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  • another ac compressor question

    im trying to figure out exactly how to determine if the ac compressor is working. i read other threads that said to see of the compressor pulley is turning. Im not sure as to what is suppose to turn. The red outline part is turning with the belt but not the yellow outlined section. Only reason i believe that yellow section is suppose to turn is because it turns when i turn it by hand.


  • #2
    Re: another ac compressor question

    the yellow part is the clutch, it only turns when you turn the ac on.

    if it doesnt turn when you turn the ac on, you are most likely low on freon

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    • #3
      Re: another ac compressor question

      also, that yellow part won't turn constantly when the AC is on, only when the compressor is running. It's like your fridge, it only "runs" sometimes... But it should turn when you first turn the AC on.
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      • #4
        Re: another ac compressor question

        yea it doesnt turn with the ac on and it is low on freon but last year i filled it and it still didnt work then it jus blew warm air. can we rule out that the compressor and clutch are the problem?

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        • #5
          Re: another ac compressor question

          Originally posted by T-Mill View Post
          also, that yellow part won't turn constantly when the AC is on, only when the compressor is running. It's like your fridge, it only "runs" sometimes... But it should turn when you first turn the AC on.
          only on the 3.4's. the 3.8's are always on, it does not cycle.

          the only time it turns off is when the rpm of the engine gets too high the clutch will disengage as to not damage it.

          Originally posted by firebird19_99 View Post
          yea it doesnt turn with the ac on and it is low on freon but last year i filled it and it still didnt work then it jus blew warm air. can we rule out that the compressor and clutch are the problem?
          how exactly did you fill it? did you make sure you put enough freon in?

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          • #6
            Re: another ac compressor question

            The clutch should turn when the AC is on ONLY. If the clutch is turning with the AC off the clutch is broken.

            Put the AC on max cool and look at the clutch. Is it spinning with the pulley? You should have heard it kick on too. If it's not spinning something is wrong. Often it won't spin due to a low or high pressure switch telling it not to. So your pressure may be too high or too low. Most likely too low.

            Check the pressure on the low side of the system. If it's below 30-40 psi you are low on refrigerant and the low pressure switch is not letting the compressor kick on for safety. You can start feeding it refrigerant (get the kind that has UV dye) through the low side with the AC on max cool and the motor running. As you feed refrigerant stop periodically to check the pressure. You don't want to feed too much. As the pressure goes up the AC should start kicking on for a few seconds at a time before the low pressure switch tells it to turn back off. This is a good sign. Keep feeding it refrigerant until you are at ~40 psi and the AC compressor is no longer cycling (due to low pressure) and is blowing cold air.

            If the pressure is fine and the air wont blow cold the compressor may be bad. Do you hear any grinding from the compressor? If the pressure is very high on the low side you have some other sort of issue going on. Possibly a blockage somewhere.

            If things do work after adding refrigerant use a UV pen and see where the original refrigerant went. Hopefully you had UV dye in refrigerant before or the leak is bad enough that you see where your current refrigerant with UV dye is coming out of. If you can't find it, make a mental note to check in the next day or two. It should glow yellow usually. May need some of those cool CSI orange goggles paired with the UV light to really see it well.
            Last edited by OneEightSeven; 05-26-2010, 04:42 PM.
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            • #7
              Re: another ac compressor question

              I have had the clutch go out before, and I had to keep the A/C on or the compressor wouldn't spin freely , was werid, everything else was fine , the clutch just went bad. Everytime I turned off the A/C the belt would burn on the clutch pulley even unpluged the connector to it. Good thing I have a lifetime warranty on the A/C compressor.
              08' L76 6.0L 4X4 Chevy EXT.Cab LTZ Vortec MAX with Snug top cover, Dynomax exhaust,Hptuners& K&N intake
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              • #8
                Re: another ac compressor question

                ok so i should try to fill it up with freon and hope thats the problem?, do they sell the one with uv dye in it at any local auto store?

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                • #9
                  Re: another ac compressor question

                  Most the ones at the auto store have uv dye built in, just ask the clerk or read the bottle.

                  You DON'T want to just load it up on refrigerant and hope it works. Read through my post to get a general idea of what to look for. Make sure to run the AC on max cool or it wont take the refrigerant. You have to make sure the pressure is right, you don't want to put in too much. Verify that the pressure is indeed low now, same as for charging you should have the ac on max cool.

                  If you don't have a gauge then get a kit from the parts store that comes with one (they bundle them with the refrigerant refills usually). When I recently did this on my daily beater car I found a kit that had everything, csi style goggles, uv pen, a gauge, and two refill bottles with UV dye.
                  Last edited by OneEightSeven; 05-27-2010, 12:11 AM.
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                  • #10
                    Re: another ac compressor question

                    yea i have the gauge and it read at about 15 psi with the ac on. Ill try your suggestion and hope thats it. how much was the kit you bought? Where are the high and low pressure valves at? maybe someone can do me a favor of taking a picture showing me where the valves are and which one to put the freon into? checked the manual but doesnt mention where the valves are other than a picture of a 95 3.4 and mine arent located there
                    Last edited by firebird19_99; 05-27-2010, 10:54 AM.

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                    • #11
                      Re: another ac compressor question

                      The easiest way is to see where the fitting from the recharge kit fits. Kits come with just a low side fitting for the refill bottle so there is only one way to use it. The low pressure side should have the bigger piping at the compressor, follow it up to the fitting. The high pressure side has a different fitting.
                      Last edited by OneEightSeven; 05-27-2010, 01:29 PM.
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                      • #12
                        Re: another ac compressor question

                        the thing is i cannot find the fitting the only area i found that has a fitting/valve is the receiver dryer, other than that i cannot find any other fitting. I followed the pipes but nothing. Am i missing something that i cannot seem to find this?

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                        • #13
                          Re: another ac compressor question

                          you have the right fitting it is the one on the accumulator. give me one sec I'll find a picture. the other one is coming up from the condenser i believe ( i think its this car lol) it doesnt matter anyway lol

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                          • #14
                            Re: another ac compressor question



                            the part in the red circle its where you want to add

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                            • #15
                              Re: another ac compressor question

                              refilled it with freon, the clutch kicked in and i got some nice cold air blowing for the first time in 3 years lol the accumulator like one in the pic above has condensation on it as well as the hoses connected to it, is that normal?
                              Last edited by firebird19_99; 05-29-2010, 04:48 PM.

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