1999 Ford Explorer Air Conditioning Compressor Clutch
by Charles
Steve Says, Hi, Charles. Thanks for visiting www.myautorepairadvice.com and thanks for asking me your car air conditioning question. First of all lets address the fact that your compressor clutch does not engage. There are several things that might be causing this problem. Some of the most common things that cause it are things like not enough freon (refrigerant) in the system. If this is the case then the low pressure switch will not close, therefore it won't let current get to the A/C clutch. You also might have another electrical problem that is keeping the current from getting to the clutch. Like maybe the switch inside the truck is faulty. Since you cannot turn the compressor by hand we need to investigate why. The first thing that is a possibility is that you might have an AC compressor that just does not turn by hand. Some do and some don't. To check this you might want to see what kind it is then either call the manufacturer (you can find who the manufacturer is by looking on the compressor, there is usually a tag that says) or you could try asking a technician at your local dealership. You also might be able to find this information online. There is a test that you could try if you feel you are up to it. If you don't have any experience working on cars then I would not advise this, but if you do have some knowledge then you might try it. There are several things you need first. The first is a good, accurate wiring diagram. I'll post a banner that you can click on that will have the same wiring diagrams that the dealership would use. This is essential to troubleshooting any air conditioning electrical problem. The great thing about it is that it is all online and you just login and print out whatever you need. Here is the banner: After you have a wiring diagram you need to see which wire that goes to your AC compressor clutch is the 12 volt feed wire. See if there is voltage to it. If there is not then you need to see why not. The best way to do this is to look at the diagram and see what is the next thing that the current would be going through. It is usually a low pressure switch. If this is the case then check on one side of the switch for power and then the other. This will tell you if the switch is closed or open. So this for all of the components in the diagram. This will tell you why the current is not getting to the clutch. One way to test the clutch itself is to run a fused test wire from the battery to the 12 volt feed wire to the compressor. When you put 12 volts to the compressor clutch it should click on then click off when you remove it. If it is not doing this then you know that there is a problem with the clutch. I hope this has helped. Feel free to leave a comment if you need more help. Also, feel free to "like" mt site on Facebook! |
