!!!HELP!!! A/C Problem

wazmunstr

Registered User
how can i find out what is wrong with my a/c? it used to work 'til about a year ago. my brother told me it stopped working on him before the tranny went out but i dont know... anyways i finally decieded to get the car from my brother, and i did so 2 months ago but living in FL, its not easy without a/c... someone help me find the problem! maybe just needs to be recharged with some freon?
 
A/C Check

If it is low on freon it may not turn the compressor on. The receiver/dryer (round thing by the firewall) has a connector on it. You will have to pull it and jumper the connections on the plug. This will allow the compressor to turn on. Then you would be able to charge it up. Get the stuff with the dye and watch for leaks.....
 
how will i know if the compressor pully is turning? i mean if the engine is on... and if its off will it still spinif its supposed to ?
 
Hmm.. Let me give you the $.50 course on A/C, then I'll direct you to a site where you should read up. From there, you can post back with a question on how to do some things on the SC's A/C.

The Supercoupe, A/C is a closed system which pushes a gas (Freon or r134A) through. The gas is squeezed by the compressor and reaches a high pressure and hence gets rather hot. It is pushed through the condenser (radiator thing in front of the actual radiator) where it is cooled by the outside air until it starts to turn into a liquid. The liquid passes through an orifice tube (the magic part of the whole thing) where it goes turns to a low pressure liquid. This low pressure liquid then passes through the evaporator (inside the car) where the space allows it to flash to a gas again and in the process of expanding.. it gets very cold. Inside air is blown across the evaporator where it gets cold and is blown out the vents. The gas then continues out into the accumulator where the last bit of liquid refrigerant is trapped and feeds into the compressor starting the process all over again.

Problems occur whenever the system looses refrigerant, usually through where the hoses join parts together. When enough refrigerant escapes, the compressor won't engage. If the leak is severe enough, too much of the oil inside will get out, and the compressor will dry up and sieze. This happens a lot.

So, if the compressor is still living, you have a chance at fixing the leak, refilling some of the oil, charging the system back up, and having A/C. If the compressor is shot, repairs generally involve replacing almost every thing in front of the firewall.

Here's a link about black death compressor failure:
http://www.ackits.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Black Death
Scroll on down to the part titled "Key Components and Functions".
This is a precise description of how the Ford Cycling Clutch Orifice Tube (CCOT) design works. In fact the pic of the compressor is a Ford FS10 model. The hoses and accumulator pics though are not.

Here's a link to their forum where you can read up and ask questions. If you need specific help with the SC A/C, then post back and someone hopefully can help out:
http://www.ackits.com/forum/index.cfm

Good luck. A/C is not like anything else on the car. It is delicate equipment and requires some finesse to fix properly. It can be "fixed" and made to work for a while, with leak stop kits and such, but these sorts of cheap quick fixes will usually result in a dead compressor within a year's time, so think about it if you're planning on keeping the car.;)
 
Enough ref has leaked out so the low pressure switch is keeping the compressor from kicking on so it does'nt burn it up. Look for oily spots around all the line connections. Damn garter spring connectors are junk. I'm deleting all of them on my system.
 
ok so i just checked out all the hoses for the a/c and there are 2 hoses with oil around it... its the 2 hoses that go into and come out of the condenser (front of the radiator is the condenser correct?) what do you think this means? thanx...
 
Hi,

I had a similar problem with my a/c on my 90 anniversary SC. after I replaced the clutch and compressor and charged it. Anyway it ran great for about a month(VERY HOT in AZ.) then it quit running again. I took it to a local shop for a free check and the mechanic there bypassed the hi pressure switch( added a wire from switch to clutch plug) And it started running again. He finished my free check and all else came up fine.

He told me he had a friend that had the same problem on his SC and Ford told him that it mostly was the muti-function ECM, I believe it's the box in front of the airbox which cost about $250??

Since I had the the clutch/compressor replaced at ford, I took it back to them and asked what the problem was.. I had the bypass wire on at the time, So ford said the work they did was fine and I had another problem which required another diagnostic check.. I told them to shove it.. But they did tell me that that ecm was the most likely cause.. (pressure switch was fine)

They also said the compressor could over pressure itself with the switch bypassed!!! And I should get it checked and fixed! That was a year and ahalf ago.. But I do cycle myself by turning the ac
off and on alot when I first trun it on, then about every 5 to 10 min. after that. ** At my own risk of paying for another compressor**

Well thats my story, Take it for what its worth..

Ron

90 SC Anni.
Stock, air box mod., K&N filter
and using Splitfires for the last 60,000
of 104,000, only other work I replaced
crankshalf sensor/w info from here.. Rad,
Brakes.. Oh yeah tires:)
Still Looks and runs GREAT!!
in the Hot desert of AZ
I just LOVE my Bird!!
 
Last edited:
wazmunstr said:
ok so i just checked out all the hoses for the a/c and there are 2 hoses with oil around it... its the 2 hoses that go into and come out of the condenser (front of the radiator is the condenser correct?) what do you think this means? thanx...
Thats where the ref and oil leaked out. Those connectors are bad about leaking.
 
MIKE 38sc,

what do you think i should do? maybe if i got those hoses replaced and refilled with the oil and/or whatever else i need that it may work again?

i know something else may be the issue but im guessing it wont be... thanx
 
my AC blows nothing , the air is a little bit cooler then the air outsiede i have been wondering what is wrong, the only thing i have noticed is the fan that is mounted infront of the rad behind the bumper was completly seised, i took it out for nos since it isnt doing a damm thing do you think this could be the problem bc it looks like the fan is there to help blow air across the syste to help cool the gas??
 
yep that i know for sure... get that fan replaced. then youll feel some cold air come in... anyways if someone knows if i change those hoses it might fix my problem let me know
 
wazmunstr said:
ok so i just checked out all the hoses for the a/c and there are 2 hoses with oil around it... its the 2 hoses that go into and come out of the condenser (front of the radiator is the condenser correct?) what do you think this means? thanx...
Thats a common leak point. You can see if the compressor still spins by disconnecting the plug on top of the accumulator, start the engine, turn the A/C on, and then get out and jumper the connector side with a paper clip for just a moment. watch to see that the inner part of the compressor starts spinning and that it doesn't make a lot of noise. If so, pull the jumper out and shut the car off.

If your car has the original R12 (freon) refrigerant, you can undo the cap on the high pressure port and push the valve in to see if there is anything left. If it spurts out, you should probably take it to an A/C shop to have it evacuated. If nothing really comes out, then its probably empty enough to work on.

You can, if you feel up to the job, pull the hoses off the condenser using the "spring lock decoupling tool" which you can buy at any parts store for about $12, replace the O rings, lube them with nylog (or mineral oil), and reconnect the hoses. Then take the car to an A/C shop and have them vaccuum it down and recharge the system. IF there is a leak elsewhere, the vaccuum will not hold.

You could also have them leak test it to tell you where the leak is. The spring locks are common, but there are a few other places such as the evaporator (Big PITA to replace) or the other hose hookups, or in some cases, the compressor shaft seal.

Now at some point in time, you're going to have to deal with the retrofit to r134A issue. You don't have to. I retrofitted mine because I was replacing most all of the A/C, so it made some sense to go with the modern refrigerant. However, R12 will work better in the older system, even if its more expensive. By the time you consider the cost to retrofit and charge up the system, it may be break even.
If you decide to do that, go check the site I pointed out as to the best way to go about it.
 
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