My AC died

[drstein]

No power going to the AC compressor. The fuses are OK. No vacuum leaks. Nothing is unplugged.

Any ideas on where I could look? Or, if the thing is dead, how much might I be looking at?

It's a 94 XLT

 

[Darrman]

The compressor isnt kicking in? What about running the defroster, I think the ac compressor kicks on when the defrost is turned on. It may be your dash switch.

 

[marragtop]

Use a test light to make sure you are getting power to the switch at the compressor.

 

[badgett]

there is a plug that plugs in the top of the bottle for the freon. Unplug the plug with the truck running. There are two outlets in the plug. Take a piece of wire and jump it from one to the other. This is like a manual override. The ac compressor will kick in and run if it is not bad. Ac man showed me this trick. Good way to tell if you are out of freon or the compressor is bad.

 

[drstein]

If I turn on the defroster, the only thing that happens is the engine will rev up a little bit about every 10 seconds. There is no cold air blowing.
The freon was refilled. A local shop checked it & charged the system and refilled it. They're also the ones that used a test light and told me that it probably wasn't getting any power.

So if the compressor is in fact dead and this is *not* an electrical problem, about how much might the parts cost? And badgett: I will try that one as soon as I can. Thanks!

 

[BrooklynBay]

Besides that A/C cycling pressure switch providing a closed circuit to the clutch's coil, you should also check an inline diode that is near the clutch. If it blew out, it will prevent you from closing the clutch's coil circuit.

 

[95exploderboy]

Good luck figuring it out man. If you do find its the compressot, I'll sell you mine for cheap, I'll be taking it off tomorrow to install my York compressor so I can have OBA.

JAke

 

[Brock94]

Unplug the little plug that goes into the top of the compressor. With key in the run position, turn on the A/C switch in the dash and use a meter or a test light to check for approx 12volts at the compressor plug (this is actually a plug for the compressor clutch).

If there is power, then you probably have a bad compressor clutch (a separate part from the compressor) which would need to be replaced. If you do not have power, then you should check the electrical system-- first check the fuse, then check each switch that affects the A/C (including the switch in the dash and the high and low pressure cut-off switches in the A/C system). You can test these switches by leaving the key on and jumper each switch one at a time, then use a test light or meter to check for power at the compressor clutch-- also check any relay that is in the system (not sure if there is one). When you find the offending switch, replace it with a new one.

Note: I'm assuming that the system is, in fact, still charged properly with refrigerant. If it is not charged or if the charge is low, then the low pressure switch will prevent power from going to the compressor clutch-- this is a good thing, because it stops the compressor from burning out, and would mean that you need to fix the leak and recharge.