HELP WITH RAMPANT AC VIRUS PLEASE!!!

[john rocco]

while disconnecting my battery i touched my wrench to the ac accumulator, spraks flew and it was not pretty, not visual damage upon initial inspection, no fuses blown, compressor/ comp. clutch not enguaging. ac not pushing cooled air, infact its warmer then ambient temp. i was thinking it might be the ac comp. relay fuse but there is no direction on testing in my haynes manual for this . and regular parts stores dont carry it for a 2001 3800 series 2.
any one ever done this stupid type of thing before or seen any thing like it??? hellllp meeeeeee

[BLLDOGG]

i did it once. my AC is acting gay too but i didnt really think it was cause of that. i dont have a ****ing clue whats up with my AC [img]graemlins/twak.gif[/img]

[BLLDOGG]

also, does anyone know if its normal for the AC to make a long psssssh noise? im talking like 1-3 seconds when i change it from max to AC or others

[john rocco]

i might have fried the resistors and temp sensor in the glove box area, but ...arrrgggghh!!!! i refuse to take it to chevy and pay someone to fix it!

[jmihalchik98]

jump the compressor and see if it engages, if it engages and blows cold then its.....

ac relay, low pressure switch, thermo switch, ac fuse, high pressure switch , or a blown wire (worst case)

[BLLDOGG]

what do you mean jump it?

[jmihalchik98]

there are 2 wires that go into the comopressor right behind the pulley one is power and one is ground tap into the power wire and connect it to battery. remember this is only for testing the ac compressor must cylce or it will freeze up and destroy the compressor.

[BLLDOGG]

ok, what does cycle it mean? im trying to learna bout the AC system here so go with me

[jmihalchik98]

the compressor cycles off and on all the time while u have the a/c switched on. it has to do this to prevent the compresor from freezing up and gives the compressor a rest period

[john rocco]

yes they do cycle but on the 3800 series 2 on 98+ the compressor does not cycle, but increases and decreases to the demand on the system. also i am a bit slow but what do you mean by

""there are 2 wires that go into the comopressor right behind the pulley one is power and one is ground tap into the power wire and connect it to battery""

splice a wire in with the power conductor leading into the comp. directly from the battery?

[jmihalchik98]

the switch for the clutch is a simple 2 wire switch. 1 power 1 ground, the switches trigger the power to the compressor and on the 98+ the computer controls the ground though on the earlier models the ground is constant. with a 98+ u should get a cel if the ac ground is not working correctly though u will not for the power not getting power. so all u should have to do is splice the power wire goin to the clutch and "jump" it to the postive on the battery with the car running it should start up the compressor. if it dosent there is a ground fault so u then can jump the ground (98+ only) just like the postive run it to the battery be careful of the fans and belts grabbing the wires. u will hear a definite click as the clutch engages. if u get the engagement with just the power line , start with a bad fuse/relay, then test your low pressure switch, high pressure switch, then go to thermo swtich, since the car dosent have a cycling switch thats ruled out. u can also do the 1 finger spin test- turn the front of compressor with your index finger- if it spins freely with very little resistance- then your compressor went south- with internal suction reed failure- the sysmptoms are continuous run with no cooling and low side never comes down- you need to replace compressor and clean out system- the txv inlet on front of evap will need to be cleaned. if u can jump the system then u need to hooke up manifold gauge set and check low and high pressures, if they are off they need to be balanced for the system to operate correctly and/or at all.

[jmihalchik98]

1.50lbs of r134a
8 oz of pag 150

low pressure 25-37
high pressure 115-200

in my helm book it states that the 98 firebird is not an automatic system. the only pontiac tha is computer controlled for 98-99 was the bonneville and grand prix.

[john rocco]

the compressor turns but not "easily" it worked fine before i grounded the positive terminal to the accumulator. i bought the relay, 18$ at chevy dealership , and it had no effect, still blowing hot air, no fuses blown, i am thinking it MUST be electrical, or the accumulator was fried/welded internally when the arc was created. there is no way a ground on the throttle body would do this is there???

[john rocco]

AND THE IDIOT OF THE DAY AWARD GOES TO....
ME!!!!!
I didnt fully reconnect the plug going into the metal tube(low side sw. i think) comming from the accumulator, above the passenger side shock/strut. hopefully someone may learn from this.
CASE CLOSED!