mechanicbase.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your AC compressor can fail when it has low freon levels, a stuck valve, or if the compressor clutch is not working anymore. When your car air conditioner starts to act strange there could be a number of reasons why, but one common reason is the compressor. Common areas to check to see if your AC compressor has failed or not: Your compressor could be bad, but it could be a number of other issues as shown in the article below. Use the troubleshooting guides and with a little luck, you can find the problem without a big expense at the mechanic. (Use caution whenever working on your AC system and avoid turning the AC on if possible to avoid AC compressor damage.) First Steps To Diagnose A Bad AC Compressor There are different AC systems that work a little differently for different cars, but the compressor clutch is basically the same for each car. To start with you can do some quick checks to narrow down the problem. I would start with what I know already and check those areas or parts. If your check reveals trouble, plan to spend more time focused on that area to see if you can solve the problem. Some parts to check first are the compressor\/clutch, the serpentine belt, and the refrigerant. These are usually the first to go bad. An older car will likely have worn-out parts, while a newer car can have malfunctioning parts. For older cars, you may want to start by: An older compressor clutch has seen a lot of use. It may go bad from lots of use, or a slow leak in your AC system. Low freon can cause excessive wear to your compressor, like an engine without oil. (See article – How Much Oil Should You Add Up In AC compressor?) In addition, the wiring in your older car can become loose, damaged, replaced with the wrong type, or corroded. Wiring is another big issue with older compressors. Testing wiring and checking fuses will let you know if the wiring of the compressor is likely the problem. Last, you want to check the entire AC system because the could be problems with other components or a leak in the system somewhere. This is where you will need a lot more time and patience. Sometimes this is the step when you need to go to a mechanic because it may take more time and expertise. For a newer car, you may want to start with: Newer cars will have more electrical problems before mechanical problems unless there’s a leak that is likely caused by damage or someone who worked on the engine or AC system. I would focus on seeing if power is getting to the AC compressor clutch and fuses that might be blown. (Cost to buy an AC compressor generally ranges from $150 – $300. Labor can cost about $500 – $1500 for the average car. If you are sure the AC compressor is the problem, you replacing it for cheap enough. Although doing it yourself can be fairly difficult for the beginner.) Steps To Check Your AC Compressor 1. How To Test An AC Compressor Clutch In this video, they discuss how to test a compressor clutch and how to avoid paying for a testing tool using a simple hack. You can look at the compressor clutch while the AC is running to see if is operating normally. A normal clutch would: 2. Look For Faulty\/Loose Wiring On The AC Compressor If you’ve checked your compressor and it looks fine and sounds fine, you’ll need to ensure power is getting to the different parts on your compressor. The compressor clutch is the area to focus on first, as this part is one that most often has issues. As seen in the video above you can test to see if the clutch is working using a probe, but you’ll also need to check for loose or damaged wiring. 3. Check The Fuse Box For AC System Component Fuses The fuse box is the next area to check. Check in your car’s service manual to find where the fuse for the compressor clutch is located. Check to see if the fuse is blown. If it looks fine then move on to other fuses that may be related to your AC system if any. 4. Check Freon Levels And Troubleshooting Using A Manifold Guage If you have a sight glass to check freon level you can see if there’s any visible freon running through the line. It should look like liquid flowing through the glass. If you don’t see much, see bubbles, or nothing, make sure the AC is on and test the compressor first, and then you can better determine if the freon is low. You can also use a manifold gauge set to check on the levels of freon. This instrument will help you check the pressure of your AC system and allow you to add freon if needed. The manifold gauge can help you troubleshoot if your AC system has problems with: Diagnosis – High and Low-Pressure Results (Credit Video Above) 5. Check The Compressor Cycling Switch Next, you may need to check the cycling switches for your compressor. They are located on the end of the wire that is attached to the accumulator and other areas of the AC system. You will likely see a three-wire plug inserted into the end of the cycling switches. (see the picture below for what it might look like on your car.) Normally these switches should be fine and will prevent excess pressure build-up in your AC system or excess low pressure by turning off the AC. How do you know if the compressor cycling switch is bad? In this video, the guy replaces his pressure cycling switch and shows how to bypass the switch to see if the AC is working properly as if the switch was on. (Caution! – If there is very high or low pressure in your AC system you don’t want to bypass the switch because the switch purposely turned off the AC to prevent damage.) 6. Checking For Freon Leaks To Determine If The Compressor Is OK or Damaged Freon leaks can be common on older cars. The AC system is getting old and needs parts replaced and can have leaks. Even new cars can have leaks if they get into a fender bender or have had some work done on them recently. Here are three ways to check for leaks in your AC system. In addition, you can use the method talked about previously, using an AC diagnostic gauge (Amazon Link) to determine the pressure of the AC system in your car, although it won’t show where the leaks are. You can get a sniffer anywhere from $20 -$200. They are fairly easy to use and most will detect the freon gas leak from car AC systems. The one below is one I found on Amazon. Amazon Link These dyes are fairly inexpensive but may need some time, tools, and expertise to use. This is a good option for finding the exact location of a leak. Sniffers might come close but may not be exact in some situations. Consider watching the video to see if this applies to you. You can get a dye kit from $25 -$100. They can be easy or complicated to use and most do a good job showing exactly where leaks are occurring. The one below is simple to use and is found on Amazon. Amazon Link You can then turn off the car, open the hood and start spraying your soap and water solution on the parts of the AC system that you suspect are leaking. You’ll see bubbles forming if you’ve hit the right place with the soap and water solution. Common places where leaks occur are: Once you’ve found the leak you can replace the seal, line, or part that is broken or possibly use an injectable sealant dye to help seal small holes in the system. Final Thoughts Your AC compressor can go bad because of age, low freon that causes mechanical issues, a stuck valve, or the compressor clutch not working anymore. Troubleshooting why the AC is not working properly will help you identify the exact problem so you can determine if fixing it yourself or taking it to the shop would be best. Thanks for reading this article. If you are interested in other AC-related articles see the articles in these links. (Service A Car AC) and (Fix Your Car Vent) and (Why Does My Car Overheat When AC Is On?) References gomechanic.in chapelhilltire.com jdpower.com cartreatments.com mechanicbase.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15026,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/drivinglife.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14953"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/drivinglife.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/drivinglife.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drivinglife.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drivinglife.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14953"}],"version-history":[{"count":26,"href":"https:\/\/drivinglife.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14953\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21429,"href":"https:\/\/drivinglife.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14953\/revisions\/21429"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drivinglife.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15026"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/drivinglife.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14953"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drivinglife.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14953"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drivinglife.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14953"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}