AC Acting Up...

[KJ zGal]

So today, driving home, my AC was ice cold, as usual, but I noticed there was a funny smell. It went away, so I thought it was something in the area I was driving through, but a few miles later my AC warmed up for no reason. It stayed this way for about 10 miles, almost blowing warm air but not quite, and I tried turning it off and on again, adjusting the temperature, etc. This was the coldest it would go. Then all of a sudden it got ice cold again, and the smell came again, but soon went away and it stayed cold. My dad suggested I make sure the belt isn't sticking, but I thought I'd get all your opinions as well. KJ just surpassed 130k, if that means anything. Thanks!!

 

[kjweston]

Mine does this every once in a while.. almost smells like hot coolant sometimes.. ****** me off living in South Florida and my A/C getting warm.. but unfortunately I have no clue what is causing it.

 

[jeepchic79]

Mine does this every once in a while.. almost smells like hot coolant sometimes.. ****** me off living in South Florida and my A/C getting warm.. but unfortunately I have no clue what is causing it.

Mine is doing this as well and ****** me off seem`s to do it on the hottest days !kopkrab.gif

 

[kjweston]

maybe a recharge? idk haven't tried anything to fix it yet.. hope it turns out to be something cheap..

 

[kb0nly]

If its doing it on the hottest days and works intermittent i would suspect two things...

Belt and Tensioner
Compressor Clutch

If the belt AND tensioner haven't been changed in a while they could be loose enough to cause slippage on the pulley.

What is the smell? Can you describe it? Is it a burning rubber or plastic smell?

There has been a lot of posts about the compressor clutch on here, so i wouldn't doubt that one bit. The clutch assembly can be replaced without replacing the entire compressor but it takes some special tools and a lot of time. There was a link posted a while back to a nice how-to on it with pictures. You can buy the clutch kit off eBay or a few other sources. Its not impossible to do with a little know-how and some tools.

Otherwise it would mean evacuating the system, replacing the compressor, vacuum it down, recharge.

A low charge could also be possible, though i think less likely due to the behaviour and smell, get a simple guage and check it, one of those little cans of quick charge at Wal-Mart of similar store that has a guage on the hose, makes it simple to check the level and top it off if necessary.

 

[KJ zGal]

The only way I can think to describe the smell is to say it smells like electric heaters when they first come on after a summer of not being on...only not as long lasting of a smell. This is the first time it's done it, so it could have just been a freak thing, maybe, but I'm pretty sure it's about time to replace the belt again anyway. I did it a while ago, maybe about a year, and I think that's the time frame it gave for replacement. As for the tensioner I'm not sure...I know I myself haven't replaced it since I bought it...how often does this need to be done?

 

[kjweston]

I have a less than a year old belt and less than a year old idler and tensioner pulleys.. still does it. =[ clutch idea doesn't make me happy. buttt gotta do what ya gotta do I guess

 

[jeepchic79]

I was afraid of it being the clutch ! UGH ! And now that you mentioned it . It is a big possibility cause i checked the cooling Gas and it was 45 psi which is normal

 

[kb0nly]

The only way I can think to describe the smell is to say it smells like electric heaters when they first come on after a summer of not being on...only not as long lasting of a smell. This is the first time it's done it, so it could have just been a freak thing, maybe, but I'm pretty sure it's about time to replace the belt again anyway. I did it a while ago, maybe about a year, and I think that's the time frame it gave for replacement. As for the tensioner I'm not sure...I know I myself haven't replaced it since I bought it...how often does this need to be done?

VERY good description of the smell!

Thats your clutch coil overheating on the compressor. Its like a big electromagnet that gets energized to pull the clutch in and engage the shaft of the compressor.

Thats what i have smelled before when the clutch coil burns out.

 

[kb0nly]

Not too long ago someone posted a link to a site showing how to R&R the clutch... Can't find it!

 

[kb0nly]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Jeep...ptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

Clutch kit...

 

[kjweston]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Jeep...ptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

Clutch kit...

This will fix it? and is it hard to do yourself?

 

[kb0nly]

This will fix it? and is it hard to do yourself?

Yes.. No its not impossible... The service tool that holds the clutch while you remove it is the hardest part to overcome, and then you need to remove a snap ring in there. I can't find that damn link. Not to long ago we got on this discussion and someone posted a link to an awesome site where a guy did a writeup on this job and had pictures of every step to do it. The hardest thing for him was rigging up a tool to hold the clutch.

 

[KJ zGal]

Is this something that is going to cause engine damage if I don't fix it right away? (Assuming that's what it actually is, of course). It hasn't done it since that one day...

 

[JeepJeepster]

Is this something that is going to cause engine damage if I don't fix it right away? (Assuming that's what it actually is, of course). It hasn't done it since that one day...

Probably not.

 

[Marlon_JB2]

Is this something that is going to cause engine damage if I don't fix it right away? (Assuming that's what it actually is, of course). It hasn't done it since that one day...

Nope. I'd say at the very most, and this is also very highly unlikely, the belt might get damaged, but other than that
... no engine damage.

Seen an A/C clutch go bad on another vehicle, ruined the belt.

 

[tjkj2002]

Well if the clutch locks up and throws the belt you can damage other things.For one your water pump is not spinning and the engine will overheat unless you shut it off ASAP and can possibly damage the water pump itself(seen it happen),you will also loose power steering and your alternator will not be working.

Worst case if you keep on driving is you'll overheat the engine(lots of issues there),possibly cause a acident,and/or take the battery out.Now that is worst case but I always plan for worst case as I have seen the "worst case" happen one to many times at work.

 

[KJ zGal]

I talked to a colleague's son the other day at work (happens to be the head mechanic at one of the Chysler dealerships or something of the like =P), and he thinks it's not the compressor but the evaporator getting stuck...basically he told me it'll need to be drained, fixed, and recharged. But we'll see what my own mechanic says...for right now it seems to be working fine so I'm gonna wait. Thanks for the help all =]

 

[tjkj2002]

I talked to a colleague's son the other day at work (happens to be the head mechanic at one of the Chysler dealerships or something of the like =P), and he thinks it's not the compressor but the evaporator getting stuck...basically he told me it'll need to be drained, fixed, and recharged. But we'll see what my own mechanic says...for right now it seems to be working fine so I'm gonna wait. Thanks for the help all =]

How can the evap get stuck? Guess he has no clue what a evap is. I would get someone that knows AC systems to look at it.

 

[KJ zGal]

Maybe he said it was the evaporator core leaking or the evaporator fan or something...all I remember is he said something about the evaporator...but yeah, this is why I am not a mechanic xD