lot of crud.

I ran it last night for over 45 minutes nonstop and had a nice trail of condensation underneath.

I ran it by the neighborhood independent garage this morning. The guy checked my freon, low pressure switch, relay, etc. and everything checked out. So he narrowed it down to the clutch. But he recommended changing out the compressor too. He said the problem might be a weak coil, meaning the magnet that operates the clutch. But wouldn't a new coil be part of the clutch assembly? I didn't quite follow him on that part.

Rick

Did you try squirting the clutch out with a hose yet? I did that to mine and now it stays on. It never quit yesterday and it even got so cold, I had to stop it for a minute, and then it kicked back on when I wanted it to.

No, I took a looksee and didn't find an opening to squirt through. Looks rather sealed to me. Tell ya what though, I'll run out there right now and give it a squirt anyway and report back after lunch.

Rick

All I did was squirt water in the space between the clutch and the compressor, top, side. bottom, than top again. It's been running real good the past 2 days.

I couldn't get underneath. So I sprayed from the top and down just a little each side. But the gap is so small between the part that spins and the part that doesn't,, I can't imagine much water getting in there. So far so good though. But I didn't put much a/c time on it today. The next few days should tell the story though.

I wonder what a spray can of brake cleaner might do to it. It comes with a tiny little spray tube that could squirt right into that gap.

Okie doke then, that didn't take long. I just got back from a trip to the Post Office and the a/c crapped out on me on the way back. Guess my spray job didn't do much good. Rick

Clutch and field should come together.

It's not a matter of it staying on. It's supposed to cycle off to control evaporator temperature. The problem is it's not coming back on when it's supposed to.

Go in from the front of the pulley side. The "clutch" is a ferrous plate that is pulled in against another metal plate by the electromagnet - kind of like a solenoid plunger. The plates have some grooves in them that pack up with grease/oil/chips and oil will also gum up on the sides of the cup. Your brake fliud or carb cleaner will cut that grease. I've also had pretty good luck using Simple Green in there. Just soak it good and try to cycle the clutch several times while it's still dripping. I usually pull the solenoid wire and use a jumper to cylce mine several times, then hit it with as much pressure as I can from a hose to get it cleaneded out.

Mine is a mitsubishi, not a jeep, so the clutch is probably different. I do tip my hat to the poster that suggested the water or air hose. I'll give it a good test today, but it stayed on Friday from the time I left work to the time I got home and then some, including some on purpose cycling. I still want to use some cleaner followed by compressed air.

As they say YMMV, but chances are the clutch is just gunked up. If I pull the connector in the TXD, the engine slows down and the fans turns off and all comes back on when I reconnect it, so that part must be working.

I charged it "blind" using only an AC thermometer stuck in the vent. When it hit 43 degrees, I gave it another minute or two of gas and then disconnected, after turning off the motor, of course. Now I have gauges for PAG oil. My other R134a gauge has ester oil in it.

My experience with low refrigerant has been that the compressor clutch cycles on and off even with the unit set on max cool. Confirmed by FSM.