2004 Ford Explorer - Air Compressor Plug is loose

by Jeanne
(Kathleen, GA)

I have a 2004 Ford Explorer and the female end of the plug that goes to the Air Compressor (that runs the "clutch?") is loose. The wiring harness connection going to it is fine, but I can wiggle it and it will kick the compressor on but after a jolt (bump) it will come loose again and start blowing warm air. I hate to replace a perfectly good compressor because of a "wiggly" plug. Do you know if it can be repaired or does the whole compressor need to be replaced? Thanks in advance for your help.

Steve Says,
Hi, Jeanne. Thanks for visiting my website and thanks for asking me your auto repair question. If you find my site useful please "like" it and share it with your friends on Facebook.

There are several things you can try for your loose connection. The first and best option is to go to our local dealership and ask them for the wiring connector for your AC compressor. Sometimes you can find these aftermarket parts (these are parts that are not sold by the car dealership and generally are much cheaper) at many general auto parts stores (such as NAPA). Sometimes they call it a "pigtail". The dealership should be able to get pretty much any connector that you would need for your car. You will need some mechanical skills to install it because it will probably require some soldering. You basically will have to cut the old wiring out then install wiring connectors and heat shrink tubing, you then crimp the connectors onto the wiring harness from the vehicle and onto the new wiring pigtail and put the heat shrink tubing over the connection and use a heat gun or hair dryer to shrink the tubing over the connection. This will make it water resistant.

The other thing you could do (and I don't necessarily recommend this method, but it does work most of the time) is use zipties to ziptie the connector together. Depending on the type of connector it might be hard to do, but there is almost always something sturdy that you can use to ziptie it to.

You will want to check the connection into the compressor to make sure it is not damaged as well. I'm guessing that part of the connection (like maybe the locking tab) is broken and that is why it won't stay in. These are easy to break off, which is why they make the parts available to replace them.

I hope this has helped. Feel free to leave me a comment with other questions or with the fix to your problem. Good luck with your air conditioning problem!