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1985-1998 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
Hi Andy,
You got your compressor to engage. That's a good thing: your ACC unit and relay are working. There's also suffiecient charge in the system to allow the relay to engage.
Contrary to what Donald Lipke says your AC compressor/ system is NOT supposed to be on all the time, at least not on 1996 ACC cars. The AC electrical circuit needs 12v from (I think it was) pin 23 of the ACC front unit. If you press "ECON" it will disengage the compressor as this is the very idea behind the ECON button in the first place. I am not sure about the OFF setting, but I would be surprised if it would run, again since the system needs power from pin 23 of the headunit. Easy test for yourself: run the car in AUTO, wait till you hear the clutch engage, press off. Never did this, but when pushing ECON the clutch should disengage again.
So, basically you electrics are ok Now there's several possibilities:
Low charge: the fact that the charge is sufficient to engage the clutch does not mean it is sufficient to cool satisfactory. It may be marginal. You need a re-charge but I suggest you find out how the R134 came out in the first place. Some dye in the R134 will help.
In this case the symptom that you can analyse yourself is the fact that in this case the compressor will engage and run continuously.
Restriction: That's what I currently have as well: sufficient charge but a blockage in the system, most likely in the condensor if the pipe to the evaporator is not getting cold as you say. The condensor is in front of the radiator and takes quite some hits over time. In this case the compressor will engage but will start to cut out after a while due to high pressure protection. Do not run it for a prolonged time as it may damage compressor and seals.
For both these cases you should see an A/C speciality shop. You need them anyway. The only (remote) possibility that I see which you can check/ repair yourself is option #3:
The thermoswitch is really far off. They do ' migrate' over time. If you first start the car you should have a nice long period of compressor engagement ( several minutes, even 10 minutes?) and after that the compressor should start to cycle off/ on driven by the thermoswitch.This switch keeps the evaporator from freezing up and is 100% comparable to the thermoswitch in your kitchen fridge. It sits in a small separate box on top of the evaporator, under the passenger side of the windshield. Now if your compressor starts cycling on/off shortly after you start the car I would try to adjust the switch. IT cuts out at too high a temp, probably. On my 1995 model it is adjustable by means of a srew in a recess on the bottom of the switch housing.
Hope this helps. i don't knowwhat you deem is expensive, but a check/ evacuate/ refill here in NL will cost around 100 euros and 1/2 hour waiting at a speciality shop. A new condensor and the same evacuate/ charging would set me back 3 times that.
regards, Jan Geert
posted by 84.83.17...
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