Jeep Wrangler Forum banner

A/C Clutch not working and vents only work on high?

2K views 3 replies 2 participants last post by  jfbilbro 
#1 ·
Hello,

I have a 1997 Jeep Wrangler. At the beginning of the summer I figured out that the vacuum hose had come off which was causing my vent selector to malfunction. I fixed that, and everything has been working great until a few days ago. I noticed that my HVAC control panel now only works when I put the selector on high. I also noticed that my air conditioner compressor clutch is no longer engaging. It used to be that the clutch would engage whether I had the A/C on or not. And it would engage and then disengage because the A/C coolant was low. Now it is not engaging at all. I'm wondering if there is a correlation between the A/C compressor clutch not engaging, and my blowers only working on high? Or is it just a coincidence that they both went at the same time? Also, if anybody can tell me how to fix either or both of these problems, it would be much appreciated.

Thank you!
 
#2 ·
1st....your compressor should not have been engaging if the a/c wasn't switched on.
2nd..if the freon was low then it was that way for a reason..i.e. a leak....freon doesn't wear out. If it got to low, the low pressure switch would keep the compressor from kicking on.
3rd...i don't think there's any significance to the fact that both quit working at the same time. The "only on high" thing is probably either the fan motor resistor, the fan motor itself, or the switch is bad...facts say the switch is bad because the compressor was coming on when the a/c wasn't on. BUT, that's not necessarily the case...but for less than a hundred bucks you can replace all 3 and not have to worry about it any more...might cost you a bit more to find the leak, vacuum the system, and recharge....good luck!
 
#3 ·
I'm not sure it is the switch then because the "only on high" thin just started happening, but the compressor has been switching on without the AC being selected for a while. But now the compressor is not engaging at all, so I'm wondering if the whole thing is shot or if the coolant has just leaked out. I have never dealt with fixing an AC compressor, or a fan motor or switch. Is it complicated? Any advise?

Thank you very much for your help. I really appreciate it.

1st....your compressor should not have been engaging if the a/c wasn't switched on.
2nd..if the freon was low then it was that way for a reason..i.e. a leak....freon doesn't wear out. If it got to low, the low pressure switch would keep the compressor from kicking on.
3rd...i don't think there's any significance to the fact that both quit working at the same time. The "only on high" thing is probably either the fan motor resistor, the fan motor itself, or the switch is bad...facts say the switch is bad because the compressor was coming on when the a/c wasn't on. BUT, that's not necessarily the case...but for less than a hundred bucks you can replace all 3 and not have to worry about it any more...might cost you a bit more to find the leak, vacuum the system, and recharge....good luck!
 
#4 ·
the only reason the compressor should come on at all is if you have selected a/c or defrost....other than those 2 things, it should NEVER come on.....could be that the compressor is shot from running so much, or it could be the low pressure switch.....finding leaks can be tricky and prolly best handled by someone trained in HVAC....as for the fan motor and resistor they can easily be replaced by the layman....best to buy a Haynes or Chilton manual ($20.00) that will give step by step if you have never done it before, but it's fairly easy to do....
If it IS the compressor, it will have to be replaced, along with the accumulator/drier, and then vacuumed down, and recharged....all this after any leaks have been repaired.
i'm thinking the blower motor or the resistor will fix the problem with it working only on high, but as to the compressor coming on, it will have to be checked to see if the a/c still has a freon charge or not....if it does, it's likely your compressor gone bad....unless you wanna buy guages, freon, etc. i would suggest a good a/c mechanic...good luck....
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top