A/C troubles

[A Roy]

Hello everyone. New to the forum. Having issues with the a/c on my 2002 sport trac. It will cool nicely while in park or idle, but as soon as I drive, it stops cooling. If I stop and look under the hood, I notice that the compressor clutch is not engaging, but will do so if I tap on it. The a/c will then cool again very well. I suspect this is a clutch issue, and if so, is there a way I can service it, or do I need to replace the compressor? I'm about to sell the truck, (got a 2010 v8 adrenaline so I'm not looking to put a lot of money into the repair, but I also don't want to do something that will break down as the new buyer drives off. (Don't need the bad karma). Appreciate the advice.

 

[rickybobby]

replacing the clutch requires special tools, so replacing the compressor will be cheaper for most people. be sure to take it to a shop to recharge the system, there will be moisture in the system after you change the compressor and that will detroy the new part.

 

[oneup1982]

Clutch?

Sounds to me like the clutch isn't the problem. The clutch will grab hard enough to spin the compressor or it wont. Sounds like you either have bad power leads going into the compressor, or bad leads inside the compressor to activate the clutch. My suggestion(since you seem to not know too much about ac(no offense)), replace the compressor. If that isn't feasable, check the connection to the compressor, make sure the wires are making contact to the compressor, and make sure the connection is clean. Let me know if this helps. Your only other option would be to take it to a shop or replace the compressor.